Assessment of ability

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loopsngeorge
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2012 12:48 pm

Assessment of ability

Post by loopsngeorge »

Hi, I'm new to the forum but have been lurking for a while, gathering information!
My son is currently in year 4 and we've been doing the Bond books for a few months. I'd like to get him properly assessed by a tutor to get an idea of where any gaps are rather than starting formal tutoring at this stage.
I spoke to S6 tutoring academy but it would be £150 for a 2 hour assessment in all areas. This sounds a lot to me but I wondered whether this was the sort of money to be expected, or whether indeed anyone could recommend a tutor in the Billericay/Brentwood area who could do this?
Thanks in advance.



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thankgoditsover
Posts: 60
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 2:51 pm

Re: Assessment of ability

Post by thankgoditsover »

Welcome to the forum :D

I'm not in your part of Essex but just to let you that the tutor we used (and still use for our eldest) gave us a free assessment. Definitely shop around. I'm sure you'll be pm'd some good recommendations from fellow forum members in your area.

Good luck
Sunshine 11
Posts: 247
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 7:29 pm

Re: Assessment of ability

Post by Sunshine 11 »

I would go only on recommendation from a parent at your local school. A good tutor should indeed give an overall assessment for free !

Good luck.
Sunshine 11
Que sera, sera
moved
Posts: 3826
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: Assessment of ability

Post by moved »

An assessment relies on a child's background. One size does not fit all.

A child who has been stretched in both English and maths and has read widely will perform much better than a child who has had fewer opportunities. A child who has had some prep already will also perform more highly than a child who has had none.

I only ever used an assessment as part of my evaluation of a pupil's learning requirements. Plenty of discussion with both the parent and child are necessary and really several lessons, homeworks, etc.

It takes a while to establish the potential of a child and no one shoud give you a hard and fast answer after a brief test or conversation.

You should be able to assess your own child fairly well. Is s/he in the top half of the class is a good place to start, is s/he articulate, interested, etc.
mikedellfarm
Posts: 269
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:26 am

Re: Assessment of ability

Post by mikedellfarm »

Have you sought the advice of the teachers at his current school - might be worth a chat with them to see their view ?
loopsngeorge
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2012 12:48 pm

Re: Assessment of ability

Post by loopsngeorge »

Thanks very much for the replies, they are very interesting.
I tried to get some more information from school but all they can tell me is that he's doing very well but they won't give any idea of the national curriculum level he's at beyond his KS1 SATS scores from a couple of years ago. I suppose I am assuming that although he is in the "top set" as it were at school, he may not be working to as high a level as the local independent primary schools are and may have gaps in his knowledge.
Thanks again for the advice and I'm sure I'll be on here again soon!
agathachristie
Posts: 225
Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:46 pm

Re: Assessment of ability

Post by agathachristie »

Hi Loopsngeorge, surely at the end of year three the school should have given you a report stating the levels your son had achieved in year 3? Our state primary tests the kids every half term and levels are then discussed at parents evening.

Anyway in terms of assessments my recommendation would be to google independent schools that have 7+ 8+ 9+ entry, they always have sample papers on their sites which you can use to assess your son.hope this helps....

Agathachristie
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