Teachers and pupils in England have complained about inconsistencies in the advance information made available to help focus their revision before the summer GCSEs and A-levels, describing it in some cases as “virtually useless”.

School leaders said the information published by exam boards last week about what topics students will be tested on across 300 GCSE, AS and A-level specifications was hugely varied, with modern foreign languages a source of particular concern.

MFL teachers have spoken out on social media and written to exam boards expressing disappointment at the advance information for the MFL writing papers.

One teacher wrote to the AQA exam board: “What is going on? This information is virtually useless, it reads like the contents page of the textbook – ie, virtually every topic is included for Spanish, and most for French. For some reason, though, German has had more material removed.

“Could you explain how exactly I am meant to present this to students who are already stressed by the whole exam process, having missed significant portions of their schooling?”

Others have raised concerns about discrepancies in the advance information provided by different exam boards for A-level economics. One student wrote on the Student Room that AQA listed almost the entire specification, while OCR provided a concise list of topics, saying: “This is simply unfair.”

The advance information is one of a number of measures put in place this year to try to ensure the fairness of exams, which are returning after being cancelled for two years. Other adaptations include a choice of topics in some GCSEs, such as English literature and history, and exam support materials, including formula sheets in maths.

Students have been told that examiners will be more generous when setting grade boundaries to provide a safety net, but parents and teachers say the measures cannot fairly compensate for widely varying experiences of learning loss during the pandemic.

A poll of 2,900 teachers by Teacher Tapp found widespread unhappiness with the advance information. In relation to GCSE languages, nearly three-quarters of those who took part in the poll were dissatisfied – 55% “very dissatisfied”, and 19% “dissatisfied”.

More than two out of five GCSE English teachers (43%) were dissatisfied, compared with the one in five who were satisfied. GCSE maths teachers were the most enthusiastic, with 47% satisfied with the advance information provided for their subject, while two out of five science teachers expressed satisfaction.

One headteacher from Greater Manchester said some of his subject leads had said the advance information was helpful, but others were worried about the impact of exams on the most disadvantaged children, the large volume of knowledge still to be covered, and inconsistencies in the level of adjustments across subjects.

He said: “Several subject heads were questioning why, after so much time and so much build-up, the adjustments are so insignificant.”

There were also fears the adjustments could compound unfairness. “Changes may well further advantage the more advantaged by reducing content and making revision more focused, but may also disadvantage those worst affected by the pandemic because changes do not go far enough,” the headteacher said.

A Guardian callout prompted responses from parents and pupils who were also worried about the fairness of this year’s exams. “Exams should be cancelled and we should trust teachers to give teacher-assessed grades, as they know their students best,” said one A-level student.

“The advance information does not compensate for the disruption to education and there are many discrepancies between subjects and exam boards, therefore cancelling A-levels is the only fair alternative.”

Steve Chalke, the founder of the Oasis Academy Trust, said his staff were still working their way through the detail of the advance information. “There’s a lot to digest. Some were saying, ‘There’s lots here’, others were saying, ‘There’s not very much in my subject’.”

He also expressed concern about students’ mental health, with some struggling to get out of bed because of anxiety. “The level of nervousness is huge, among staff, parents and pupils.”

One teacher of French and Spanish in a comprehensive school in south-west England said her GCSE students were “flabbergasted” to find that just one out of 12 topics had been dropped in Spanish GCSE, while German students were told they would be tested on around half the normal list of topics.

She and other MFL teachers were also disappointed to see the holiday topic in French – usually very popular with students – dropped. “They are working their socks off but they are stressed. Some of them are working too hard, some of them are shutting down,” she said. “Some of them I haven’t seen since Christmas.”

An Ofqual spokesperson said: “The advance information has been written to support students prepare for this year’s exam papers. The exam papers will not look the same for all subjects and, therefore, the advance information should not look the same for all subjects.

“As in any year, the exam boards will set grade boundaries in a way that ensures that students are treated fairly, regardless of the exam board with which they have entered. Ofqual, as the exam regulator, will oversee this. So students should not worry that advance information about one subject looks different to that of another.

“The exam boards have worked within a common set of principles to develop their advance information. It was published on 7 February as its purpose is to support student revision, not to narrow teaching.”