Year 7 Progress Report

[LovelyBath77]

We have just had the first progress reports since starting secondary. DS did OK, not great but OK- mainly 2s and 3s (Bs and Cs I understand). Science concerned me, a 3 for classwork and 4 for homework. I know what this is about. It was the sex and reproduction and he found it embarrassing to do. So I don't think he out as much effort in as he could have. It is chemistry now which might be better, and I have finally got hold of the details for the online website for science this might help as well! has anyone else had one of these reports? How did it go? We also have this Portal thing online where you can view 'behaviour events' (positive or negative- all positives thankfully) and things like that, attendance for example.

[catslife]

I think you need to contact the school to find out what these numbers/grades actually mean. There used to be a national system of levels for attainment at KS3 (years 7 to 9) but now schools are doing their own thing. It seems a bit early imo for the school to be using GCSE grades, but under the new 9-1 system: grade 9 is the highest and grade 1 the lowest grade that can be obtained rather than what you have stated.
It's also possible that the grades are for "effort" rather than attainment in which case there should be clear criteria for each number given.

[LovelyBath77]

They do give a guide. It seems the grades are now 1-5 and this is also for GCSE. 1=A, 2=B but as you say there are also comments about attitude etc. I will have another look.

[DoItTooJulia]

We're waiting for our ds's first report. But his school used the 1-4 scale (for an effort mini report at the end of the first half term). 1 being exceeding expectations and 4 meaning underachieving.

Although he does talk in terms of the new GCSE grading too-so it'll be interesting to see what they do in the report.

Hope that makes sense!

[Twistmeandturnme]

They do give a guide. It seems the grades are now 1-5 and this is also for GCSE. 1=A, 2=B but as you say there are also comments about attitude etc. I will have another look.
At DDs Y7 parents evening last night I thought they said that GCSEs went from 1-9 with higher being better (ie 9 is A-A*, 8 is high B-low A, 7 is strong B, 6 is high C/low BH. 7 and above at GCSE required to study the A level....but I was tired and may have misunderstood.

[LittleIda]

In dd's school they are graded 1 - 9 for attainment. They also have targets. It is highlighted in traffic light colours depending on whether they exceeded, met or didn't meet target. Dd exceeded 3 targets and failed to meet 9 targets.
Also have grades A - E for Behaviour, Classwork and Homework/organisation with a description of what they would be doing to get each grade.

[LovelyBath77]

I'm sorry, I checked and I have made a mistake. It seems the numbers 1,2, etc are about attitude etc and there are other numbers about grades, A, B, C, D. And this is what they mean- (cut and paste)

A*/A
Pupils working at these grades are extending their understanding beyond the core curriculum for their year.


B/C
Pupils working at these grades are secure in their understanding of the core curriculum for their year.


D/E
Pupils working at these grades are developing their understanding of the core curriculum for their year.




Pupils making good progress would expect to remain in the same attainment band eg Yr 7 C then Yr 8 C then Yr 9 C. Moving up an attainment band or maintaining an A* band would indicate excellent progress. However, progress is very often not linear and different pupils progress at different rates. Therefore it is likely there will be some movement between bands throughout KS3. For more information about this new KS3 assessment system, please see the information and guidance on the school website.

[LovelyBath77]

The numbers part means the following-

Application
The Application score given is the one that best fits the pupil's approach to their studies.

1
A highly motivated and exemplary pupil who always completes work to the best of their ability and whose efforts are above and beyond what could normally be expected.
A reflective learner, able to recognise and work to remedy weakness. A highly organised and independent learner.
2
A committed pupil, who demonstrates a positive interest in learning and who is determined to achieve. Skills to advance learning are being developed. Work is always completed well in relation to ability.
3
A pupil who engages with the tasks set and completes work to a standard in line with ability. There are no concerns over behaviour but more commitment and initiative could be shown.

4
A less motivated pupil who needs plenty of encouragement to learn. The student shows minimal commitment to classwork. Behaviour is inconsistent and attentiveness is erratic.
5
A poorly motivated pupil whose behaviour and negative attitude adversely affects his own learning and that of others. The student is inattentive in class and regularly fails to complete tasks set in class.

