DD Y12 Progress report... not great

[passwordaboutyou]

I've just had DD's Y12 progress report through and it's not great - she's basically scraping through at D/E grades (this is A levels). In people's experience can this drastically improve? Her attitude to learning (according to the report) is 1/2 (so good) and she seems to be working a lot and is doing the extra curricular activities suggested .

I know it's still early days but she's always been keen to go to uni but I don't think she would get in anywhere half decent if her grades don't improve.

Has anyone else had this and their DC turned it around?

TIA

h

How did she do in her GCSE's ? What subjects is she doing?

Can you and she have a meeting with her teachers?

Ask them honestly what the issue is. Is it lack of ability?

We expect our children to breeze through A Levels in a similar way to GCSEs, but A Levels are HARD. They are harder than the nearest international equivalent (International Baccalaureate Diploma).

IF she is capable but just isn't keeping up, consider getting her tutors. An expense I know, but if you can afford it and she really wants to do well, it might help.

Thank you for replying. She did okay in her GCSEs, we did encourage her to do a BTEC but she wasn’t keen on the subjects. I know A levels are hard, she did say she was struggling at first but she would have said she felt she was doing better this term (but not according to her report).

She’s doing art history, philosophy & ethics and Sociology so lots of essay writing (although she’s actually normally really good at essay writing). I think it’s a lot for her and worry she’s going to fall behind. I have emailed her teachers to see what they say.

What GCSE grades did she get? Most schools would require 7 or above for A Level study, for this very reason.

Sounds like some very academic subjects which will be tough if she isn't inclined. I would say a tutor if possible or see if she can cut down to 3 subjects? Not sure how it all works nowadays as we are a couple of years off.

Her grades were between 5-7 at GCSE- her school asked for a 6 in English and 5 in Maths to do her subjects. She got a 7 in RE which is why she chose Philosophy, Ethics (& religion).

They are and I do worry about them being too much for her.

There is a massive leap in learning from GCSEs to A Levels.
Students are expected to read and study a topic before it's discussed in lessons and use free periods to revise any notes made and complete other reading tasks as well as completing work at home.
If she's preparing for each lesson and using her study sessions and free time appropriately it might just be a blip.
Does she read around each essay topic? Is she listening to podcasts or watching dedicated programmes on TV?
She should have reading lists for each subject.
Her chosen subjects intrinsically require comparisons of differing sources and viewpoints before drawing her own considered conclusions.

Is she applying herself properly? Hard for you to determine and she’d have to be really honest.

i just didn’t try that hard in my assignments, left them until late and rushed them in so learnings weren’t applied.

i was good in class though and listened and engaged.

i got rubbish results. Still went to uni, not an amazing one. Learnt my lesson and did well. Have a good career in my field of study.

it can be turned around but I’d say she needs to cut her losses on one she’s struggling with and focus on the others.

I don't think she does - other thing is she is dyslexic (I know this isn't case for everyone who has dyslexia BTW) and she can be really disorganised which doesn't help. Some of essays are really great though and she really does try but not as much as you've listed here.

A 5 for maths is exceptionally low for A Level acceptance. Without knowing her at all (which is better really, because it shows no bias) I'd say she will struggle to pass an A Level with an entry grade of GCSE 5.

Do you think the dyslexia could have an element of dyscalculia or ADHD in addition?

She’s doing 3 subjects

But she’s not doing any maths subjects

My brother was like this , 3ds for A levels and then came out with ABB , went to UCL doing pure Economics.

It can happen , but she has to put her head down , do kick papers, create short cuts etc which is what my brother did. This was 20 odd years ago though

Four subjects. Different coloured folders) or ring binders for each subject . She marks or dots any notes in the corresponding colour and puts it in the relevant folder/ ring binder.
Does she have access to a laptop or tablet?
Files on that in a similar way.
We email notes to students after each session.
Go back to the prospectus and also check the subjects on the school website for recommended reading.
It can take a while for the penny to drop that a student can't just regurgitate what they've heard in sessions and need to include proof of independent study .
Suggest study groups for each subject if she gets independent study time. Her tutor should be suggesting all this to her.
I'm not judging a fellow colleague but what I've suggested is basic tutor guidance.
A colour coded timetable at home and in a note book/ laptop of what she needs to study and when and what sessions she's in so she's not carting everything around everyday.
Is she going off site at lunch or during study sessions / free periods?
I totally understand the need to decompress during the day but if she's ducking out at every opportunity she'll get even more overwhelmed by the backlog of work.
Can she record the sessions? Can she sit at the front and record the sessions on her phone via audio?
Is she receiving any PowerPoints etc on her school email?

What rubbish. Obviously maths is important for some subjects but not for the humanities. I got a grade C in maths GCSE and did fine in my A levels because I didn’t do subjects which were maths based.

It's three subjects:

Art history
Philosophy & ethics
Sociology

@RampantIvy So three folders or binders then.

Thank you for all these suggestions - she's just got home so we're going to sit down and talk about everything.

Re 5 in maths - TBH all of the subjects she is doing don't really call for maths so I am not too worried there. Her 7s were English lit and language and RE so in theory that should have held her in good stead for the subjects she is doing.

She is a real procrastinator - something she has being discussing with her counselor (a whole other thing) and knows it's something she needs to work on.

My bad @passwordaboutyou I misread her subjects at A Level. Apologies.

I think 7 is entry level for A Level? So not that high.

Do you know how the school works out the progress grades? Some do optimistic grades which suggest what they might get at the end of year 13 base don current performance but also other calculations . Others almost calculate grades as if the students were to do A level tomorrow and performs as they are performing right now. Obviously, if your DD sat A Levels tomorrow, she wouldn't get As and Bs.

Does she know at all what similar ability peers' grade sheets say?

I teach one of those subjects and students with 7s in English and RS would be towards the top of my ability range . I'd fully expect them to get at least a B.

It's all going to hang on how good the school is at teaching those A level subjects. Youngest DD had similar GCSE grades ( including 5 in maths). And left with AAB including Psychology and Business ( both with significant stats elements). The key thing for her was that she left school for an excellent state sixth form college where teachers were confident in teaching and assessment. She felt confident too.
Tutoring will help too, if you can afford it. Or look at unlearn. The sooner you start, the better.

Not at DD's school - closer to a 5 but that does depend on what you are doing. She wasn't allowed to to psychology as her maths wasn't good enough for example.

It is generally a well thought of 6th form and the results are good.