re sats raw scores/levels

[Belinda]

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[chez]

After my initial posting I feel things have gone off track a bit.I never intended asking for sats sublevels to turn into any competition or gloating over sub level achievements. My dd purely wants to know for herself and her improvement as she has worked so hard in maths.
She wouldn't dream of boasting and never has boasted about her levels and nor have we.

I still feel strongly that parents should be given the choice to know and given advice about keeping it private. I feel keeping these sub levels secret in year 6 is strange considering they are given them throughout the school year.What's the difference???????????????????

[Marylou]

I simply feel that for *some* children and parents, it is for no other useful purpose than something to brag about in the playground. I'm not referring to anyone posting on here, it's just what I feel is an unhealthy competitiveness that goes on too much these days and hence one of the reasons some schools are cagey about giving out too much information - well, in my humble opinion anyway!

Agreed, and I'm fairly certain this is why our school are so reluctant to give out results. However, it's unfair to tar everyone with the same brush. I and - I suspect - the majority of other parents have no intention of bragging or even disclosing results to anyone else - we simply want information that we are entitled to have, in order to follow up the progress of our own children.

However, I also agree with Belinda - perhaps if we British were a bit less PC about not praising academic achievement and fostered a "cool to do well" culture, then perhaps high-attaining students wouldn't find themselves subject to so much bullying and name-calling at some secondary schools.

[Ella]

Chez, sorry but my post was intended to be a generalisation and I wasn't referring to you or anyone else on this thread! Good luck in getting your DD's sub-levels - as I said, I fully agree that they should be made available.

Marylou, I completely agree. But then there are also the less-able students to consider who get called "retard", etc (in fact, I recall the term being used on this forum somewhere ).

Anyway, we digress.

[Marylou]

Marylou, I completely agree. But then there are also the less-able students to consider who get called "retard", etc (in fact, I recall the term being used on this forum somewhere ).

Yes, I know. You would hope that praising those who are fortunate enough to be academically able would be accompanied by encouragement to use their gifts responsibly. It doesn't have to be a case of "able" equals "good" and "less-able" equals "bad", simply of finding out and nurturing individual talents - whether in academic subjects, sport, art, music, etc. - and acknowledging them where merited.

[perplexed]

I don't think that schools that try to avoid giving out the raw scores, or approximate sub-levels, for KS2 SATS are, in the main, doing this to stop those with the highest scores bragging.

I can think of several other reasons why they may do this. What other ideas do you all have?

[Bewildered]

Chez, as perplexed says, ask them to give you the raw scores when they do have them, and put your request in writing.

I simply feel that for *some* children and parents, it is for no other useful purpose than something to brag about in the playground. I'm not referring to anyone posting on here, it's just what I feel is an unhealthy competitiveness that goes on too much these days and hence one of the reasons some schools are cagey about giving out too much information - well, in my humble opinion anyway!

Agreed, and I'm fairly certain this is why our school are so reluctant to give out results. However, it's unfair to tar everyone with the same brush. I and - I suspect - the majority of other parents have no intention of bragging or even disclosing results to anyone else - we simply want information that we are entitled to have, in order to follow up the progress of our own children.

However, I also agree with Belinda - perhaps if we British were a bit less PC about not praising academic achievement and fostered a "cool to do well" culture, then perhaps high-attaining students wouldn't find themselves subject to so much bullying and name-calling at some secondary schools.

Marylou quite agree.

Whilst Ella is completely correct in the reason alot of schools offer for not readily giving results, it doesn't do anything to promote a sound trusting relationship between parents and schools.

The bottom line is, in my experience, that they don't want to answer questions from the handful of parents who do find out another child's scores, questions as to why their child isn't at that same level. So as to prevent these awkward questions having to be answered, they give this rather gauche reason.
I don't like being treated like a child, and told that 'We can't trust you to not go around telling others, therefore we're not telling you.' What gives them the right to assume such negative intentions on the part of the parents? or as Marylou so eloquently puts it 'tar everyone with the same brush'

The reason many of us our on this site, is we believe our child may have what it takes to get into a school where it is 'cool to be clever', and not to the alternative where they feel they will have to 'dumb down' in order to fit in. so yes I also agree with Belinda.

Marylou, I completely agree. But then there are also the less-able students to consider who get called "retard", etc (in fact, I recall the term being used on this forum somewhere).

As to considering the less able, I am certain that they are well catered for. Having recently attended the SEN co-ordinators presentation on SEN in our school, this was blindingly obvious when after she spent 30 mins of the presentation talking about how they fully accommodate the needs of these children, she then went on to mention that they also look after the other end of the spectrum (also falling under the SEN umbrella) by using differentiation in classrooms. I believe it took her less than one minute to advise us on how they provide for the needs of these handful of more able children.



Very much digressing

[Bewildered]

I don't think that schools that try to avoid giving out the raw scores, or approximate sub-levels, for KS2 SATS are, in the main, doing this to stop those with the highest scores bragging.

I can think of several other reasons why they may do this. What other ideas do you all have?

I'd be interested to know of these other reasons, perplexed. I am always open to re-assessing my views, in the light of new information.

[yoyo123]

has your school got a G&T co-ordinator?

Historically teh able endof teh spectrum are not counted as SEN, even though they hae special needs (all down to Baroness Warnock apparently)

In some schools the Senco also deals with this, but in many there isa separate person responsible. differentiation should be part of everyday teaching though

[Ella]

Hi BW,

I just wanted to clarify that I didn't mean that I thought the less-able were not catered for in schools - I think they are actually catered for really well.

I was responding to Marylou's post that said bright children should not get taunted for being clever (which I absolutely agree with), but by the same token, less-able children should not get taunted for being not very clever - iyswim - therefore, no-one should have to suffer this type of verbal bullying and I was just trying to stick up for children of all abilities.

Sorry if I didn't articulate myself very well (it's really hard to write what I actually mean sometimes!!).

Ella