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.

Agree about the processing, wynken.

Have a look at this, OP - if your DS is assessed as having processing problems, he may be able to get extra support in the classroom and in exams.

Sorry if anyone has already said this:

Sounds to me as though he answered the comprehension paper inferentially.

They don't care what you know about the life-cycle of a dragonfly - the test is on how well you carry information in the text onto the paper you are anwering on - I use "onto" and "on" because it really can be like literally carrying bits of text from one place to another.

There are occasionally questions which establish what a child knows in the way of genre and narrative expectations. And vocab questions - which can draw on knowledge gained from "outside" the text. However, at this level, it is pretty mechanical.

I'm guessing you've seen past papers for the 11+ comprehension, so you know what's needed there. I'm probably not in your area, so you know more than me about this. however, I think that in our area, 11+ comprehension papers are not so different from the SATs in the way they are marked, so, in your shoes, I might be drumming "Don't INFER - ever. Unless the question absolutely, explicitly asks for it (and even then, there will be a bit asking for a LOGICAL JUSTIFICATION of your opinion)" very, very strongly into him.

That said, mine never listened to me at all.

Good luck with the exams.

Sorry, ReallyTired you wrote everything I did, far better, and some way up-thread.

Thanks again for all your thoughts.

The advice about NOT inferring unless it is explicitly asked for will be useful as I think this is part of DS's 'problem'.

It will be interesting to hear what the teacher thinks about his processing. He doesn't always read words accurately/phonetically correct as it seems to present a bit of a hurdle to him to do so - it's almost as if his brain wants to work faster than it can .

If he has any problems at all with procession, then can I suggest you stop giving him books that are way above his reading age? A Brief History ofTime is a challenge for many adults. Let him read books suitable for his age and comprehension levels. Kids often know that their parents are pleased by them reading "difficult" things- and so say that's what they want to do, but it can backfire if they are not building on very firm foundations. By all means do lots of talking about difficult concepts and ideas- but keep to books he reads at more "normal" levels for a while.

Understanding A Brief History of Time is very different to interpreting why, for example, the Bucket family were so pleased Charlie won the golden ticket.

"The advice about NOT inferring unless it is explicitly asked for will be useful as I think this is part of DS's 'problem'."

No, your ds has to show inference skills to get a level 5. He needs to explain his inference to prove how he has got the information from the text. If I was the OP I would tell her ds that its like a lawyer having to PROVE that someone is innocent.

ds is in Yr 6 and recently came in the top 3 in the entrance exams to the most selective local independent school. However, in Yr 5 he had a terrible time in his English comprehension exam. This was for several reasons:

1. One of the questions asked about a character's feelings. Emotions are not ds's strong point and he did not have a clue what to write so wrote nothing.

1. Like your ds, he found some of the questions a little simplistic for his taste and gave over elaborate answers which got him no marks and cost a lot of time.

1. He did not focus exclusively on the text in giving answers but drew from wider knowledge.

1. He made careless mistakes and did not check back over his answers.

We spent some time teaching him exam technique and looking at how he should have gone about answering the questions. We also got him to practice a few comprehension questions. We stressed focusing on what the question is actually asking - not what you would like it to ask and never leaving a question unanswered. We also said that he should work out how long he had to spend on each question (depending on how many marks it had) and move on after he had done that - he could use time at the end to go back over questions that he thought needed more.

Goosey, thanks for sharing you DS's experience, I'm feeling more hopeful after reading it.

ReallyTired, oh yes, he will need to infer when the question asks for it, but just not all the time.

If he has any problems at all with procession, then can I suggest you stop giving him books that are way above his reading age? A Brief History ofTime is a challenge for many adults. Let him read books suitable for his age and comprehension levels.

I agree with this advice, it seems like he's being pushed beyond his capability.

Could it be the stress of changing schools, more formal assessments in the middle school etc?

Children's levels do tend to dip when they change schools but they do catch up.

