Page 1 of 2

Moved up 1 sub-level

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 10:38 am
by zeinab
Morning all. End of yr report received for my DD who's in yr 4. In yr3, last yr she got 2 4b's & 2 4c's. Was told a few yrs back she's gifted & talented for English even though they have since got rid of the g&t register, anyway that's where her strengths are.

This yr she got 3 4a's & 1 4b. Can't help thinking she has not made that much progress this yr as in the past she moved 3 sub-levels or more.

Was wandering is there a level 5 in yr 4 ?

Re: Moved up 1 sub-level

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 11:22 am
by southbucks3
All children seem to develop in chunks, looking back over the years sometimes my kids stayed put for whole years, then went up three in the next year along.

Had she gone up another whole sub level each year since beginning middle school, presumably at level 3, and continued to do so, she would be doing year 8 work in year 6, which is unlikely.

She has very good results for year 4, be proud, look at the whole report, including socialising and sport, that element may have soared?

Re: Moved up 1 sub-level

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 11:29 am
by berks_mum
OP, could it be possible that the school tests only unto level 4 in year 4 ? You may want to ask her teacher.

Re: Moved up 1 sub-level

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 10:06 pm
by Daogroupie
I know plenty of students who are Level 5 in Y4 but it is possible that your school does not give them tests that cover Level 5 material. DG

Re: Moved up 1 sub-level

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:41 am
by mystery
I think I am correct in saying that the qca optional tests for year 4 do not go above a 4a.

Re: Moved up 1 sub-level

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 6:47 am
by Daogroupie
But your schools has tests for Y5's and Y6's which they could use with your dd to assess her current level. Iin your position I would request for her to be tested using Level 5 material. DG

Re: Moved up 1 sub-level

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 9:10 am
by mystery
It sounds like a logical request DAO, but it wouldn't work at our school!

Re: Moved up 1 sub-level

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 10:30 am
by Sunshine 11
I wouldn't get too hung up on SATS levels, they are going soon anyway. Children do plateau. Don't worry, as long as DD is happy that's all that matters, but it does show tutors can be helpful to give that little extra boost they may not get at school.

Re: Moved up 1 sub-level

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 11:43 am
by Jean.Brodie
Hi Zeinab! I can understand why you are concerned.

A gentle conversation with the Class Teacher is worth a try. There may well be a simple explanation.

I'm not a fan of testing and too often, as a teacher, I found it got in the way of 'education' or the teaching itself. When I taught Year 7s, I used to ignore pretty much every Level or other number or grade which came from their primary school or elsewhere. Much primary school data was unhelpful or, in some cases, downright misleading. ... As far as I know, it is technically possible to assess for any Level in any Year. But even the Levels and Sublevels which are assessed accurately and with integrity don't say that much which is helpful.

Our own child's assessment raised lots of questions in primary school. So, for English, we chose to believe the quality of her reading aloud at home, the quality of the discussion about what she was reading, the quality of her speaking and the quality of her writing. For Maths, how a child approaches problem solving is an important indicator. You can gauge these things readily yourself at home with your DD.

What sort of secondary school are you hoping she will go on to?

Do let us know what her teacher tells you.

Re: Moved up 1 sub-level

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 2:13 pm
by Tinkers
I had a similar issue in year 5. Report showed only one sub level improvement in Reading, despite the teacher saying she had made excellent progress.
I went to ask him about it and shown him her year 4 report.

He agreed that it didn't look right and said he would reassess her, which he did and moved her another sub level. She had been assessed by a TA during group reading sessions, not by the teacher. She is not great at reading out loud in front of others at the best of times.

Same thing happened at the end of year 6, but by that time I didn't care and, with hindsight, talking to her year 6 teacher would have been pointless. His English teaching wasn't great and the school was slated over its English teaching by Ofsted only a few months later.

Coming up to the end of year 7 and she has made quite amazing progress.