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Secondary education

Tutor says Dd working at lvl 6, teacher says lvl 2 (year 11 English)

18 replies

PossumInAPearTree · 24/03/2017 16:09

Who does Dd listen to?

She got a mock result at Xmas of level 2. I've employed a tutor who is an English teacher from a school with much better results than dds school so I think she knows what she's doing.

But then her school teacher is also a qualified teacher.

Tutor has marked for different exam boards and seen dds mock paper and says she would have marked it at level 5. However she's never taught dds exam board before (are they that different) but she says she's looked at their website and got to speed with what they're looking for.

Dd has just got home and got a level 2 grade in another paper. She says she's applying everything the tutor tells her and her teacher doesn't like it. Tutor says her work at home is lecel 5/level 6.

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noblegiraffe · 24/03/2017 16:18

That's a huge difference - a grade 2 is about old E grade, and you should be already aware if your child was that weak in English. What did she get in her KS2 SATs? Were there any concerns about her levels at KS3? Or has she suddenly gone from being an average student to being a failing student in the eyes of the school?

PossumInAPearTree · 24/03/2017 16:29

She got a 5 in ks2. She passed her eleven plus. Didn't go to the grammar though. In year 8 and 9 they said she was working at a level 6 or 7 (Nc levels not gcse levels). Never had any concerns, teachers said she should get a B in old money.

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PossumInAPearTree · 24/03/2017 16:31

Only been since her mock that Dd said there's been an issue, though school haven't been in touch apart from to send a letter to all partners do year 11s saying they know th e. Mock English results across the eyear were awful.

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youarenotkiddingme · 24/03/2017 16:44

Sounds like your dd had been achieving expected and slightly above throughout KS2/3 and also into 4. Looks like her progress has been at an expected level.

I don't suppose there is any chance the teacher is down marking in an attempt to get them to work harder?
(I realise that sounds nuts and would also be nuts as a teaching strategy!)

PossumInAPearTree · 24/03/2017 16:54

Surely if a teacher was marking harshly they might mark a borderline 5/6 as a 5 but not go down to a 2!?

If that's the strategy then it's stupid, Dd had been thinking about English for a level and now isn't.

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MollyHuaCha · 24/03/2017 17:20

My dyslexic DC had two home tutors for during the run up to GCSE simply because we thought the sch teachers were not good and it was not possible to change schools so close to exams.

1st subject:
Sch predicted grade C.
Tutor predicted A or B.
DC got grade A.

2nd subject
Sch predicted grade C, poss a B 'if he was lucky'.
Tutor predicted A or A.
DC got A*.

Sch took the credit for both of course... Hmm

PossumInAPearTree · 24/03/2017 17:37

Fingers crossed for a similar scenario.

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d270r0 · 24/03/2017 17:41

Teacher will have marked the mocks using the official mark schemes which put her at grade 2. If tutor has not marked it using the proper mark schemes and is not familiar with the new curriculum she is less likely to be correct. The new curriculum is stricter and has more in it than the old curriculum.

noblegiraffe · 24/03/2017 18:00

It doesn't matter how strict the mark schemes are, it matters where the grade boundaries are. The same proportion that got a C or above last year will get a 4 or above this year. There's no way that nationally students who have been doing fine in English will suddenly get 2s. The school may be using stupidly high grade boundaries. What kind of raw marks is she getting?

noblegiraffe · 24/03/2017 18:03

Or are the tutor and school giving her totally different marks for the same paper?

Danglingmod · 24/03/2017 18:15

Yes, there's two scenarios - the tutor and schoolteacher are giving broadly similar marks but equating to wildly different grades using wildly different grade boundaries or she's getting wildly different marks.

Ds was predicted 2 A/A*s in old money but his mock papers are now scoring anything from a 5 to a 7. They can only guess where the grade boundaries are and I suspect ds's school is being harsh on both their marking and their grade boundaries.

Witchend · 24/03/2017 18:31

Well there's a few possibilities.
One being that according to dd1 who's year 11, the grade boundaries seem to have various people guessing where they are. She said in English her teacher gave it a 5, and depending on who you believed it could be anything from a 3 through to a 6/7 border.

You have the possibility that the school marked harshly.

You also have the possibility that the tutor is up-marking because he wants to continue being employed by you. Yes that does happen.

You have the possibility that either the tutor, or the school is not marking according to the mark scheme.

noblegiraffe · 24/03/2017 18:48

Whatever the scenario, it's unlikely that a level 5 in KS2 could suddenly drop to an E at GCSE with no warning till now that things were going wrong. If she's getting a 2, what on earth are the other kids getting?

PossumInAPearTree · 24/03/2017 23:00

No idea what her raw marks are.

Tutor looked at her mock and said she thinks it's the equivalent of a high C/low B in old money and that there's no way that should equate to a 2.

The whole year got 1,2,3. I think a few kids got 4.

School sent a letter saying it's given them an idea of where they need to focus their teaching over the next few weeks.

Tutor had a baby two weeks ago so don't think she's up marking trying to keep her job going because I always knew she'd have to stop to have the baby but I'm hoping she can come back for a few more sessions before the exams!

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Sophsta · 25/03/2017 00:15

As an English teacher going through this horrendous process at the moment I understand where the school are coming from. My year 11s scored really badly on their literature mocks before Christmas and many were very disappointed (as was I). However, weeks later and their language mocks are much higher. Do I think they're going to get the low marks on the summer? No. Hand on heart I know they will be far far higher based on having taught a fair few exam classes through the years. However, as I have to use the mock grades as a basis for my predictions, their grades for literature look abysmal right now.

English departments are stuck between a rock and a hard place and are trying desperately to second guess what will happen in the summer. Best thing to do? Ring her English teacher who has taught her all this year and ask her what your DD needs to do and where she honestly thinks she's at. You'll have a far clearer picture. I know that I would prefer a concerned parent ringing me up for me to chat to than them talking to a tutor who has only seen her for a few weeks (and I speak as a tutor and an examiner).

PossumInAPearTree · 25/03/2017 07:11

Thanks Sophasta, that's good advice. Will ring on Monday.

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sashh · 25/03/2017 11:41

Tutor looked at her mock and said she thinks it's the equivalent of a high C/low B in old money and that there's no way that should equate to a 2.

Actually it is very possible with the new grading.

I think schools are being harsh with marks, they have to be because they don't know how the boards will mark so have to be really strict.

PossumInAPearTree · 25/03/2017 12:41

I thought a 2 equated to an E? I know it's a mess and grade boundaries not decided till after the exam. Feel sorry for the kids and teachers.

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