DD got a level 5 in Y6 sats for reading, yet was assessed for extra help in learning support at high school.

This was probably accurate overall, because she could understand the text and answer the questions, but was not reading all the words.

We used to read Three Men in a Boat and Wind in the Willows at that age, because I did them at school. They have a lot about feelings and emotions that are a bit more boy friendly. The chapter on the cheese is iconic

I agree with others on the books. I was reading the full Lord of the Rings books at a very young age.
Looking back, could I fully understand all of it, no. Could I read the words and sound like I did, yes.
When I went up to secondary school I was put in really low groups for English based on my SATs which was mortifying as i'd always believed I was good at English.

By the time I was in year 11 my actual ability was over and above my peer bench mark and it was highlighted how off the scale (for a 15/16 year old, I'm no genius) it was. I can see now that my thirst for books and older stories wasn't matched by my comprehension at in year 5,6 &7 and so when it came to exams I had stumbled.

Have a look for some age appropriate 'How to take an exam' book, they must have them for his age as its really helpful in knowing how to study. most exam questions are either read and comprehend or memory tests but not often both.

Try the Moomintrolls too. Get story tapes (discs?) and listen to them on long journeys. Enjoy the language and discuss what is happening (and the jokes).

There are some excellent child-friendly guides to exactly what is needed to be assessed as reaching evel 5 in each Assessment Focus for reading, and has already been stated upthread, AF3 is all about inference and deduction, so they are key skills.

If you'd like a copy OP to see what is involved, please feel free to send a pm.

^ LEVEL 5.
Not a great advert for accurate proof-reading skills am I?

UPDATE

So the report came home and DS's levels indicate that he has made no progress at all in English this year and just 1 sub level in maths.

This is not a true reflection of his progress but instead an indication that his teacher's have failed to bring out the best in him. Poor DS.

oops, 'teachers' not 'teacher's'

Does he wear glasses? My dd got to a similar age and stopped progressing turns out she's a blind as a bat, she had been wearing glasses years ago for long sightedness but didn't need them anymore age 6 when she just turned 11 (p6 here in Scotland) we discovered she was now short sighted, apparently it's quite common for their eye sight to change around this age.

Apologies if I am wrong.

You can lead a horse to water, Pippa, ......

If your DS doesn't make any effort what do you expect the teachers to do?

If the others DCs are making satisfactory progress then I can't see that the school is at fault here.

Let it go.

It's the summer holidays any minute and you really don't want this hanging over your ds's head. You will make him very anxious.

Next year is another year.

Practise 11+ stuff over the holidays a bit (not constantly) and let him read something fun rather than looming over him with a worthy tome. You don't want reading aloud to your dcs to become a punishment or see them fleeing from the room as soon as you approach bearing something "improving" with an educating glint in your eye. (Yep, I've been there.)

Leave the poor lad be.

It is perfectly normal for kids to have a bit of a lull in year 4/5.

Unless none of the other children have made decent progress then don't start blaming the teachers.

Yes I'm sure it's all his teacher's fault...

Is it a state primary and do they support the 11+?

I've treated school and entrance exams as entirely different entities. I did employ a tutor admittedly, but didn't consider what happened at school to be a marker. They are bright, capable children, as your child obviously is.

Don't get hung up on year 5 SATS, they get enough of that from the school in Year 6. It is only a worry for you that he hasn't met your expectations but I don't think it is actually significant. The children I know who had a lull in year 5 (if that is what it is) had good grammar school passes.

Well my dd got level 3s in her year 2 sats. She is also in 3 tier system. I have a feeling her lower school exaggerated her sat level indeed at the start of year 4 her english level was lower than at the end of year2.. She has now caught up a bit.
Also individual test results vary. My dd achieved 5a in a science test in year 5. I was thrilled but her ta level was 4a. Obviously they cannot take one test independently.
Just remember it year6 sats that count. Hopefully the school will do booster groups. My dds school does.