Does lack of levels mean poor progress shrouded?

[Wizard19]

Take a scenario where you are told that dc is excelling.
Depending on by how much they are excelling, they could have a period of 12+ months where no real extra input occurs.
Previously, a period that long without at least a sub level change might indicate a trough. With current reporting, may still achieve a rating of excelling.

Any views from Parents, Teachers and others please.

[justanotherquestion]

Well, unfortunately, it did mean that in Ds's case - or rather he did not make the progress that he might have done, had the school been honest with the levels, and taught him at those levels.

It was all 'masked' with 'exceeding the expected level' to us and the school changing his starting levels to make it look like he had made a lot of progress. We only found out what was going on by asking for 'actual' levels, and by my sister, a teacher, putting us right. She tested him for us, at various intervals, when she said something was not right.

A few years on, and he is doing exceptionally well at another school, but we know the previous environment was not right for him and at times, he was desperately unhappy.

I totally agree with what you are saying being possible in that scenario - Ds is living proof.

[SunnySomer]

Yes, there is that risk, but I suspect you'll find that most schools have adopted a means of assessing children that is levels-like. My city had a city model that most schools have adopted; my DS's school has adopted a different model, but either way children are assessed and their progress is measured; the children who are failing to progress sufficiently are targeted.
Although they aren't making sub-levels of progress, they are progressing through a model.

Really your question seems to assume that teachers will not spot children who are failing to make sufficient progress, and that unless parents are on their backs about sub-levels they will allow high-achievers to just coast. This may happen with weak or failing teachers, but I would expect the school's head teacher and data manager to be following it up (ultimately via that teacher's performance management) as those children will make insufficient progress between KS1 and KS2 SATs which would be a massive issue for the school.
So I guess, if you don't trust your school's professionalism, then the absence of levels could be a massive issue; if you do, then it should be ok.

[MillyMollyMama]

I have come accross a case where the year 6 teacher stated to pupils and parents that the year 5 teacher was too generous with her assessments of levels reached. So children, when entering her class in year 6 were told they were not as good as they thought they were because the year 5 teacher had not assessed their abilities correctly. How unprofessional is that? Interestingly the Head did not seem remotely bothered by this but it also shows there was no appropriate moderation of the year 5 assessments so that all relevant teachers agreed on the levels reached by the pupils, including the year 6 receiving teacher. The year 6 teacher could have ignored all this of course. Needless to say, at the end of year 6, the children appeared to have made startling progress! From a lower level than they really were though!

[Wizard19]

Thanks all.
SunnySomer - "as those children will make insufficient progress between KS1 and KS2 SATs"

How exactly are they going to measure progress without levels. Perhaps that should have been the thread

Imagine a child in yr1 performing at yr3 level. Child would simply get excelling reported for yr1 and yr2 and could go unchallenged.

[Toomanyhouseguests]

Does lack of levels mean poor progress shrouded?

Yes

[rollonthesummer]

It may only be emerging, expected, exceeding that's reported to parents but our own internal Levelling is far more detailed than that!!

[meglet]

The dc's school is sticking with levels for now. I like levels, I can understand how they are progressing.

But I'm worried about them going over to a working towards / expected / exceeding reporting system. For instance would a 2A at the end of KS1 count as exceeding, or would they have to be working at level 3? It could all be lumped in togther couldn't it .

[Nonie241419]

Speaking as a teacher, even we don't really know how we're supposed to measuring progress as that hasn't yet been finalised by the government. It's a nightmarish position to put schools in - new curriculum in place, but no associated assessment with it. That's why most schools are sticking with levels for now, just to have something to use, but the levels are based on the old national curriculum so don't fit properly with what's being taught. It's pretty hard to inform parents about progress when no benchmarks have been set.

[mrz]

m.youtube.com/watch?v=-q5vrBXFpm0

[MilkRunningOutAgain]

With good teachers in a good school, no. With not so good teachers poorly supported then yes it will. DS's school is retaining levels for this year at least , until there is something to replace them with. DD's school has moved to emerging, expected etc. tbh it makes little difference to me, there are many teachers whose judgement I trust and some that I don't, regardless of the jargon used.