Teachers - How accurate are KS3 Target level s in Yr 8 ?

[ICantFindAFreeNickName]

My DS (Yr 8) has been given his asssessment with targets for the end of KS3. It shows what his KS3 Target is & what he is on target to get, as well as a grade for attitude to learning.

In a couple of subjects in Y7 his target was 6 & he was on target to get 6. This year he is on target to get 4. Is a drop from 6 to 4 something we should be very concerned about or is it as my son says "that he does not get on with the teacher" and that it will probably go up agsin next year if he has a different teacher. It is the same teacher for both subjects (Art & Textiles). His attitude to learning has also dropped from 6 to 4.

Is it worth talking to the school about or do the target grades not really mean much anyway.

[ICantFindAFreeNickName]

Bumping for the evening crowd

[duckyfuzz]

Target grades usually take into account prior attainment i.e. KS2 results in this case, and indicate what your DS is capable of getting. Target and predicted level are not the same thing. I would talk to school

[janeite]

No the targets are important and a two level drop should be a cause for concern. It is likely to mean one of three thinhs, all of which, as a parent, you'd want to know about:

a) ds has stopped trying at all and is now underachieving drastically
b) the teacher in Yr 7 over-estimated their levels
c) the teacher this year is under-estimating his levels

Either way, there is either a motivation/behaviour issue which will need to be addressed OR the moderation in the dept is lacking and you need to know how the HOD is ensuring consistency of marking.

[roisin]

I don't know anything about levels in art or textiles.
In subjects like english or maths or science or MFL there should certainly be progression from yr7 to yr8, and a sudden drop like the one you describe would be shocking. (1 level would be the progress generally expected in 18-24 months).

But it may be there's something different going on there.

Did he do both art and textiles last year? Did he have the same (but different) teacher for both?

What scale is the 'attitude to learning' on? (0-10? 0-6?) Is the 4 just for art and textiles? Or overall?

Although a decrease in attitude is 'normal' among yr8 boys, it's not helpful or positive, and you should take any steps you can to reverse this drop in attitude.