[TeenAndTween]

OK, that is quite clear I think, and inline with DD2's school though they use different wording.

At this point of y7 your issue needs to be with the numbers which are the effort grades. You would be hoping for mainly 2's with maybe some 3s for less liked subjects. I would not be happy with 4s or 5s.

If your DS got around 100s in his SATs you would be expecting B/C for attainment. But really what you need to be looking for is maintaining these bands or improving them across the next 3 years, not dropping.

But the important thing is the effort grades Under your system my DD would have got E for PE, but she would still have got a 2 for effort. We massively praised her report as she had great effort grades, even though she would have had probably 2Ds and 2Es (and rest Cs) under your school's system.

[unfortunateevents]

Is it just me or are those letter grades meaningless?? I understand the numbering classification for behaviour and application but if, for example, you get a B in a subject that means you are secure in your understanding of the core curriculum for that year group but it doesn't give any indication of what that "understanding" translates into in terms of exam grades? Is it supposed to mean that you would get a B grade at GCSE - whatever on earth that would mean given that all the GCSE grades are moving to numbers 9-1, which don't directly translate from the old letter grades? If there is no more detailed explanation that what you have given here, I would be asking the school for further details.

[TeenAndTween]

Our school have been very open with the new grading system introduced this year (replacing old NC levels). They have said they don't really know how things will equate to GCSE grades, as the GCSEs are changing and they don't know quite what to at the moment.

I think where the OP's school has made things complicated is by using letter grades that look awfully like the 'old' GCSE grading. Our school is using 'working at', 'working above' 'working well above' 'working below' working well below'.

I don't think it is reasonable to expect any indication of GCSE grades until towards end y9 when picking options. It is just too far away. However if a child got 100s in SATs they will be expected to 'pass' GCSEs (though whether that is a 4 or 5 in new grading is of course an issue), as that is 'expected progress'.

[unfortunateevents]

I agree Yr& is too early to be thinking about GCSE grades but the school information included here seems to indicate that they will continue to use these letters through following years so a Yr9 student would still be getting a C (or whatever). What would that actually mean?

[TeenAndTween]

I think it would mean a C old money == 4/5 new money expected for GCSEs.

In the same way that under the NC levels you expected someone on 6c end y9 to get a C for GCSE.

I think the school has been very fair in explaining that progress isn't linear, moving between bands is expected etc. My DD1 did better in most GCSEs than her y7 levels would have predicted, but also worse in a couple due to undiagnosed learning difficulties.

There just aren't any certainties. imo you need to look for trends over time in KS3, and pay attention to those attitude grades.

[LovelyBath77]

Thanks for your replies. Yes he is getting mainly 2s and 3s (with the one exception of science homework) for effort- they also did separate numbers for schoolwork and homework for this. We can improve that though and I know why.

And with the SATs yes mostly around 100 and B/C for attainment so kind of average I guess. He is younger for his year and I feel has done quite well generally so am encouraging him. Just wanted to share really in case anyone else has had one of these. It's all new to me!

[ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged]

Twistedmum - At DDs Y7 parents evening last night I thought they said that GCSEs went from 1-9 with higher being better (ie 9 is A-A*, 8 is high B-low A, 7 is strong B, 6 is high C/low BH. 7 and above at GCSE required to study the A level....but I was tired and may have misunderstood.

You misunderstood

9 is the highest and is equivalent to an A*, 8 is around an A, 7 is an A, 5/6 is B, 4/5 = C, 3 = E, 2 = F, 1 = G (Roughly!!!)

[user1484226561]

Is it just me or are those letter grades meaningless?? I understand the numbering classification for behaviour and application but if, for example, you get a B in a subject that means you are secure in your understanding of the core curriculum for that year group but it doesn't give any indication of what that "understanding" translates into in terms of exam grades?

no, not meaningless, standard across the country, emerging, developing, securing, etc.

It means how they are performing in each topic, not each subject. It would be completely meaningless to compare that to GCSE grades in year 7