'Can someone do a mock with my pupil on Thursday?'
An instructor wants her pupil to have a mock test with someone else before the real test in ten days. She posts in the instructors' WhatsApp group. Two people say maybe. One says he can do Thursday at 4, but that is when the pupil is at college. By the time a time is agreed, it is three days before the test, and the mock sheet is scribbled on the back of a leaflet.
The pupil's instructor gets the leaflet a week later. Other pupils never have a mock at all because it is too much hassle to arrange.
Why mocks are hard to arrange
- The mock instructor must be free, and in reach of the pupil's area and test centre.
- The pupil's availability has to fit too.
- Arranging is done in group chats, so nobody owns it.
- The marked sheet is on paper and does not reach the pupil's instructor quickly.
- Payment or credit between instructors for the mock is not clear.
What goes missing
Pupils go into tests without the independent check that could have spotted a weakness. Faults found on a mock are not worked on because the sheet did not reach the right instructor in time. Instructors who do mocks for colleagues are not credited, so they stop offering. And the school has no record of which pupils had a mock before their test.
The mock test booking we build
- The pupil's instructor requests a mock from the diary, with the test date and centre and the pupil's available times.
- Instructors who are free, can reach the pupil and have offered to do mocks are listed, and the request goes to them in turn or all at once, by your rule.
- Once accepted, the mock is booked in both diaries and the pupil is told the time, pickup and who will be conducting it.
- During or after the mock, the conducting instructor completes a marked sheet on their phone, with faults by category and short notes.
- The sheet goes to the pupil's instructor and the pupil at once, and the faults are added to the pupil's progress record.
- Any charge to the pupil and credit to the conducting instructor is handled through balances and statements under your terms.
- The school can see which pupils had a mock before their test.
| Step | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Finding someone | WhatsApp group | Suitable instructors listed from the diary |
| Booking | Agreed in chat | In both diaries, pupil told |
| Marking | Paper, often lost | Marked sheet on the phone |
| Feedback | Leaflet a week later | Straight to instructor and pupil |
| Payment | Unclear | Balance and statement lines |
Mocks that happen in time
The instructor requests a mock ten days before the test and two colleagues who cover that centre see it. One accepts a slot that suits the pupil. The mock is done on Tuesday, and by Tuesday evening the pupil's instructor has the marked sheet with two faults to work on. The pupil has two lessons to fix them before the test. The conducting instructor sees the mock on their statement.
Because mocks are easy to arrange, more pupils have one, and pupils who were not ready find out before the test rather than on it.
There is a benefit for the instructors who conduct mocks as well. Sitting in with another instructor's pupil is useful practice at judging test standard, and the marked sheets they complete build up a record they can look back on. Newer instructors and trainees can be offered the chance to observe a mock, with the pupil's agreement, which is an easy way to share experience across the school.
Are mock tests too much hassle?
- Mock tests are arranged in a group chat.
- Mocks happen too close to the test to act on.
- Mock sheets are on paper and arrive late.
- Instructors who do mocks are not credited clearly.
- Many pupils never have a mock.