Level 3 in year 2, level 3b end of year 3

[kittens]

Can someone please advise let me know if I have this all wrong....
My DD was level 3 in Maths, Reading and Writing at the end of year 3 we were told to assume it was a 3b. Now in her report at end of Year 3 she is a level 3b!

Does this mean she hasn't progressed at all in a year or am I missing something??

[NoWittyName]

It definitely means you want to be asking the school a few questions! Try to get to speak to the teacher. S/he's the only one who'll be able to clarify the situation.

Could be that last year's teacher was looking at things through rose tinted glasses and that this year's teacher is being more realistic.

Hope you get some sense from it. xx

[LovetheHarp]

I would be pretty concerned and would be going in with lots of questions.

Even assuming she was a 3c, 1 sublevel for a whole year it's not that great and needs some explanations at the very least. Definitely go an enquire!!

[kittens]

Thanks, I have requested an appointment so hopefully get some answers.Just wanted to make sure I wasn't panicking over nothing.

[Teachermumof3]

This is very common. It is quite probably that they actually were a 3c at the end of Y2 and have progressed one sublevel in a year. Expected progress is 1.5 over two years which will more than likely manifest itself as one sub level in one year and two in the following year. Check with the school. If the Y3 teacher actually told you at the beginning of the year that they thought she was a 3b (rather than it being the opinion of the Y2 teacher) and she's not moved up a level, then I'd be asking questions.

[Teachermumof3]

My DS was a 3c in everything at the end of Y2 and a 3b at the end of Y3. He's now a 4c at the end of Y4-so has moved the expected (in KS2) one level in two years (one sublevel, then two sublevels).

[Fennel]

oh, one of my dds is like this. got level 3 for 3 years running in numeracy, and in Lit she flipped from a 2 to a 4 to a 3. I went in for a little chat. They insist it's normal, but I conclude my dd is just uncategorisable and unique.

[IDontDoIroning]

Apparently this is quite normal as I was told by teachers that a 3 at ks1 isnt exactly the same as a 3 at ks2, so they seem to go backwards or not make the expected 2 sublevels from yr 2 to yr 3.

[feckwit]

None of mine progressed much in year 3. They had year 2 where teachers were really striving to ensure they reach their required levels then they plateau for a year, then jump again.

[kittens]

Thank you so much for all your comments, I was quite stressed by it all this morning, but now feel quite reassured. I will talk to the teacher anyway. I think my DD has progressed as she does know more now than she did a year ago and her writing has certainly approved.

[Madsometimes]

Dd2 was a 3c in everything at the end of Y2. Her Y3 results are reading 4, maths 3b and writing 3c. Apart from reading, she has certainly not progressed much this year, even though I think her teacher is good. However I was very surprised when she was given a 3 for writing in Y2. My eldest got a 2b, and dd2 did not seem to be that ahead of her.

[RoadArt]

Certainly worth asking the teacher what progressions she has made in the year. Sometimes teachers grade children higher than they should, then this situation happens the following year. (It shouldnt happen, but teachers are human and they all have different views of what is good/bad/indifferent.). Whilst there are set standards they are supposed to follow, the reality is it can sometimes be borderline and they have to make a decision which way to go.

We had this one year, I was really proud because DC was marked really high, then the following year, was graded lower. Since found out the teacher marked everyone higher than their ability which caused no end of problems the following year. They had reached the particular level in one strand of the subject but not everything and the results should have been averaged for all the different strands.

[Feenie]

Apparently this is quite normal as I was told by teachers that a 3 at ks1 isnt exactly the same as a 3 at ks2, so they seem to go backwards or not make the expected 2 sublevels from yr 2 to yr 3.

I hope you weren't told this recently! This used to be the case pre-2005 - now Year 2 uses whole school assessment procedures to assess, and so uses exactly the same criteria to assess as Y3.

Separate infant and junior schools may have a little disparity between levels, but even they shouldn't with decent moderation.

[PaulaYatesbiggestfan]

the norm if you ask any teacher
all hyped up for sats

[Feenie]

I am a teacher. It isn't normal, and I would question a Y3 teacher who has taught recently, and so has knowledge of post 2005 Y2 assessment procedures announcing that level 3s are 'different' in different key stages. It's rubbish.

[pointythings]

I think we shouldn't get so hung up on how many sublevels of progress they 'must' make each year - and if we didn't have interfering governments and PITA OFSTED, teachers could just get on with teaching and be allowed to explain to parents that hey, children don't learn in a steady progression. Some do, but many stall, then leap, then progress, then leap, then stall again for a bit

We are talking about very young children here - their brains are still developing and sometimes you just have to wait patiently for the next step in neural development to take place. Yes, we need assessment, and yes, children should progress, but it would probably be better and less stressful if we all took a much longer term view of it, and also looked much more broadly. Some years our DCs might take leaps in writing and maths, other years their fine motor skills might be developing very rapidly, or their ability to think, reason and converse. We have such a narrow academically-focused curriculum now that a lot of 'human' talents and their development are going unnoticed.

My DD2 was assessed as L3 in everything at the end of Yr2 - now at the end of Yr3 she is 3a in maths, 4b in writing and 4c in reading, so only one sublevel for maths this year. And that's fine, because I know she finds maths harder than her other subjects, but she has made progress.

And she loves school and learning, which is ultimately what it is all about.

[Feenie]

A lot of what you say is very true, pointydog - but the OP's child has made no progress in a whole year. At the very least, the teacher should be looking for possible reasons and addressing them, not leaving it up to the OP to notice.

[busymummy3]

My DD is in Y3 and we have just got her report today. We also feel she has not progressed much in Maths but then again is doing really well anyway.
In Y2 she got mathematics L3C+ (teacher told us she missed a 3B by 1 mark in the Y2 SAT ) and also got a L3C+ for her teacher assessment. For reading she got L3C and writing L3C in Y2 SAT her teacher assessment was the same. This year for Maths she got L3B in a QCA assessment and her teacher Assesment was also 3B. so only went up less than 1 sublevel? For reading she acieved a level4C in QCA assessment and a level4C for writing in QCA assessment Her teacher assessments for reading and writing were also both L4C. So she has gone up a whole level in Literacy??I dont really care about this however I like to look at her overall report in which she got A's for everything this is what my DD is over the moon about as well