Can we talk secondary levels?

[countrymum]

I vowed to leave 'level talk' behind me at primary but can't resist being a little interested in how these blooming levels equate at secondary. Is not being all 'pushy parent' but I genuinely don't understand being my first child to experience levels at a secondary (GS)

DD IMO flourishing in maths lots of positive comments in books and crept into being a secondary level 6 which I think is pretty reassuring. She was TA a 6 end of primary. Just want to ask about the English side of things, looking at her English level, on the face of it appears to have dipped - was TA a 6 leaving primary but that level has certainly not followed on from primary to secondary? I knows levels can plateau etc at secondary, but was wondering is yr7 English work assessed very differently than yr6?

Writing/reading/comprehension had always been her thing, and what she's excelled in. My naive mind told me she'd go on and her English/writing level would improve or at least stay static but looks the other way round, like she's gone backwards. Casually asked her and she says is marked quite differently in yr7 than yr6 - don't know where she's heard that or if she's correct.

Of course this is only key assessment on a maybe 1/2 pieces of work so possibly not a true reflection - the enjoyment and keenness to write is still there for her so that's good to know. *thumbs up

[DC17C]

My DD has always been a very keen reader, writes well and a lot and left primary as a 5a for literacy they did not assess for level 6. She has been level 5 pretty well throughout y7 but her teacher is very happy with her effort and work so I don't feel there is any real problem with where she is and I was sent a postcard at the end of the year to say how well she was doing and that they had high expectations for dd. I can only guess that more is expected in secondary and it will come in time.

[aliportico]

I think the way they assess them changes, it's not a smooth graduation. And afaik the primary level 6 is somewhat artificial - they just haven't done stuff that they'd be expected to have ticked off at secondary to get a 6. (It might help to think about how e.g. the same essay that would get you a A* for History GCSE in June, would get you perhaps a C or D if you handed it in in September when you start your A level course!)

[kenyancowgirl]

Countrymum - just to reassure you - the answer is 'yes" they are different. The first parents evening we had for our eldest son, the English teacher was congratulating him on how well he was doing and talking about levels etc and I piped up that he was a level 6 at the end of primary - "yes", she said, "but that's a primary level"...the inference there was that the requirements they would have in secondary for a L6 would be much higher and the expectation was that L6/L7 was a high target for the end of Y7 with L7/L8 being a high target for Y8.

[Bromleymum1]

Hi,
Just thought I would share dd's experience of English. At the end of year 6, she was a level 5 (weren't told a, b or c). She has always loved reading and had been a level 4 in year 3 (stayed a level 4 in year 5 ). She slowly improved in year 7, reaching a level 6c at the end of the year, but was finding it difficult "to improve", with her teacher not really positively explaining what she needed to do to improve her level. Year 6 came, and what a difference. Her two English teachers explained very clearly how to improve her work to gain a higher level - she ended the year a level 7b. She has now started (year9) her gcse's a year early - will take the exam over three years and has just got a b+ (gcse level) for her latest piece of work.

She enjoys writing and critiquing on a website for people who write their own stories. She reads loads, anywhere and everywhere, kindle and non-kindle.

I think you can say that kids learning and improvement is not a slow steady line (hopefully) upwards. It can plateau and then very suddenly rise. Plus secondary is very different from primary - the curriculum being different, and much more expected of them at secondary.

countrymum, I'm sure things will be fine for your dd. My ds has recently started at secondary and I had forgotten the steep learning curve there is at the beginning. Even the fact that you have different teachers for different subjects, is something you need to get use to. Teachers are a very varied bunch and you have to get used to how they like things. I hope your dd continues to enjoy reading and writing.

[Guest55]

A level is a level; the description is the same in both Primary and Secondary.

The issue is that Primary schools don't teach all of level 5 and just touch into level 6 - they do not cover the whole level.

For English, maths and science levels look at

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov. ... node/20683" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It may be archived but it is still the National way of asssessing levels up to level 8.

[countrymum]

Thanks all for your informative responses and sharing experiences, all really helpful - agree is early into her first year so a learning curve for everyone (mostly me).

I'm sure it shall all even out perhaps as time goes on. She's keen and enthusiastic in her subjects so can't ask for much more than that. I'll have a look at your link too Guest thanks. I guess it just takes a little courage to understand she's not gone 'backwards' but taking on a greater depth of knowledge and understanding and that it can take time to process that knowledge and for it to show through her work. With a quick mind hopefully she'll be fine.

*tries to not get bogged down with level stuff again - fingers crossed