First term report translation- National curriculum help please!

[Faith]

SD has brought us her first secondary school report. She's been there a term.

It's basically a list of subjects and two corresponding lists of numbers Totally meaningless to us, and SD, and her mother for that matter.

As far as I can gather it's something to do with National curriculum level, where she's at now, and where she's expected to be at the end of year 7. I think the numbers increase by year? So if she's a 4c now, and improves in line with average she should be aiming for 5c by the end of the year?

Her numbers are a total mix- 3's for some of her new subjects, some 4's, and a lot of 5's and 6's. SD has been told that 5/6 is the level they should be in year 9.

So is she some sort of genius who will be capable of GCSE in two years? Or a clever child who's doing well? Or even not very bright but in an underachieving school so she looks clever She's very conscientious and a hard worker, and fortunately has me on hand for homework help :polishmedal:. Is she expected to level off on progress as the work gets harder?

If DD ever came home with a report like that I'd be straight up to the school. They might as well have not bothered for all the information it gives us.

[DillyDally]

I've just dug out a Y7 report to have a look :-)

You're right, it will be her current level, and DS2's has the Y7 target, and also the Y9 target. So the target for Science at the end of Y7 on DS2's report says 6C, and he got 6C in December of that school year Does your SD's report say which column is the key stage target, and which is her current level? I would have thought that's quite important information

ETA - on the report I'm looking at, the Y9 targets are all 7s There's some information on where they should be here.

[*kate*]

My son's in y8 and every half term we get something similar.

It has current level, and target level. They're expected to make at least two sub levels of progress per academic year (so if current level was 5c they should be 5a by the time they break up in July). They can of course exceed that.

Level 3 is average for y6 I think, but the brighter kids get 4s and 5s. And these grades are assessed throughout the year. DS had some level 7s in year 7 and started one of his GCSEs in y8 but I think that varies from school to school and their individual policy.

The new subjects (French or Spanish etc?) will be 3s but probably next year they'll have a better idea and more accurate assessment.

Hope that's helpful.

Eta my friend who's a teacher said level 8 was a good gcse (a to c grade)

Eta again, yes they usually level off on progress as the work gets harder, dd1 had level 7/8 in yr 8 and 9 and erm, she doesn't have the same appetite for work as when she was in yr8!

[Tekkencat]

nothing to add but im glad i wasnt the only one baffled - im only just getting my head around it now (dd is in yr 8)

[Velvet Chain]

I too have nothing of use to add, except that I didn't understand a word of what anyone wrote - so when DS gets his school reports I am sure that he is going to have to explain it to me, don't they do A's and B's anymore??

[Faith]

Thanks! Slightly clearer

So she's probably bright, and if she continues as she is should hit grade A-C in all subjects? But not off to Oxbridge at 16 or anything Which is about what we thought. What on earth happened to "could try harder"

VC DD1 is in year 2- younger than your DS I think? I have my head around that, I think. The numbers denote the year, so average for year 2 is 2b, for example. That is the national average across al schools in the UK. If they are working above that average, they are 2a, below, 2c. They can occasionally spread a year, and get a 3c, which again as an example means they are working at a level expected in year 3, but it's all fairly broad, so unless you have additional needs one way or the other you'll score close to your year.

Secondary it all changes- as you can see from the above SD in year 7 has 3/4/5/6. One subject she is currently at 5b, but is expected to be 5c by the end of the year. Not sure if that means they are going to unteach her, or whether 5c at the beginning of the year is a different standard to 5c at the end of the year

Even worse this school also has it's own internal scoring system, also numbers, comparing averages within the school rather than nationally. So at the teacher evening they were given a whole other list of numbers.

So if level 8 is a good gcse, does that mean once they hit level 8 they are capable of taking the GCSE, or is that the point at which they start teaching the GSCE syllabus?

I am dreading secondary. But at least I have some good questions for open days already (can I see examples of your reports being one!)

