11 Plus Exams Forum

I have been told that my child under the new levelling system in their primary school is a level 4B in English and 4C in maths. Iin the old levels they were a 6 in English and exceptional and 5A working beyond expectations for their age. The new levels I am told they are working within their expected level. Could someone tell me what all this means? I really don't understand this new system

I don't think this belongs in GCSEs? Maybe one of the moderators could move it? Also, try this thread http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 33&t=45010" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It means, Munster, that your school was either crazy before or is crazy now (and maybe both?).

I am not sure anyone here will be able to tell you much. Each school is free to use their own system although locally most seem to be combining and using similar terminology.
So our school is using working towards, working at, exceeding (and then mastering). Many local schools seem to be doing the same thing although I think some also use the word "secure". I don't know many schools using a different numbering system to the old one (I do know one. I'm not sure it's successful).
But even within this schools differ. My sil is deputy head at a primary where they are using this terminology but are defining everything by the end of the year. So, for example in year 4, you cannot (in their school) be judged as anything other than "working towards" for an entire year because they say until they have delivered the entire curriculum for that year you cannot reach that level. So every single child gets "working towards" until July when presumably they get something different. At least at our primary they roll their eyes, say it's a crazy system and tell you where your child is - but it doesn't really help...
I am really glad that dd's school have stuck to the old levels, even if every conversation with a teacher does need to be prefaced with, "obviously levels are not being used nationally any more but we have decided to continue with them" - at least I know what they mean! As does dd...

To a degree I can sympathise with this approach when a child is below a 4b, but as the national expectation is still around a 4b and the new curriculum in maths and English similar to the old one plus or minus a few bits and pieces by the end of KS2, it is very hard to imagine that a child who is level 5 and above is below expectations for year 6.

I have a similar issue with a younger child.

Munster, what year is your child in?

And what did the level 6 in English mean? do you have the separate levels they were assessed on for reading, SPAG, writing? And when was this level 6? The new curriculum was compulsory from September 2014 so how were they able to give you old NC levels in July 2015 but then suddenly in Spetember 2015 you have been shoved onto some other half-baked system?

mystery wrote:The new curriculum was compulsory from September 2014 so how were they able to give you old NC levels in July 2015 but then suddenly in Spetember 2015 you have been shoved onto some other half-baked system?

I may have misunderstood what you are saying (sorry if I have), but at our school the Yr6 who started in Sept 2014 were kept on the old NC along with levels but all other years were moved to the new NC. So we did have old levels for our DC at July 2015.

I remember being annoyed that DC's year might be missing out on a "more rigorous" curriculum but it worked in our favour for appeal as we had old style levels to work with.

Last year's Y2 and Y6 were on the old NC with the old levels given at the end of KS1 and KS2 - all other year groups should have been on the new NC with new assessment system.

I do think some of the systems described on here sound crazy.

Thank you G55; I thought we had been told Yr2 (2014-15) were also on the old system, but as I wasn't sure I didn't want to muddy the waters with possible half truths!

BucksBornNBred wrote:

mystery wrote:The new curriculum was compulsory from September 2014 so how were they able to give you old NC levels in July 2015 but then suddenly in Spetember 2015 you have been shoved onto some other half-baked system?

I may have misunderstood what you are saying (sorry if I have), but at our school the Yr6 who started in Sept 2014 were kept on the old NC along with levels but all other years were moved to the new NC. So we did have old levels for our DC at July 2015.

I remember being annoyed that DC's year might be missing out on a "more rigorous" curriculum but it worked in our favour for appeal as we had old style levels to work with.

Yes that's right. But I do not think Munster is talking about a child who was in year 6 last year as they are described as still in primary school - and it's not likely to be a child who was in year 2 last year either if you look at the levels they were given last year. So it still is crazy I am afraid.

How many schools are interpreting the national curriculum for maths in this restrictive way I do not know, but I am appalled that there are more schools than just my chidreln's crazy one.

What was wrong with the old levels system, btw? I have read some of the govt gumph and it seems to say they were changed because parents found them difficult to understand, but I thought they were quite clear. They compared past, current and national levels and the only improvement I felt they needed was one more coloured box comparing them to the other children in the school.

Seems mad to me that schools can choose their own marking scheme, but don't the LEA give them guidance to make sure they are consistent across a county (I thought I read that for Bucks)?