If your child got a B in GCSE maths...

[treasureisland]

...would you tell them that they are 'not very good at maths' ?

thanks.

I did a recent course on core skills abd we were told that only around 35% of people in the UK have maths skills at the equivalent of at least a C grade in maths. I guess that colours my judgement somewhat...

No I would not. I'd say someone who got a B is competent in Maths, but perhaps not a natural mathematician.

My DD1 got a 2 at standard grade (B equivalent) and she is TERRIBLE at maths. It was a combination of a tutor, a lot of cramming and a smattering of luck that got her that grade. We were all gobsmacked. DD2 did GCSE maths and got an A* but we knew she had a flair for maths so that was expected. I think we were more pleased with DD1's effort than we were with DD2's!

Well I tutor maths and unless there were special circumstances I'd say a B is a student that's perfectly competent at maths but probably not going to end up in a maths heavy career (e.g. Engineer). If you're interested in maths and willing to put a bit of work into it you could probably do an A-level and definitely learn more advanced topics.

I have to say though that teachers aren't miracle workers, some students really struggle with maths and the best teacher in the world couldn't get them a B.

I would be delighted it took me four attempts to scrape a grade c

Well I'd be very proud! I got a D four times before I got my C I apparently needed to do A levels.... managed my A levels (before I got that C!!) Also did well in my degree. Maths isn't my strong point, I just don't get it but I'm better at it if it's applied to something and not just algebra/Pythagoras theorem!! If they've worked hard for that B hat's off to them, I couldn't do it!!

Didn't he die without explaining it? So, I guess the answer is no.

That response told me all I need to know about your knowledge of maths (and maths education).

You could have at least googled it before displaying your ignorance

Must ask what DH got for GCSE maths. I don't think it was an A (and he was told by a teacher at age 8 that he "couldn't do maths") but did 2 maths A levels and a maths heavy computer science degree and 20 years later works in the field as an expert.

(I should add that I did A level maths at a different school to my other A levels (all arts and language) and moved out of home part way through. Got a B despite that, and the B at GCSE. I'd never discourage a child from something they were interested in.)

It is never nice to put people down op, which sounds like is what's happening here.

The comment is also unreasonable because your dd is very young and hasn't reached her potential in any subjects yet!

No because my DD was in the top sets out of 10 and got a B.

I got a b in maths. I am actually pretty good at it and maybe could have got A, but I truanted and was utterly lazy. I regret it now only because I enjoy using maths at work and wish I hadn't thrown away the tuition I truanted.

Well, I consider my DD1 to be 'not very good' at maths and she is on target to gain a B grade GCSE later this year. If she achieves it we will be very very pleased and proud.

However, I also wouldn't say she was 'bad' or 'poor' at maths, but she is clearly not a natural mathematician - she is where she is due to hard work and determination.

I got a 6 (lowest pass grade) in O-level maths. I scored 97% in degree-level statistics. Being dreadful at one branch of maths - geometry in my case - has little bearing on your aptitude for other branches, but not being good at them all will bring down your GCSE grade.

I think a B's fantastic! I also agree that children are easily led to believe they have handicaps in some subjects, so it's best to try and avoid doing that.

No but I'd never tell my child they 'weren't very good at' something. I got an A at maths GCSE but couldn't cope with A-level. But I'd let my children find out for themselves if that was the case.

Teachers do not always have in their minds the best indication of what your child can achieve. With a bit of warning (and your own opinion), you can change the prediction. My son was in the era when there was a choice of O levels or just CSEs. He was predicted to get a CSE grade 4 which was just the national average and would get him nowhere and he was not predicted to get a grade A-C O-level. I was not going to put up with that so got a private tutor for 6 weeks - yes just once a week for 6 weeks - and he finished up with an O level grade B. He went on to get A level Maths and Further Maths. It was a teacher / pupil personality clash. I'm so glad that I recognised that.

DoraCora is right in that it comes down to the way it's explained or presented and in the way that a pupil gets on with his teacher.

DH got a B in Maths. Less than ten years later he works as a Financial Controller and is almost fully-qualified as a Management Accountant.

I would love to have a B. I have a C and that took me three attempts, I got a D and a U on the other two goes
My brain seems to seize up when it hears numbers.

i got a D but now im good in maths

I got a b and I always say I'm 'thick at maths.'
It certainly wasn't a strong point. I was put off maths by really bad teaching in primary school. Really bad. Strange because I got a B in science too but wouldn't specifically say I'm useless at science. Maybe I just feel useless at maths because of my awful early experiences of it? In the same way id say I'm terrible at PE?

Notso, how good were your parents at maths and what sort of help did they give you?

Of course not...but as others have said, I would strongly discourage going on to A Level at maths with 'only' a B grade at GCSE.

I got an A* at GCSE maths, with no revision at all...maths was my 'thing', always had been and I sailed through it. A Level maths was a whole different ball game. I managed to get an A Grade at A Level by the skin of my teeth (got the minimum mark for an A) but it was hard. I had to do more work for my maths A Level than the other two (Law and English) put together.

Hmmm. No, I wouldn't because I got a C!

DH is brilliant at maths (and everything else... ) but he did a baccalauréat.

DC1 is in year 11 so has just done mocks, they got an A. That's their minimum expected grade for the real McCoy.

However DC1 is a mini-me of DH and they both seem to "get" maths easily but it's far from DC's passion.

DC2 is in Y7 and is my mini-me (but much brighter) and parents evening is looming so I shall ask their teacher.

They're in the second from top set at the moment and cope quite easily.

Did the person who said it to you know that you got a B at GCSE?

I think if you get a B at GCSE it is likely that you are good at Maths although not exceptional. If I had got a B at Maths GCSE I would have been disappointed.

Without knowing the circumstances it is hard to say whether that was a good grade for someone or not. For me it would have shown something went wrong ie I hadn't worked or I panicked in the exam. For someone else it would show they had worked to the best of their ability.

Weird comment earlier about people not being naturally good at maths. My two DSs are only 11 and 7 but their understanding of number is inherent. Maths doesn't scare or confuse them, they just 'get it' and weirdly enjoy it.