No confidence in School grades - is there an independent test?

[fanny15]

Hi,
I took my daughter out of her school and placed her in an independent school at the beginning of year three. The thing is is that I am losing confidence in the new school - they have even failed to publish the grades correctly! My daughter is very happy at the school and all seems very "nice" but I am in the dark as to where she is versus where she should be. Does anyone know if there is and test that she can take INDEPENDENTLY from school so I can find out how she is doing? I could then go back to the school, if necessary, and use that as a lever to better her education. The is now in year 4.

[ReallyTired]

The best way to get an idea where your child is at is to find a tutor who is a practicing qualified teacher in a UK primary school and ask them to assess your daughter. Finding such a tutor is best done word of mouth as some tutors are completely rubbish.

[fanny15]

Good idea - thanks

[learnandsay]

You want to make sure the tutor doesn't say, oh, she needs lots of tutoring and I know just the person!

[ReallyTired]

I agree learnandsay. It is really hard to find a good honest tutor. In my area the best way to find an outstanding tutor is to ask the really pushy indian parents.

A more expensive option if you can't find a tutor you trust to pay for a private ed pych.

[fanny15]

Can anyone recommend anyone?

[learnandsay]

If I had, (for some reason) to assess my daughter the way I'd go about it would be to get a copy of the year's syllabus. Then I'd buy those horribly expensive Y4 workbooks with appropriate questions inside from WH Smiths and then I'd give her the questions and see what her answers were.

Once I had, or thought I had a pretty good idea where my daughter was at I might then ask somebody else for a second opinion if I thought that I needed one.

[ReallyTired]

fanny15 where are you based? I can recommend someone in Herts.

[Labro]

thing is with independents is that they don't have to use national curriculum grading. So, my ds moved from state - independent at start of year 5 with NC levels of 4a's then the first report from indie warbled on about 'effort grades' of 1,2,3 or 4, with 1 being the highest and no mention of levels at all. If you know her NC levels from yr 3, its easy to work out where she should be and as learnandsay says to buy a workbook at smiths and see how she gets on. If her current school are preparing for 11+ then there are also work books by 'bond' etc in different age bands which would also tell you where she is supposed to be according to that system. I'd also make an appointment to see her class teacher and ask them to explain the grading system to you.

[PhyllisDoris]

If you're in the dark as to where your DD is as to where she should be, why don't you just ask the teacher for an appointment to go and discuss with her?

[LIZS]

Do they use pips and cats to assess potential ? That is probably better asked before a local tutor so you have a better benchmark of where she could be and what might need addressing.

[adeucalione]

Surely you can just ask her teacher? If you don't feel that you can ask then it sounds like you have chosen the wrong school.

Or is it that you disagree with their assessment, which is why you need an independent view of her abilities?

[fanny15]

Wow - thank you all so much for your time taken to reply. It is my first post on Mumsnet - very impressed. Ok. This morning I had a meeting with my DS (not sure what that means but I think I am using it correctly!) teacher. I explained that I was not happy with her progression and that I did not have confidence in the grades - which by the way, the school has admitted to getting wrong. I was very polite but also made clear that I moved my ds out of a large class of 31 into a private school, with a class of 13 specifically address her maths needs and also to give her the best chance of sitting the grammar test (without excess pressure). I said that I felt that my DS would really benefit from a bit of extra help - as I think a couple of others would in the class and that I did not feel that I had to go outside of the school to get it. She took it on board and now has the weekend to think about it! There is a maths test on Monday - I have asked to see my DS paper once completed........ we'll see eh? Again, thanks for all your help.

[learnandsay]

D = dear
S=son
D=daughter

and so on through the other family members. Why? I don't know. I don't use them.

I'm glad things look as though they're going in the right direction.

[difficultpickle]

Does the school actually prepare pupils for the 11+. We are in catchment for grammar but not all the prep schools here do prepare for 11+ so it is worth checking. Everyone I know gets tutors for 11+, some reserving tutors from year 2 and everyone else reserving from year 4 for starting in year 5. That is despite paying school fees.

Ds (yr 4) gets half termly grade cards sent home with grades for effort and attainment. He will also do CAT tests next term to give the school some idea of which senior schools he should be aiming for (not grammar).