6 A written English do I need to worry?

My daughter did scrape the level 6 English paper at the end of year 6 and is very good at English. Now that she is in year 8, they do many assessments and she usually gets 6A/7C/7B. The teacher has made it very clear that she considers these to be very good marks. When my eldest was year 9, her and her friends all wanted level 7 in English at the end of the year as they were then predicted A/A* at GCSE.

Personally, I have always found the levels (not sub-levels, but 4, 5 etc) broadly useful, and far more helpful than 'what your child can do', because the latter tells me nothing about what she'd be expected to be able to do at a given age unless I spend lots of time and effort in research.

Whereas 'level 4 is expected at the end of KS2, level 6 end KS3 - I need to be aware if she's below that, above is a bonus' is very simple.

6A at the end of year 6 would be an unbelievably high level.

As in, you could count in the hundreds I believe the number of children in the UK who achieved L6 at all (ie 6C) in reading/writing SATs last summer.

So no, 6A at the end of year 7/start of year 6 is not primary level. In addition even if you left primary assessed at (say) 5b which would be very good, there is an expectation of a drop at the start of year 7, so sounds as if she is doing fine. What does her teacher say? Has she made progress over the last year?

(I see now you have misunderstood the way levels work - no, the number does not/did not equate to the year - just as well as my yr 7 MFL students are mostly working at a L2!)

6A is above average for early Yr8.

Many schools still use the old style 'levels, mainly because they have not yet been replaced with anything sensible and parent-friendly. DD2 is in Yr 9 and they have now started assessing on GCSE criteria - as in 'if you sat your GCSEs now, this is broadly where you would be'. Which is fine. DD2 is in Yr7 and is still being assessed by levels.

If your DD continues to progress, she should be on a 7C/B for end of year 8, which is on track for really good GCSEs. So unless you think she isn't putting the work in (which is a whole other issue) she's fine.

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/339805/MASTER_final_national_curriculum_until_sept_2015_11_9_13.pdf

Page 81-84 states what a children in Key Stage 3 will be expected to learn, and know by the end of y9.

That information was already included.

"So a NC level 6 is fine for y8."

And fwiw I also work in the real life - but work in a school that is using other assessment method, as recommended.

Did you read my link? Pre-2014 curriculum is also there. Perhaps reading it will give you what you want.

This is the real world and I've just been given levels same as the OP i.e. telling us the school should be doing something else right now is redundant.

Helping people to understand what they mean in schools that haven't yet switched to Acme Assessment Inc. based on what they meant last year would be helpful. Was there any consensus in secondary about what a 6a meant in English prior to September 2014 etc.

As already said, NC levels no longer exist, and the ld levels no longer match up with the new curriculum. Schools are not really supposed to be using them and should have developed their own assessment systems really, r at the veyr least be developing them.

Applying old NC levels to a new curriculum is fairly pointless, and reporting them to children and parents even more so.

However, under the old NC levels, a level 4 (or a 4b is using the "artificial break down code) was the expected level for the end of year 6. So a NC level 6 is fine for y8.

Dammit link here

No one needs to answer the question. The question is redundant. The question should be "what can my child do" and not "what level is my child"

Details of KS3 English curriculum can be found [[
www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-framework-for-key-stages-1-to-4 here]]

My ds is also in year 8 and is currently working at a 6a/7c in most of his subjects which if he carries on working to this standard he's predicted A*/As for GCSEs. Your daughter is doing very well.
At my sons school we have a parents consultation every 3 months where they tell us his next target and what specific things he needs to work on. I think to get your answers you will need to arrange a meeting with her teacher as it sounds like all schools work differently.

Our school says 'maximum for year 8 is level 7, except for maths in which, exceptionally, level 8 may be awarded'.

Can anyone actually answer the question?

Levels are going. Many schools are already moving on to new systems for assessment. Knowing the maximum is irreverent. Knowing what students can and cannot do is important, not putting a number on it.

Can anyone talk with a bit of seasoned authority about KS3 English levels?

What's the maximum? I see some evidence of 7a, but in other places they run to 8. [Is it all essentially stuff and nonsense at that end of the scale?]

6A is very good for early in Year 8. Don't worry about it. Anyway, if she had problems with literacy she'd have problems accessing all aspects of the curriculum, and I'm sure you'd know.

Since schools should no longer use levels from 04/15 this is fairly pointless. Perhaps you should be asking the school how they are going to assess your DC from now on.

Levels are going or have gone. Perhaps find out what she can and can't do instead.

Levels are meaningless unless you are aware of what skills they equate to.

titchy - It is probably because a lot of schools don't actually bother to explain the levels to parents unless the parents ask.

6a in year 8 would roughly predict A* /A (or whatever the heck they're calling it by then) at GCSE, so I think you can chill a bit...

Why do you think level 6 is primary level? Level 4 is expected level for a year 6. Level 6 is expected for year 9.

Ds2 is not particularly strong in English - he was 6a in Y8 but we've just had his gcse targets (Y10) and he's predicted to get an A

(Personally I think that's a bit aspirational and a B may be more likely)