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Original poster

Interim Report from school

90 replies

Trampoline11 · 27/03/2021 16:05

I feel a bit foolish but I am hoping that I can salvage something from this situation that my DS is in.

He is Yr 11 and studying Computer Science. I have obviously misunderstood previous reports as his target grade at the start of yr 10 was a D.

School have encouraged him re 6th form, college (needs 5 C's at least) but I was given his report yesterday and his target grade is a D. His work is up to date according to the report.

Am I missing something here? I have emailed school but no reply as it's the holiday now.

I mean, hasn't he improved at all since year 10? I feel I could get an E and I'm pretty useless with computers! Parents evenings have been positive and it's his favourite subject.

Maybe someone knows what criteria they use in year 9/10 that would make his target grade so low? Just for info, he's in top set for maths and 2 for English.

I'm baffled tbh and want to know if there's anything I can do for him? I won't of course but I feel like telling him not to bother putting any work in. A 'D'? Long time ago but when I was in school that was a fail.

Can anyone throw any light on this as I feel something isn't right but I may have left it too late?

Thanks

OP posts:
MrsHamlet · 27/03/2021 20:42

I know which of my students are LAC, but it makes no difference to how I treat them.
It also doesn't matter if they use FFT to generate the targets. What matters now is that he makes sure he's working as hard as he can to get the grades he needs.
Targets be damned.

clary · 27/03/2021 20:36

does he plan to take CS for A level OP? Bc otherwise it's very much not a disaster if he gets a D.

But if he does get a D, it's not because you did or didn't tell the school he was an LAC. It's because he is not that good at CS, or his teacher isn't great, or he didn't work hard enough. Sorry if that sounds harsh, it is honestly not meant to be!

clary · 27/03/2021 20:31

@Trampoline11

I'm even more confused now but very grateful for all of your replies.

So the fact that DS was in care, adopted and has free school meals could impact on his grades? FFT sounds dreadful tbh.

Those things might impact on his grades - but whether they do will depend somewhat on him, you and his teachers.

Those things will have impacted on his targets - as he will have been expected not to achieve so well. But hey, he can still smash those targets! His target is not his grade.

Sbk28 · 27/03/2021 20:20

I'm also a bit confused by the part in your opening post about being tempted not to bother with his work. It's the exact opposite to what he needs. He's only one grade away, so a real push might get him there in the final couple of months. Students exceed target grades all the time.

Sbk28 · 27/03/2021 20:16

@Trampoline11

I feel like I've failed my DS. This is awful to hear. I'll try and find out if the school are using this FFT thing.

They wouldn't have known he was LAC if I hadn't told them would they? That is dreadful and why only this subject? Every other one seems 'normal' if that makes sense.

I don't understand why you feel you've failed. His grades at this point will be based on his work.

I'm not sure whether schools are automatically informed if a pupil is post-LAC. Children who were looked after get additional funding, so you telling the school will have been a positive for him, not a negative.

Original poster
Trampoline11 · 27/03/2021 20:11

I feel like I've failed my DS. This is awful to hear. I'll try and find out if the school are using this FFT thing.

They wouldn't have known he was LAC if I hadn't told them would they? That is dreadful and why only this subject? Every other one seems 'normal' if that makes sense.

OP posts:
HelloDulling · 27/03/2021 18:56

What marks has he had for his continuous assessment work, OP?

MrsHamlet · 27/03/2021 18:46

Also FFT uses stats to generate the data. A looked after child is statistically less likely to achieve top grades. But schools don't use these grades as a limit to their predictions.
We're allowed to move targets up but not down in my school - we're judged against FFT though.

MrsHamlet · 27/03/2021 18:41

If his target is a D and his expected is a D, that's fine.
If his target is a D and his expected is an A, that's better than fine.
If his target is a D and his expected is F, not fine.
Much depends on whether he wants to do the subject at a higher level. D may well preclude that.
I have students with targets of 5 who are "expected" to get 3, 5 and 6. The school is measured on the targets, not the individual. I'm not going to give my target 3 student a 3 because I don't have evidence for that. I do have evidence for much better.

Lougle · 27/03/2021 18:28

@Trampoline11

I'm even more confused now but very grateful for all of your replies.

So the fact that DS was in care, adopted and has free school meals could impact on his grades? FFT sounds dreadful tbh.

Yes, all of that would factor in. But it's only a prediction. The issue is that your DS is 'on target' for a D when you thought it was one of his best subjects. I don't understand why they haven't told you how he's doing. As an example, I asked DD2's (y9) teacher if she was on target to pass her GCSE maths. He immediately said 'yes, I think so, the class is doing well and we're likely aiming for the foundation paper.' That told me that he's expecting her to get at least a 4, but she is likely going to taking a paper that will cap her at a 5.
JustOneMoreStep · 27/03/2021 18:21

@Trampoline11

I'm even more confused now but very grateful for all of your replies.

So the fact that DS was in care, adopted and has free school meals could impact on his grades? FFT sounds dreadful tbh.

All of those things will be taken into account for FFT predictions..... Its been going on for years......using FFT data I was predicted mostly Es at GCSE, in reality my lowest grade was a C and I've gone on to get a Masters degree with distinction (so much more academically able than FFT say). They are pretty pointless. You need to establish if your sons school use FFT data as not all schools do.
TeenMinusTests · 27/03/2021 18:16

Trampoline Yes, those factors could well impact the algorithm that generates FFT grades.

