KS2 Maths exam

[JamesDean]

Working towards is the phrase that we are using for those who are below 'age expected'. Any better suggestions will be appreciated.

Ditto - 'emerging, expected, exceding' are the words being bandied around these parts, but I'm still to be convinced ...

JD

[mystery]

Working towards is the phrase that we are using for those who are below 'age expected'. Any better suggestions will be appreciated.

Well if they are working towards it that's fine, but if they're still working on everything from several years in the new curriculum it's a bit disingenuous!

[pinkrabbit38]

It's KS2 level 6 - very different to KS3 level 6 ...

Level 6 is Level 6 regardless of which KS you are in!

[Guest55]

It's KS2 level 6 - very different to KS3 level 6 ...

Level 6 is Level 6 regardless of which KS you are in!

Sorry no - a KS2 level 6 means level 5* as they have not covered all the level 5 work at Primary nor all level 6. The vast majority of level 6 children joining us are levelled as 5b/5a at the first assessment point (October).

[pinkrabbit38]

It's KS2 level 6 - very different to KS3 level 6 ...

Level 6 is Level 6 regardless of which KS you are in!

Sorry no - a KS2 level 6 means level 5* as they have not covered all the level 5 work at Primary nor all level 6. The vast majority of level 6 children joining us are levelled as 5b/5a at the first assessment point (October).

Maybe in your school but this is not the case in most schools. Good primary schools will cover all the level 5 work and children who gain a level 6, gain a level 6 not a 5* as you call it. My daughter's school teaches her level 6 maths, she is currently a level 6c as she scores over 95% on the level 6 SATs paper every time and is now being taught the rest of the level 6 curriculum in depth. She has a deep understanding of the level 6 curriculum, understands how to use and apply what she has learnt. My son also gained a level 6 last year in maths, he is now in year 7 in Grammar school, in October he was assessed as 6b.

[Guest55]

Maybe in your school but this is not the case in most schools. Good primary schools will cover all the level 5 work and children who gain a level 6, gain a level 6 not a 5* as you call it. My daughter's school teaches her level 6 maths, she is currently a level 6c as she scores over 95% on the level 6 SATs paper every time and is now being taught the rest of the level 6 curriculum in depth. She has a deep understanding of the level 6 curriculum, understands how to use and apply what she has learnt. My son also gained a level 6 last year in maths, he is now in year 7 in Grammar school, in October he was assessed as 6b.

Well I know quite a few HODs and it is the same story across at least the 20 schools I'm familiar with locally ....

[loobylou]

KS2 level 6 is not the same as KS3 level 6 in any schools I know. All secondary schools downgrade levels on entry in my experience. My dh says they quite often downlevel by more than one, particularly on the internally assessed work....
Can I ask a stupid question? (Possibly stupid). My dd did very well in super selective exams and then got 2 level 6s (and apparently missed the other by one mark) in her SATs. SHe did get extra preparation within school for the level 6s but we did absolutely nothing with it at home... Maybe it's because I'm married to a teacher who is so disparaging of the imprtance of KS2 SATs. But why do people care about their children getting level 6s?
I can understand that it's good for our children to be stretched academically etc but actually sitting extra exams and getting a particular result? What's the purpose of it and why do parents care?
I assumed it was purely for the statistics of the school and had no other purpose....

[pinkrabbit38]

KS2 level 6 is not the same as KS3 level 6 in any schools I know. All secondary schools downgrade levels on entry in my experience. My dh says they quite often downlevel by more than one, particularly on the internally assessed work....
Can I ask a stupid question? (Possibly stupid). My dd did very well in super selective exams and then got 2 level 6s (and apparently missed the other by one mark) in her SATs. SHe did get extra preparation within school for the level 6s but we did absolutely nothing with it at home... Maybe it's because I'm married to a teacher who is so disparaging of the imprtance of KS2 SATs. But why do people care about their children getting level 6s?
I can understand that it's good for our children to be stretched academically etc but actually sitting extra exams and getting a particular result? What's the purpose of it and why do parents care?
I assumed it was purely for the statistics of the school and had no other purpose....

That's a rather strange thing to say, it's like saying why do parents care about their children getting A* at GCSE? We all want our children to achieve the best mark they can and show their true capabilities.
What really gets my goat is this constant dumbing down of the level 6's papers by secondary school teachers etc and the assumption that no children gaining a level 6 at KS2 is actually a level 6. As stated before good primary schools who teach well will be making sure that level 5 and 6 are taught properly, that when a child is assessed as a level 5 or 6 then that's exactly what they are.

[loobylou]

That's a rather strange thing to say, it's like saying why do parents care about their children getting A* at GCSE? We all want our children to achieve the best mark they can and show their true capabilities.
What really gets my goat is this constant dumbing down of the level 6's papers by secondary school teachers etc and the assumption that no children gaining a level 6 at KS2 is actually a level 6. As stated before good primary schools who teach well will be making sure that level 5 and 6 are taught properly, that when a child is assessed as a level 5 or 6 then that's exactly what they are.

But A* at GCSEs count for something. They enable you to move on to certain A levels or do certain courses; they may even be looked at by universities to determine offers. SATs mean nothing for the child as far as I can see and everything for the school. Of course there is the matter of their own satisfaction but I mean above and beynd that....

(My own dd who got 2 level 6s has had some work now at her gs marked as level 6, she has even had some marked at level 7 and some at level 5. I can just tell you that in my other half's school they will tell you that with children from some schools their levels on entry match well with what the primary school levels are and with other schools they expect to downgrade their levels by at least one and sometimes even two levels. However they could name those schools - though they don't - so I guess what you are saying is true and if the primary schools are good and they teach well then the levels do match).

[berks_mum]

SATs mean nothing for the child as far as I can see and everything for the school.

I don't think they are that useless for a child. They are used for secondary target settings and also for streaming(sets) in some schools.

( I can just tell you that in my other half's school they will tell you that with children from some schools their levels on entry match well with what the primary school levels are and with other schools they expect to downgrade their levels by at least one and sometimes even two levels. However they could name those schools - though they don't - so I guess what you are saying is true and if the primary schools are good and they teach well then the levels do match).

So a DC would be downgraded by a level or two just because they came from a certain primary????? If so, this is very unfair to a DC.
Aren't SATS marked externally?