Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

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SunshineMK
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2014 3:40 pm

Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

Post by SunshineMK »

Just received school report for my DS for the Spring term report in year 3. can you share your views with me please? Should I worry about the progress in writing?

KS1 Autumn 2013 Spring 2014

Reading 3C 3B 3A

Writing 2A 2A 3C

Maths 3B 3A 4C



With the progress like this, would my DS survive in the entry exam for grammar school 11+? Do we need private tutor now? How did you guide your children at home for the writing?

Please help!!! many thanks
kenyancowgirl
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Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

Post by kenyancowgirl »

Writing for boys is often a little lower than the other areas but it is in touching distance of the others, so it looks within the range for me. Obviously children can plateau and do not always go up steadily, although 2 sub levels per year is about normal. Certainly the maths is on target for a high level by the end of Y6. Fundamentally, the "norm" is 2Bs (a solid Level 2) at the end of Y2, so on this rating, your ds is hitting the norm for his writing.

I don't know what area you are and therefore, how selective your selective schools are - some are "super selectives" and therefore require a much higher standard. I am not an advocate of tutoring and certainly not in Y4 but you can help by ensuring he has a really good grasp of the basics in maths (including very quick and accurate recollection of times tables etc) and can work on his English skills by encouraging him to read a wide range of genres, reading to him and with him, identifying author techniques (to create suspense, humour etc) and playing word games encouraging him to be more descriptive in his language. Fundamentally boys are lazy when it comes to writing - ask them to describe something and they can be pretty good, ask them to write it down and they use the minimum words they can get away with!

The majority of GS kids, I would say would be solid Level 5s with super selective children being high Level 5/Level 6 at the end of Year 6. There will always be exceptions to the rule, however, and even the very brightest kids can fail on the day, so make sure you consider realistic back up options too.
Peridot
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Joined: Thu May 16, 2013 5:02 pm

Re: Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

Post by Peridot »

kcg: what an excellent, concise and informative post! Everything in a nutshell.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

Post by Guest55 »

The majority of GS kids, I would say would be solid Level 5s
Bucks GS have a wider variation and quite a few level 4s.
southbucks3
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Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

Post by southbucks3 »

The only thing I would add, is kids do go through a waffley, no punctuation, no paragraphs, terrible spelling, no structure phase as they realise they can form fun and exciting ideas with words, and write pages of nonsense about invading alien mice v spiders. :roll: Often when the ideas and the structure collide the sub level bounces up in two's.

I am fairly sure your child's teachers will be helping him with his writing, particularly as you have reports every term, they are obviously on the ball. Son number three was a 3a at the end of year 4, at the start of year 5 his teacher said, it is purely because he won't form paragraphs, so we cannot tick that box, she gave him some personal time, and I told him to do it (he is a prolific reader) and by the spring parents evening he was a 4b, his last assessment piece was marked a 4a.

Also....just a little nag, but hey, his other progress is blooming fab....big up that boy whatever plans you have for his future education.:D
SunshineMK
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2014 3:40 pm

Re: Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

Post by SunshineMK »

Thank you very much, everybody for your advice on this.
kenyancowgirl, southbucks3 for your detailed analysis of the situation we are confronting with...
There is a good chance that we might move to Reading due to our work commitment...

Overall, when it comes to writing, he seems very interested in this, sometimes would pick up very good choice of the words used in his story settings. However, it's a bit of messy every where.
I don't know what are the criteria for the teacher to mark his writing...Does anybody know?
Thanks...
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

Post by yoyo123 »

http://www.gmsen.co.uk/fileuploads/targ ... Skills.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This might help, it is not an exact science, that is why schools often get together to moderate marking. It is 'best fit overall'
SunshineMK
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2014 3:40 pm

Re: Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

Post by SunshineMK »

Super~~~~

many thanks.
Sutty961
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 10:11 am

Re: Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

Post by Sutty961 »

Seen this before. Of little help. Good Writing is impossible.
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Year 3 spring report, please can we have your opinion

Post by kenyancowgirl »

Writing is a skill that can be learned so, therefore, good writing is possible. It isn't, however, as formulaic as maths and science, so it is harder to teach and understand. It is also harder to mark as it can be subjective. However, there are some very clear rules to writing that can be learned and various techniques that can be employed to ensure that the reader is engaged in your piece.
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