To be fuming that DS got a level 3b in his Y5 SATS reading...

[pippiLS]

…and that his form teacher thinks that this is somehow my fault!!

Some background info: DS had all L3s at KS1, is hoping to get into one of the best Grammar schools in the country (maybe we need to rethink this) and is reading (with me), A Brief History of Time at the moment (just to give you an idea of his reading level). He loves science and is very well informed about material far beyond the curriculum at this level yet he has also performed poorly on his Science SATs paper. Oh, and one last thing, he got 100% in one of his maths papers.

Have arranged meeting with Head and form teachers but not sure what on earth to say. He joined this school in Y5, so just this year (it's a middle school). His final report from his previous school in Y4 was all 4as.

He needs practice on reading and understanding questions and giving per ice answers. This is something my dd does too, she tries to give too much rather than sticking to relevant detail.

I must say though that what he did for homework does sound very basic. I would expect my 8 yr old level 4 dd to produce far more for an independent research project. I would say if given that in y1 at level 2 she would have maybe still produced more.

Precise answers

It wasn't a project Canthis, it was just a homework - 20 minutes.

Even still, I was just using project in the terms of something they needed to research and present

Is the teacher aware of your aspirations to get DS into grammar school? Are they aware of all you are doing at home? Maybe they want to support you in those high aspirations of his work, and think you actually want them to not accept basic homework in an effort to coach him to pass the entrance tests.

There are SATs in year 5? I thought they were getting rid of them not creating more, waste of time.

Years 3, 4 & 5 were optional SATs tests. Luckily they don't plan to replace them when the New Curriculum arrives and is assessed. From 2016 the only papers will be for Year 2 & Year 6 with nothing in between. Not to say that some schools won't find tests for those years from elsewhere! But without national curriculum levels other measures will need to be assigned to tests.

I told her on the phone today about the 11+ as a way of defending myself really which I know is stupid - I must have sounded unhinged. I just wanted her to know that we have high aspirations for DS too as he does of himself.

I'm not quite sure what to say at the meeting. Obviously we need a strategy in place to ensure that DS continues to make progress, but somehow I don't think that me making sure he learns his spellings and fills in his reading log will be enough.

What other sorts of things could they put in place. She mentioned his processing, not sure what to make of that.

It sounds like the issue was that particular test rather than he's not making progress. Unfortunately actually answering the questions in the correct way is a skill that some children do find hard to get right however bright they are. And that will be equally as true for the 11+ or GCSE exams as this one.

I taught a boy in yr 3 who was a very able writer - he wrote a beautiful long piece of writing in the writing assessment about an adventure he'd gone on in the Tardis and the amazing things he'd seen. The problem was he'd not once mentioned the statue that was in the picture to inspire their writing and that according to the marking scheme needed to be mentioned in the writing somewhere. I had to ask him to redo it and even then he struggled to understand that he needed to talk about this statue not just whatever he fancied.

I think it would be worth stepping back. Is it really good for your ds to have so much pressure on him that you are feeling furious over his marks.

You are still not clear who or what you are furious at. Imagine how this translates to ds.

Stepping back is a good idea. I'm not cross at DS at all, I'm probably most cross at myself for allowing this to happen.

Allowing what to happen?

Allowing myself to get defensive, allowing DS to coast, allowing him off the hook with his turtle homework...

Why isn't he filling in his reading log?

Thanks for the explanation - I was concerned it was allowing to underperform in a test (and you mustn't blame yourself for that).

It may be helpful for you to prepare in your own mind (and how to explain) exactly what your concerns are and what you hope the outcomes of the meeting with the head are. There seem to be more issues than just the ones you mentioned in your opening post and I think all the stands need addressing with the HT to set your mind at rest.

Whoops - strands not stands

I assume the reading test was a comprehension exercise rather than an actual reading test? I think it would be useful to ask to see his test papers so that you can have greater insight into the nature of the 'problem'.

Your not allowing him to do these things. You can't control them. We all have our ups and downs and shining moments and times where we lack motivation and drive, this is no different from children.

I think if he is increasingly aware of your high aspirations he could either be underfed forming due to the pressure and stress or maybe he is just putting the breaks on himself.

I would meet with the school and get a clear perspective on where he is at and likely to be at closer to his entrance exam. Find out what there expectations are, discuss your own and come up with a clear plan.

I would then subtly find out from ds his own thoughts on his education and wether the best grammer school is the right place to meet his needs. Even if it is there are certain pressures involved in getting there and maybe that isn't suitable for him.

My dd is incredibly bright, she could get higher levels than she does, she could potentially be able to pass many selective entry exams. But that kind of education would certainly not suit her needs. I think it's ultimately important that she is happy and nurtured and progressing albeit maybe not to very one else's expectations but I'm sure she will do very well in life.

Let things settle and talk with your ds about what he thinks of all of this.

It sounds as though he isn't actually answering the questions which have been asked. Part of the challenge of the comprehension paper lies in identifying the relevant section of text and using it to answer a question, rather than just repeating the text. How well does he cope with inference rather than locating information?

Number of marks available is also a good guide in terms of how much to write.

I think he probably needs specific pointers about how to answer the questions, and someone to actually go through the mark scheme with him.

Chicken, he fills in his reading log periodically but it not something that he relishes doing and I don't want to make reading a chore for him by insisting every time he reads he has to record it. I suppose he could do it once a week but he wouldn't be able to remember everything he'd read .

I am not a big fan of homework in primary school, can you tell?

Teacher explained that the log was about promoting the ethos that they are a reading school. I suppose I'm being selfish but I have a reading child and I'd like to keep it that way.

When I spoke to DS about this he said "I am promoting the ethos mum, people see me sitting on the bench reading in school every day at break time" :)

That sounds like the y5 optional SAT based on the theme of a dragonfly.
It is fairly straightforward-nothing too tricky as long as the children answer the question rather than what they think the question is.

I can't remember the threshold exactly but he must have only scored around 15/50 to get a 3b. he for an awful lot wrong-it wasn't just a few silly mistakes.
Most of my class (non selective) confidently get a 4 or 5 on this paper and they tend to come down a sub level to be in line with my TA.

It bsounds as if he rushed it completely and didn't read the questions at all, was unwell or missed a lot out. I can't see how he could have scored so badly if what you describe in the op is accurate. I would want to see the paper.