Year 5 year end reports

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grammar2012
Posts: 60
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:43 pm

Year 5 year end reports

Post by grammar2012 »

My dd's year 5 year end reports categorises her on three broad categories of Attainment, effort and one other and then gives her a score as
1. A- above her age
2. B- at her age
3. C- below her age

No details about the level she has secured as per year 4 and prior year reports.

Is this a universal way of assessing kids or are we unique in North London? How do parents now get a feel for what level their kids are working at? I keep hearing these anecdotal references that children aiming for HBS, NLCS and DAOshould have attained level 5A or above to stand a chance in these exams. Your views and thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Year 5 year end reports

Post by mystery »

I think this method of telling you whether they are exceeding, meeting or not yet attaining the new national curriculum for that year group is pretty universal but how schools do that is not precisely laid out anywhere.

We had the same thing in our school reports this year but they also put in the old NC levels too - that's kind of helpful because you can see the change from last year but it's puzzling too as how can you put in old NC levels if you're teaching the new curriculum and not the old one .... but I don't suppose they are that different.

it would make sense that one would expect a child who is going to pass the entrance exam for a superselective to be "exceeding" but it depends on the nature of the exam I suppose whether this really has to be the case, and how reliable the school assessments are anyhow is always questionable.

Prepare as you usually would I would have thought and don't get sidetracked by the new curriculum. Have CEM changed their tests in any way to account for the fact that children are now following the new and not the old NC?
Tolstoy
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: Year 5 year end reports

Post by Tolstoy »

We were given NC levels based on a combination of optional sats results and teacher assessment.

It was handy for us having a break down as most of the results were a and c levels therefore just into or short of the next level.

I would say they are only relevant if you find yourself needing to appeal. If you are preparing DC for entrance tests then you just need to focus on their prep test results.
loobylou
Posts: 2032
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:04 pm

Re: Year 5 year end reports

Post by loobylou »

We had the same reports this year. Meaningless (in my opinion as a parent) because we know which category he falls into but it doesn't tell you any more. As a governor though I know that this is now the way things are going to be done in many schools now that "Assessment without Levels" is here. I did prefer the levels personally as we had a much better idea of where dd was in relation to that very broad "above age" assessment.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Year 5 year end reports

Post by mystery »

There's nothing stopping a school providing more info though. Instead of the meaningless report wording they could tick off the bits of the national curriculum for each year group that they think your child has learned that year.

Yes, the old nc levels provided more info on just how far ahead or behind your child might have been relative to national expectations but they on their won didn't tell parents what the child could do / could not do either.

As a governor, can you suggest a bit more info is provided at your school? Or is being a governor even more diplomatically challenging than being a lowly parent?
grammar2012
Posts: 60
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:43 pm

Re: Year 5 year end reports

Post by grammar2012 »

Thanks all. We did suspect that the reports have universally changed and are of very little use to parents who are preparing their kids for selective schools.
Tolstoy
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: Year 5 year end reports

Post by Tolstoy »

To be honest as state schools are not supposed to advocate selective education their reports have never really been useful in that respect.
loobylou
Posts: 2032
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:04 pm

Re: Year 5 year end reports

Post by loobylou »

mystery wrote:
As a governor, can you suggest a bit more info is provided at your school? Or is being a governor even more diplomatically challenging than being a lowly parent?
I'm planning to try :wink:
sleeplessinhalstead
Posts: 119
Joined: Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:42 am

Re: Year 5 year end reports

Post by sleeplessinhalstead »

Our primary school have given a lot of information about the content of the primary curriculum and assessment of levels, they gave it to us at the start of the 2014/15 academic year.

But I've noticed many schools still seem to be using the old system or other methods, so it's hard to compare.
We were told that the two curriculums are not directly comparable and a level based on the old curriculum could not be given. The expectations for each year group are higher than under the old curriculum.

The assessment system we have been given has 6 bands, each intended to equate to Yrs 1 - 6, and there are 6 levels within each band (Beginning, Beginning +, Working Within, Working Within +, Secure, Secure +). The target for each year group is to achieve level Secure for their year band, so a child in year 5 should be achieving 5 Secure by the end of year 5.

However, as the standards required have shifted up a gear, particularly for writing, there is quite a gap for many children to make up compared with the old curriculum.

Has anyone else seen this assessment system?

My daughter has just finished year 4 and is getting level 6's and 5's in most areas, but a 4 secure in writing, I believe many of the year group are not achieving level 4's on the new curriculum. I asked what she needed to work on and was told spelling and grammar is key to getting levels up, so there may be more focus on grammar.
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