to be completely bewildered by my DS's school report?

[MarieFromStMoritz]

OK, so my DS started at a new school this term. We live overseas but it is a British school and therefore they follow the National Curriculum. So, his report has all the subjects listed, then 3 columns: End of Year Expected Level, End of Year Target and Current. For example, for 'English Writing', he has got the following:

End of Year Expected Level: Low 2C
End of Year Target High 1A
Current: Low 1B.

WTF does it mean?!? I consider myself a bright person generally, but I just can't work it out. I would really appreciate some advice. Thanks.

It's a weather forecast.

grovel PMSL

Based on previous testing they expected him to get 2c

Based on current level they are seeing 1b

Meaning they now expect 1a at current progression.

It depends on his age, these are the levels he has been assessed at. They go 1c 1b 1c 2a 2b 2c and so on, the letters are sub levels within each numbered level. They measure progress, the expected level should be 2 sub levels per school year.
This was how it was explained to me and how ds, now 12 sees it.

Ok so if he is year 2 (6-7 years old) the aim is for children to be a level 2 in writing, reading and numeracy. In each level there are there sub levels, a, b and c.
A 2c is a low level 2, 2b solid level 2 and 2a high level 2.
It looks to me as though they are anticipating your son will go up two sub level by July taking him from a 1b to a 2c. This means he will have exceeded his original Target of a 1a so is doing better than they expected, which is good.

Is he year 2? Some more able children in year 1 can be a level 2 by the end of the year.

X

How old is he?

At my DN's secondary school (where they had something which looked similar), it was like this:

4c, 4b, 4a - the lowest level, and three stages within that, if that makes sense?
7c, 7b, 7a - the highest level and the stages within that.

Not too sure what the 'high/low' bits mean on your DS's though. I can't even tell if he's doing fantastically or terribly, based on that report!

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. :(

Also, put very simply your child is doing much better than expected.

Not too sure what the 'high/low' bits mean on your DS's though. I can't even tell if he's doing fantastically or terribly, based on that report!

That's exactly where I'm at. I just don't get it.

It means he is just within that sub level. If he was a high 1b he would be showing some elements of a 1a. So it means he has recently moved from a 1c to a 1b.
X

Also, put very simply your child is doing much better than expected.

Actually, I need to jump in now and say this... if indeed he is doing well for a Year 1, it is not me stealth boasting. He is actually a Year 2 child who has been put into Year 1. This is because he was homeschooled last year and the Ministry do not recognise homeschooling, so he had to repeat Year 1.

Their Target was a high level 1a but based on his current level of low 1b he should go up two sub levels so will go low 1b, low 1a and then low 2c. X

But the targets are for 'End of Year' and he only started in September...

That's what they do, then you'll probably have another report near the end of the year after the SAT tests, to show how he's done.

So, what is the difference between 'Expected' and 'Target'. Aren't they the same thing?

DS is really anxious about it. I have just put him in the bath and he's like, "Mum, did I do OK?". I just said, "mate, I don't know."

Oh, I don't think they do tests in year 1.

I think target is what they want them all to achieve by the end of the year. The expected is individual.

One reason there is so much confusion (and I, like you, was just staring at the numbers all puzzled) is that they don't like giving children grades. So, in our school at least, they gave us the codes without any key so we could know what they meant! Thereby stopping children or parents being competitive or comparative, but also meaning no-one had a bloody clue what it all meant.

Marie, these are for KS1 at the end of year 2. Tell him not to worry, he's doing fine.

Levels at KS1
W: 'Working towards' level 1 - very weak
Level 1: Below average
Level 2c: Just about level 2
Level 2b: A solid level 2
Level 2a: Good skills
Level 3: Excellent - likely to reach level 5 at KS2
Level 4: Amazingly able (and extremely rare)
Tests at Key Stage 2 - Year 6

I'm glad it's not just me, Hardgoing

Totempole, going by your list, he is below average on absolutely everything

No it's for the end of year 2. Even though he's a year older, he's only in year 1.

Give him chance to settle in.

How are his reading and maths?

So, if he's at Low 1B, why is the end of year target High 1A? Surely that's lower?

How are his reading and maths?

Fantastic. He has nearly finished the New Way reading series and he was doing Year 3 maths with me at home last year. Not boasting, he had a year of 1 to 1 tuition, so you would expect him to be at this level.

The numbers go 1,2,3,4, etc. The higher the number the higher the grade.

The letters go, C, B, A. A being higher than C.