School Reports and Teacher Feedback

[guest201]

For you Doodles it was useful to know how your son's score compared to "boy genius'"

[Looking for help]

I have also just read your post welbury, and am flabbergasted you survived that kind of absolute torture

[Kesteven]

Nowadays teachers will not tell your child is better than other children in the class etc. But your child will, my DD knows exactly where she is in the class relative to other children, and I have no qualms about asking her.

That's what I do too. And kids have a very clear idea (and are quite non-judgemental) about who are the high-fliers and who are the strugglers in their class!

I think it's a good preparation for life to appreciate from an early age that learning is (at least partly) a competitive activity, and that future success (in our meritocracy) is often predicated on doing better than your peers. Those stereotypical Chinese mothers seem to have taken that to heart (and maybe even to excess), if you believe the publicity.

I suppose I feel that our local state primary sets its sights too low, given its very middle class catchment. And that national cohort comparisons may suggest your child is doing pretty well against the average, but that that gives the school a very easy ride, given the bright kids and strong family learning support available. So for our DCs teachers to tell us how well they're doing means little, unless benchmarked against demanding aspirations.

[Looking for help]

I think it's a good preparation for life to appreciate from an early age that learning is (at least partly) a competitive activity, and that future success (in our meritocracy) is often predicated on doing better than your peers. Those stereotypical Chinese mothers seem to have taken that to heart (and maybe even to excess), if you believe the publicity.

I'm not really looking at it from this perspective at all, merely that I want my children to fulfil their potential. I sort of know where they should be, and need reassurance that that is where they are. I don't want education to turn into a competition, all I really want is for my children to be what they can be, not be let down by me not giving them opportunity or by a school failing to spot something that they should have, if you see what I mean.

[ourmaminhavana]

I'm entirely against any sort of published list, but think individual targets are important. I still don't know what my child is supposed to be aiming for and hope to ask at Parents' Evening which he'll find highly embarrassing.
I agree entirely with Mike, although when my son tells me a grade he has achieved I inevitably find myself saying casually "That's great darling and did most people get (whatever mark he's just mentioned )?

[Rob Clark]

Also I work on the premise that no news is good news with good schools.

I agree with CM. DS’s GS is pretty hot on picking up problems and we trust it (for the most part ), although interestingly the reports do indicate where DS is in relation to the class average in every subject, which is quite a useful piece of information.

I probably was not so bothered with my others at top performing school, however I absolutely need to keep on top of things with my youngest.

I also agree with LFH, though. DD is at the local upper school and while we are very pleased with it in many ways the expectations are slightly lower than at the GS so we do feel we need to keep a slighter tighter eye on what is happening – class marks have a far, far bigger range than they do at the GS so having some idea of DD’s scores in relation to others in her set is helpful, ie if every child is getting 80-90% your DC’s position in class is less relevant than if the marks range from 45-85%, IMHO.

[mad?]

I suppose I feel that our local state primary sets its sights too low, given its very middle class catchment. And that national cohort comparisons may suggest your child is doing pretty well against the average, but that that gives the school a very easy ride, given the bright kids and strong family learning support available. So for our DCs teachers to tell us how well they're doing means little, unless benchmarked against demanding aspirations.

I totally agree. DDs' primary was staffed largely by middle class young female teachers from the shire counties having their 'concrete jungle' moment and 'giving something back' before scuttling back off to Bucks once they had thir own children. I think they thought they were teaching in a ghetto because we all live in terraced houses and their expectations mirrored this in every way. I have lost count of the number of times I have sat at parents evening whilst a teacher gushed excitedly about how DDs were performing at a level above the national average for their age group. It was as if I was expected to strip off scream hurrah and kiss their feet. Now as long as they were performing to the best of their abilities I would not have minded whether they were above/level/below but the idea that having been 'above' since their baseline assessment I should be swooning with delight was ridiculous.

[tense]

When my DD started Yr 6 we found ourselves suddenly considering a very over-subscribed partially-selective school for the first time. I then asked her old Yr 5 & then Yr 6 teacher how they thought my DD ranked against all the children they had ever taught I'm sure they thought I was nuts, but I really wanted to know whether my DD was just bright for her class, or could hold her own within a wider group. I haven't ever asked again, honest, and would be dead against such a list.

The experience Welbury relates horrifies me.

[scarlett]

I'm entirely against any sort of published list, but think individual targets are important. I still don't know what my child is supposed to be aiming for and hope to ask at Parents' Evening which he'll find highly embarrassing.
I agree entirely with Mike, although when my son tells me a grade he has achieved I inevitably find myself saying casually "That's great darling and did most people get (whatever mark he's just mentioned )?

I have done that in the past....but my middle son in particular will now announce that he came top before I even ask ( when I know he hasn't )

[scarlett]

Quote [That's what I do too. And kids have a very clear idea (and are quite non-judgemental) about who are the high-fliers and who are the strugglers in their class!

I think it's a good preparation for life to appreciate from an early age that learning is (at least partly) a competitive activity, and that future success (in our meritocracy) is often predicated on doing better than your peers. Those stereotypical Chinese mothers seem to have taken that to heart (and maybe even to excess), if you believe the publicity Quote ]

But is it the children who are competitive or rather the parents? I find it's usually the bright childrens parents who are the most competitive...they don't need to be , their children are doing fine...it's just showing off, I'm afraid !!!!