End Of Year 7 Targets.

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scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

End Of Year 7 Targets.

Post by scarlett »

I'd like some advice from those in the know please ! My son's grammar school sets end of year targets as a point system ...all added up to a grand total ( 5c is 31, 5b is 33 and so on ) apart from Maths and English which he does have a target NC level to reach and is currently 1 sub level away from reaching, so hopefully will achieve that target ! However I have been sent an email to say he is currently some points off his total ...not a personal one, but one they send to everyone if they are 38 points or more below at this stage . :? His points add up to 432 which is higher then 2 friends in his class and although I don't really know much about it all , it would seem he needs to go up by a whole level in every subject to achieve this, which seems quite high...or is that the progress they need to make at school ? That would mean he needs to be level 6 for the majority of his subjects...and a 6a for some ???

I have emailed his tutor and head of year but have had no reply as yet......and you know how I like to worry. I do apologise to those of you that I've already bored with pms about this too. :)

When I spoke to DS about it...he is lazy and I am slightly worried he is just doing the bare minimum , he was really upset because he thought he was doing really well . When DH texted him to say we had received an email he thought it was a congratulatory one re his hard work :roll:

I know I need to hear more specifics from the school ....... but any advice ?
scary mum
Posts: 8840
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: End Of Year 7 Targets.

Post by scary mum »

Hmmm. We have a traffic light system (red, not meeting targets, amber OK, green very OK!) but their targets are based on the end of year 9 so there is probably more flexibility. Often if they have a red (and for some reason I haven't yet fathomed, the way of assigning a red is diffferent in years 10/11 so it's harder to get a green) and you discuss it with the teacher they say it is fine and just based on one recent mark which may have dipped. Could this be the case with your DS? We also have numbers, which may or may not ( :D ) be based on marks achieved but they are done by subject but not overall, so I'm not sure adding them all up (is that what they've done) is very helpful anyway. Surely it's each subject on it's own that matters.

Do you have a parents evening or anything coming up or could you email the form tutor? Having a lazy DS myself I know how frustating it is (mine is supposed to be revising at the moment for end of year exams...).

Where's my pm? :cry:
scary mum
scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: End Of Year 7 Targets.

Post by scarlett »

I knew you were going to ask where your pm was.....I shall send you one now...

yes, it's not very helpful when all the subjects are added up in one lump, I mean how much are you supposed increase by for art or pe or languages ? I'd rather have a NC level for each one or something but until I hear from the school I don't know. Their learning policy says it's worked out by their 11 plus score and ks2 sats...but what about history, geography etc ? I'm just worried ! :cry:
scary mum
Posts: 8840
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: End Of Year 7 Targets.

Post by scary mum »

I know, I'm fascinated to know how our school works out their targets which are purely based on CATs in the first week of year (those well known CATs which include French, Spanish, history, geography etc etc). Do they really not provide the breakdown, just say he is a total of 32 points out - presumably he could be quite a long way out in some subjects and ahead in others. What are their expectations of them in a subject that they have never done before, such as a language? Could he be behind in these, but with no cause for concern? Time for a trip to school?
scary mum
Looking for help
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:12 am
Location: Berkshire

Re: End Of Year 7 Targets.

Post by Looking for help »

I guess they just assume that the child will perform on average to about the level of the target grade in all subjects. My son is in year 9 now and does appear to be reaching the target grade in just about all subjects (apart from PE and Art, but we don't really care about them :lol: ) In some subjects he is overperforming by a sublevel , in others he is just about to reach the target, but may miss it slightly. I'm not overly concerned about that - his target grade was very high . I assume it's an average, so if he gets above in 4 and under in 4 with the other four on it, he's made the overall grade.
I've never heard of giving points for levels , but the way you have described it scarlett, it may be more meaningful than a single target grade, although only if they give you the information subject by subject.
ourmaminhavana
Posts: 966
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:14 am

Re: End Of Year 7 Targets.

Post by ourmaminhavana »

I'm sure it'll be fine Scarlett. Try not to worry until you've had a response from the school,at which stage hopefully you won't need to.
I think a breakdown of the target grades would be far more meaningful. For example, last year DS was working at level 4 for French and a level 6/7 for History, both of which were fine. :D We've never actually been given any targets for DS, but I remember we were warned that French would be much lower than all the others as the children had just started with it and parents weren't to panic!
scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: End Of Year 7 Targets.

Post by scarlett »

Thanks LFH and Ourmam...I haven't heard from the school but I did speak to a seasoned parent who still has other dc at our primary and she says not to worry as the points total depends on the child's 11 plus result and ks2 results and as DS did well he has been given a high target ...which I don't think is achievable..... This mother says that her son and a few others haven't reached their target but are top of the class ...her son was fuming as apparently the dimmest boy in the class had reached his plus more , but perhaps had a lower target to begin with :? . I shall try to ignore it and just take notice of his individual subject levels and ............all round attitude :D

Thanks .
ourmaminhavana
Posts: 966
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:14 am

Re: End Of Year 7 Targets.

Post by ourmaminhavana »

That's great, Scarlett. I told you they'd be nothing to worry about! You can relax and enjoy the weekend now:D
wonderwoman
Posts: 511
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:07 pm

Re: End Of Year 7 Targets.

Post by wonderwoman »

The average child should make 3 points progress every year, which is easier to work out than 1.5 sublevels. Schools should set realistic, but ambitious targets based on previous attainment. As many GS pupils leave primary with 5As or 6Cs they should be targetted for 6Bs or 6As at the end of Y7.

Perhaps the dim boy's primary school failed to help him achieve his potential and he is making good progress in a better school. Of course the opposite could be true for those children who were at very good primaries where they achieved very high results at the end of KS2, they will continue to have high targets set, which they will have to work hard to achieve.

Schools have to be able to demonstrate rigorous tracking systems and should have procedures in place to identify and target pupils who may not achieve their targets. It sounds to me that this is what the school is doing.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: End Of Year 7 Targets.

Post by mystery »

I hope you get the answer you want to hear. However, I would say it is a great benefit to have high targets for your child, and that the school is trying to live up to his previous results. It should mean longer term that he does better as they will be constantly striving to help him achieve the high targets the "system" has set for him.

I don't know how the secondary school target system works, whether at some point they will revise the targets e.g. if at the end of KS3 he does not achieve the target based on KS2 results and whatever else they base it on, will they re-calculate the targets for later on? Does the school explain this all in some booklet or other? My step-son's grammar school did explain all of this in some big fat booklet that you got at the start of year 7 but which disappeared into a huge pile of papers that we ignored for ever after that.

I would always try and keep a focus on what they are hoping out of him at GCSE as this has some meaning - get worried if they are expecting all Cs, be delighted if they are hoping for As and A*s and he is in sets working towards that. All the rest seems to be overly-complex and incomprehensible.
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