However those grades are based on kind of 'average grades for the whole group of children with similar backgrounds. They do not say what any individual child is likely to get.

As it happens, my y11 DD is adopted too. Throughout secondary she has 'beaten' predictions. Until the pandemic hit, and then her fragility due to her background meant she completely crumbled.

What I don't quite understand is why the CS 'target' is so different from his maths, and why you don't seem to have been told anything about how he has actually been performing...
... so maybe they really do mean 'performing' and a D is where he is at. He should know though?

I also don't understand why so many schools seem incapable of putting an explanation with their reports saying what the columns mean.

Original poster
Trampoline11 · 27/03/2021 17:58

I'm even more confused now but very grateful for all of your replies.

So the fact that DS was in care, adopted and has free school meals could impact on his grades? FFT sounds dreadful tbh.

OP posts:
Lougle · 27/03/2021 17:53

The FFT thing is a system for predicting the grade range a child will get. It takes into account things like SATs scores, how many schools the child has attended, deprivation, etc. So they give a prediction of where they are likely to land.

I think the confusion comes in reporting. Sometimes people think that the school is reporting where the child is now' but often they are reporting what the child may achieve if they carry on achieving as they are now.^

So, a a parent of a child reported with a grade of D in year 8 could think 'Great! He'd already get a D if he took the test today, so by the time he's year 11, he might get an A' whereas the school may be saying 'at his current rate of progress, he's likely to get a D in year 11.'

Our school has moved to a 5-scale 'mastery grade'. The child needs to be 'meeting' by the end of each academic year to end up with a grade 5 in year 11. If they are 'confident' they'll be more in line for a grade 6. If they have 'mastered' they are more in line for grades 7-9. Conversely, if they are 'developing' they may only get a 4, and if they are 'emerging' they may get a 1-3.

But children don't progress in a linear way. So it's all rubbish Grin

clary · 27/03/2021 17:37

@Trampoline11

I appreciate that teachers don't pull the grades out of their arse but how can it be based on his work when he hadn't even started the course? If it is this FFT thing, then that isn't the teacher grading him is it?
What the PP meant was that teachers will base his actual GCSE grade - which is what really matters - on his work. His target grade is not especially important now IMHO.
clary · 27/03/2021 17:36

So his target grades will be based on how he did in primary and his general ability level as assessed, for example, by his SATs (if done) and other data.

It's a bit daft isn't it. My subject is MFL and a friend asked me the other day how we could set in year 7 if kids hadn't done the subject - I said, based on their ability in English, which is not totally ridiculous to be fair.

Anyhoo - the point is OP his target grade is a bit of a red herring in general, in terms of what it is based on. The point is now, in yr 11, what is he working at? If he is working at a D then that's most likely what he will get. If his other grades are As, Bs and Cs then that sounds fine in terms of post-16 - as long as he wasn't planning on studying CS beyond GCSE. DS2 got his lowest grade in Spanish but had no plans to take it further, so not an issue. He did fine at GCSE in his A level choices so all good.

Original poster
Trampoline11 · 27/03/2021 17:22

@Solidartea - couple of b's, 2 c's and two a's

OP posts:
Solidaritea · 27/03/2021 17:21

What are his target grades in other subjects like?

Original poster
Trampoline11 · 27/03/2021 17:21

@MrsHamlet - sorry to be a bit thick, but why are you saying he'll be fine? I appreciate that there are things I don't know about this - becoming more obvious I know - but I'm so concerned.

OP posts:
Original poster
Trampoline11 · 27/03/2021 17:17

I appreciate that teachers don't pull the grades out of their arse but how can it be based on his work when he hadn't even started the course? If it is this FFT thing, then that isn't the teacher grading him is it?

OP posts:
clary · 27/03/2021 16:55

OP did he plan to take computing for A level or post-16? If so, it sounds like he may need to rethink that. But a D in itself is not a disaster; he can still take A levels in subjects he does better at.

RachelRoth · 27/03/2021 16:54

The teachers arent pulling the grades out of their arses op. They're based on the child’s work.

RachelRoth · 27/03/2021 16:52

@Trampoline11

Yes in Wales. Yes a GCSE. Teacher says he's on target for his D but could get a higher grade. How? Surely though if the results are all done by teachers this year, that's what he'll get?
Exactly what the teachers says. His target grade is a D, will probably be an FFT grade prediction, and he is currently working at that grade. If he focuses on his school work, homework and full attention on his assessments, he could produce work to get a higher grade. If he gives up and does fuck all he might not even get the D.

So, if he wants to go to college, he needs to be working on his studies every evening until his exams.

idril · 27/03/2021 16:47

@Seeline

No iGCSE have been using numbers for at least a year, if not 2.
You can still get A-G for Cambridge IGCSEs. You choose whether you want A-G or 9-1.
Original poster
Trampoline11 · 27/03/2021 16:39

Yes in Wales. Yes a GCSE. Teacher says he's on target for his D but could get a higher grade. How? Surely though if the results are all done by teachers this year, that's what he'll get?

OP posts:
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