[Jeany]

Level Comments
Level W Working towards level 1, very weak
Level 1 Average for a typical 5 year old
Level 2 Average for a typical 7 year old
Level 3 Average for a typical 9 year old
Level 4 Average for a typical 11 year old
Level 5 Average for a typical 13 year old
Level 6 Average for a typical 14 year old
Level 7 Above average for typical 14 yr old
Level 8 Only available in maths

[*kate*]

We also have the internal scoring system, whether they're responsible/resourceful learners etc with 5 being good. Basically it's so that you can see that your child is working hard (as some kids don't work but still get good grades).

Level 8a is an a/b grade gcse as I understand it (or as close as they can predict). DS is doing one gcse which started being taught at level 7 (but this is a school which very much pushes early gcse - not always a good thing IMO)

[Ruby]

NOOOOOooo! I have probably taught about three genuine level 8s in my entire teaching career but I have had plenty of pupils get an A or A*.

Level 5 in Y9 means they *should* be a C or above at GCSE but it is not a straight transition.

Good progress is two levels in a key stage i.e. if she started Y7 as a Level 5 in English then she would be doing really well if she got a Level 7 at the end of Y9.

Y7 levels are often a bit all-over-the-place because the teachers will only have had your child for a term and they won't have done a huge amount of assessment yet. For example, I only have one (brightish) Y7 class and for their first levels in October I just gave them all a blanket 4a. Their December levels are a bit more accurate but, really, there is a lot of margin for error.

I wouldn't read too much into them. In particular I would ignore the targets - they vary tremendously according to the school. Some schools pride themselves on 'challenging' targets. Usually secondary schools have to do these reports every term or even every half-term. A lot of teachers just copy and paste the last column and then add on a sub-level every so often. Not me though. Oh no.

Level 3s would usually be in languages, I would say, for a bright middle-class child. Level 4s possibly in humanities as they are not studied in depth at Primary and there is a big 'skills lag'. English, Maths & Science at Level 5 is good and I would be expecting her to be a safe C+ at GCSE and most likely a B+.

[Velvet Chain]

OMG this sounds so complicated. I haven't had a school report for DS from the UK yet (he's only been back in school here a month so will have to wait until summer to get one), he is year 4 now. I suspect I will be scanning it here and then getting it translated as this has really confused me.

[DillyDally]

VC - it wasn't like this in primary Well, not at DS2's primary school.

[Faith]

Thanks Ruby, that's very helpful.

I've found a table on the school website where they publish the entire year results, and it seems her grades are upper end, but not exceptional So that helps put it into perspective a bit. They also say it's the level for the current topic they're studying, not an overall achievement in that level So for example if they're doing a biology topic in science, next term when they move to physics it might drop.

Is this another box-ticker for teachers then? Seems like a waste of time to me. A simple sentence saying they're working hard and doing well would tell me much more.

VC In DD's school they only use these schemes for their own box-ticking. The reports shared with the parents focus on the childs achievement, rather than comparing to some sort of national scale. If it hadn't been for me asking whether her non reading ability was normal for her age I wouldn't have come across it at all.

Which brings me on to another gripe with SD's school. The expect 2 hours a night homework. In year 7. 2 hours. A night. How the hell are they meant to have hobbies, play sports, have a life? I's not tv and video games responsible for the obesity crisis, it's the amount of time sat down doing homework!!

[Ruby]

Is this another box-ticker for teachers then? Seems like a waste of time to me. A simple sentence saying they're working hard and doing well would tell me much more.

Exactly.

Two hours homework a night seems excessive. I bet she doesn't get anything like that. In my experience, however, the amount of homework is driven by the parents; if you're 'lucky' enough to live in quite a pushy area then the homework demands will increase.

[Anne]

Is this another box-ticker for teachers then? Seems like a waste of time to me. A simple sentence saying they're working hard and doing well would tell me much more.

You wouldnt believe how much a teachers life is governed by this, drives us insane! Children learn in fits and starts esp on different topics/subjects. Doesnt sound like you have much to worry about.