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Original poster

bright year 9 struggling in school

60 replies

Mmmbacon · 18/01/2015 18:03

Dd is quite bright and well capable of a and b's but her Christmas test results are disgracefully all c and ds

She is already doing after school homework and study club but hasn't had the desired effect,

Her maths for exp went from 90's last year to 55 this year, she has no reason not to be getting A's in maths as I do maths grinds as a side line,

Any advice on how to get her to buckle down, really struggling with her as although behaviour is ok when she is not with us she is different child, caught shoplifting once etc,

She had traumatic exp few years back, diagnosed with ptsd, but psychologist recently very happy with her,

She wants to become a teacher so needs to really buckle down now to have a chance

OP posts:
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merlehaggard · 21/01/2015 09:12

My year 8 daughter is level 6a in English, maths, science. Top sets in an above average comp (about 65% 5 or more GCSEs) and probably only does about 2 hours of homework a night. Certainly most nights she doesn't do any homework. She does have piano and clarinet practice/lessons after school. Also does a bit of dancing and plays in a band.

Phoenixfrights · 21/01/2015 08:41

My hunch is that this school is trying to get parents/ students to make up for poor teaching by setting so much homework.

How do they do by their disadvantaged pupils?

Armpitt · 21/01/2015 07:27

GCSE you might get %
I have never given % for a KS3 in twenty old gimmery years

Whyjustwhyagain · 21/01/2015 07:00

Another mum with a year 9 DD here.
My DD attends a well regarded comp and has an average of around 5/6 hours homework pw. Plus a maths/ science tutor for an hour each week.
She is working at levels 6 & 7 so is on target for good GCSE grades.
Additionally she dances for about 10 hrs pw with dance classes every evening and on Saturday.
But, she finishes school at 3:30, walks into town with friends and catches local bus home, getting home by 4:20, so she has a natural break, and will then get on with homework before going out to dance class.
I know I couldn't concentrate from 9am to 6pm each day without some major breaks, and I wouldn't expect my DD to do that. Could you look at your DD getting home a bit earlier on 1 or 2 afternoons? Or let her go off with friends before you collect her at 6?

notquiteruralbliss · 21/01/2015 06:42

In year 9 my DCs ( high performing grammar) hardly ever brought homework home. If they went to homework club, I certainly would not expect any homework to need to be done at home. I would be horrified at 2h per night any time other than in the run up to GCSEs or A levels.

Notinaminutenow · 20/01/2015 23:29

Your DD sounds exhausted. Also I hope your reference to results being "disgracefully all c's and d's" was just for the benefit of mumsnet. I really hope you haven't communicated this to your daughter in this fashion.

Level of homework is OTT in my experience.

The school's approach is what I would be looking at.

BitOutOfPractice · 20/01/2015 23:27

In my experience everything is measured in key stage grades eg 5b, 4a etc.

Until year 10 when GCSE grades suddenly appear.

No percentages here. Ever

Unexpected · 20/01/2015 23:17

What kind of school is your daughter attending? Is it some kind of super-selective because otherwise I don't understand why they are recommending so much homework and revision and sending home such negative report cards. I am also surprised that everything is marked out of 100 as my experience of many exams (particularly where students are being examined on part of a syllabus) is that papers are marked out of all kinds of totals - 60 seems to be a favourite but we've had 40 and 90 as well.

I don't get all this business of grades being Cs and Ds and translating them to Irish levels, what is the point of that? They are different education systems with different marking schemes. If your daughter is studying GCSEs, you live in the UK and you actually tutor maths you really need to get with the programme here!

BitOutOfPractice · 20/01/2015 23:08

I think you need to unclench a bit op. I feel anxious just reading your posts so god knows how your dd feels. I have a ver motivated did in Y10 and high seem to be very...erm...over invested

Original poster
Mmmbacon · 20/01/2015 23:08

The tests were on work that's covered so students and teachers can see how much of what they have been Taught has been retained,

I don't know the more I ask and find out the more confused I get!

OP posts:
TheFallenMadonna · 20/01/2015 23:07

Percentages are not very meaningful in terms of summative assessment. It depends on the demand of the test! To be blunt, in year 9 I want someone who is well focused in class and who gives the independent work I set, either for homework or in class, their best shot. Then I can work out where their strengths and weaknesses are and work on that. Crazy amounts of revision is not the way to develop understanding, skills or very crucially enjoyment of a subject.

Armpitt · 20/01/2015 23:05

i would take in a set of books every two weeks to mark a couple of homeworks

Armpitt · 20/01/2015 23:05

agree - grades move about all over the place depending on quality of answers

Original poster
Mmmbacon · 20/01/2015 23:02

Sorry haklyut, homework is between 60-90 mins a night with study of half an hour to an hour On top, I know Dr is avid reader so she reads during this time aswell

Actually another question, is it normal for year 9 to have a whole class dedicated to free reading?

Someone else asked if homework I'd always corrected and answer seems to be random spot checks during week so homework has to be done by due date, but they do seem to be corrected at some stage

OP posts:
Hakluyt · 20/01/2015 23:00

You can't possibly translate the grades like that- it's an entirely different mqrking scheme. Are the as and bs and ds she's getting gcse grades? Because if they are, of course she's not getting As in year 9!

Original poster
Mmmbacon · 20/01/2015 22:56

They held Christmas tests and ccorrected papers were then sent home after holidays to be signed accompanied by the teachers comments, 55 is 55% so a c3 at home and borderline to a passing d grade, no idea about UK too late at night to work out! And I've already lost part of my anonymity to this thread saying grinds so can admit I'm actually a bit clueless which isn't helping matters

OP posts:
Armpitt · 20/01/2015 22:43

how do you know all the test results? what is 55? 55%?

Original poster
Mmmbacon · 20/01/2015 22:42

Madonna tbh I'm beginning to think I haven't a clue,communication with school doesn't seem to be great unless it's to-do with dd missing days, then they said last year that they wouldn't be streaming them into ability classes, but this year is completely different class mix, she is getting graded out of 100 which confuses me even more as they are different grades to Irish grades and don't even get me started on stars, So I just correct them in my head back to a1 a2 then b123 as I am too old in the tooth to be bothered!!!

OP posts:
Hakluyt · 20/01/2015 22:34

I think I'm confused. Is she actually set enough homework to take 2 hours a night?

TheFallenMadonna · 20/01/2015 22:24

I wouldn't be marking homework if I was expected to set that much! That is bonkers. And unnecessary. Presumably if she is getting grades rather than levels, she is starting GCSE courses now? My year 9s are not where they will be in Year 11, and I don't expect them to be.

titchy · 20/01/2015 22:22

That's way too much - she'll be burnt out way before she sits her GCSEs.

Original poster
Mmmbacon · 20/01/2015 22:20

Armpit 2 hours a night is what dd does BUT having double checked after everyone else saying it's loads school confirmed 9-11 hours a week for her year recommended increasing to 15+ next year,

Her Christmas Card read almost entirely of can do better, capable of more, disappointing effort, so while I might sound obsessed now I am generally very relaxed, never had to worry about dd school work until this year, and suddenly we find ourselves in uncharted territory,

OP posts:
Hakluyt · 20/01/2015 22:16

Is homework usually marked?

Original poster
Mmmbacon · 20/01/2015 22:10

I don't titchy but surely if homework is to reinforce school learning, then before moving on to next level you check that the class as a whole tried homework and ask if there were any problems before ploughing on?

OP posts:
Armpitt · 20/01/2015 22:08

OP you sound a tad obsessed about her work
No wonder she is rebelling

leave her alone a bit and give her a break