Level 6 papers

[mystery]

Please don't tell me to calm down - that is patronising.

I stand by my assertion that most children end up where you would expect them to be. If a highly intelligent, motivated, diligent child with a good work ethic and nice clean shoes bombed at GCSE and came out with a bunch of Es, we would remember it. I don't think it happens very often, no matter how big the comprehensive or how far away from Buckinghamshire it is, and if it does it usually has more to do with parties, alcohol or relationships- or maybe being totally p****d off with the whole school thing having had it forced down its throat since it was tiny- than erroneous tracking from KS2 tests.

In your assertion you use the word most, in the same way that I say some children at some schools do not. If you look carefully at the last two years of gcse dfe performance tables there is some data on this. On a school by school basis you can see the percntage of children who enter with low, medium and high attainment at ks2 ( can't remember the exact terminology). It then tells you the percentage of each of these three groups that made satisfactory progress in maths and English to gcse. Some similar schools do far better than others on this measure.

This system does not however pick up on children like your daughter whose ks2 result did not match her ability. She would have been in the middle band in these tables and so long as she had achieved a C ( I think) at gcse she would have been considered to have made satisfactory progress.

Now, if she did know the higher level material but had just had a bad test week at ks2, this would hopefully sort itself out in the first few weeks of senior school, one way or another, even if it was a school that put children in sets early ( and some do). But, if for some reason, she was able but only knew level 4 material, then, at some schools, she would be unlikely to make it into sets which were covering material at the pace and level needed to get a or a star at gcse.

By going private you were sheltered from these potential problems at some schools.

Yes, at some comprehensives and grammars this would not have been a problem either. But not all.

Off to clean some shoes as an insurance policy.

[mystery]

Well said Amber - I have taught in comprehensives for the majority of my career. Students were not set immediately, nor were sets rigid and some students with KS2 level 3s ended up getting grade As at GCSE.

Teachers want their students to do as well as they can; we understand about life chances. Indeed that's why most of us are in the profession.

Yes I taught in comprehensives where this kind of thing happened too. But there are others now where it would not.

Did I understand correctly what you were asking on percentage increase?

[countrymum]

At my DD's school I definitely get the impression sats results from primary are less than reliable and not used to asses students. Don't even know if they received them? It really does seem like they just start over from scratch. In house testing seems to be their starting point and not their sats results, and much of the in house testing is used to calculate their potential rather than specific IQ. As I was concerned my primary leaving level 6er was dipping as early targets were in the 5's, I was told told by teachers level 6 primary is really a 5*, so in reality makes perfect sense to me if I think of primary '6' as a very strong/top secondary 5. New targets are definitely in line with her abilities so academically wise we're happy with her progress for yr 7.

If a child really, really, really, really wants to do them, they are 100% ok with missing out on activities they enjoy then I suppose they shouldn't be denied the opportunity. Top set/a*/high flying careers aren't everything though imo - I've definitely realised my child being settled/happy/comfortable in their own skin takes priority over any academia issues, but that's just me.

[mystery]

Yes, some secondaries use cognitive assessment tests. Some don't. A lot of schools are very different from one another.

Yes, a primary level 6 in most cases is probably just a very top level 5. But some primaries do not prepare well for a top level 5 either.

[Amber]

If a child really, really, really, really wants to do them, they are 100% ok with missing out on activities they enjoy then I suppose they shouldn't be denied the opportunity. Top set/a*/high flying careers aren't everything though imo - I've definitely realised my child being settled/happy/comfortable in their own skin takes priority over any academia issues, but that's just me.

It isn't just you - I agree so much. I don't get this kind of paranoia over whether a child is in the 'right' set doing the 'right' exam to 'achieve its potential'. It just is outside my mindset. All those other things are so much more important and to spend time fretting over NC levels when children are young seems to be missing the point of reproducing, frankly. I am not at all convinced that life's high achievers are any happier than the middling or low achievers - why does everyone want their children to get top grades in everything, whatever the cost? 'To improve their life chances' is the usual answer, but chances to do what? Be a banker or a neuroscientist? Are they any better off than shop workers or refuse collectors? Really? I can't help thinking sometimes it's parental snobbery to be honest.

Daogroupie, I don't make a hoo-ha about my kids' sporting or musical achievements either (and yes, there are some) - I don't think it is ok for them to be under pressure to perform in any sphere- some parents get their kids started on music lessons or tennis lessons when they are tiny too and I don't agree with that either unless the child is begging for them. The only reason music and sport lessons take place in lunch times is because the curriculum is already so squeezed that these things drop off- music in primary schools is like hens' teeth now. Doing extra maths in your lunch hour is not the same as singing in a choir or playing football.

I know there will always be two camps on this and I think everyone knows which one I'm in!

[countrymum]

Really Amber - which one is that then

Apologies a bit off topic....

http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-chil ... h-pressure" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mystery]

I don't think that learning maths for a top level 5 or a low level 6 should involve anything other than normal lesson time attendance should it? Getting a 4 instead of a 3 or a 5 instead of a 4 doesn't.

No, who cares whether someone is a refuse collector or a neurosurgeon. But if someone wanted to be a neurosurgeon and had to be a refuse collector because they did not have the benefit of a good education, that is sad. Can't quite see where paranoia enters into this discussion.

I have met plenty of bright enough people in jobs they don't particularly like, on low pay on which it is hard to do what they wish with their own families, and who regret not having had a better education resulting in a higher paid job. It was not their fault. It's fine sitting there feeling happy with one's own life but that's not the point is it?

There's not much logic in this discussion. Who are these people you are talking about who are putting academic success on a platform above everything else? I don't know anyone like that.

[kittymum]

Hi

Since I asked the question and have valued the time people spent replying, I thought I'd let you know that I've made a decision regarding ds and the Level 6's - he's not going to do them and I've let his teacher know.

I know people have strong opinions about this but I feel I'd like ds to spend his last 1.5 terms at primary doing enrichment stuff (which he has been offered the opportunity to do) and to leave on a high. He's achieved everything which has been asked of him (both academic and non academic), I'm incredibly proud of him and we feel that 5a's, for us, are definitely good enough

Good luck to all those who will soon be ending their primary journey and heading off to big school!

[ginx]

Good for you, kitty mum. I think you've made the right decision.

I think it's great that you're incredibly proud of him. Honestly, what's the difference between a 5a and 6c - especially in year 7 - and when you get to GCSE's, you really will not remember level 6 as being important - in my opinion.

Good luck to him. It sounds as if he is doing well anyway.

[KS10]

If it feels right then it probably is.