to think that seocndary school grading is almost entirely uncomprehensible

[Elsiegrote]

I have a masters degree and professional qualification which requires a high level of analytical skills and numeracy but when I look at my DS end of year 8 report my eyes glaze over and quite frankly I have no idea how he is doing.

I looked at secondary school talk boards and got even more confused. What is level 7/8/ 9 or 10. Is a better than b .......

Do other parents who are not teachers feel the same?

There are no levels. Schools can call them what they like - so 5a might mean one thing in one school and something else entirely in another. Or your DC might be working at A, or at Purple, or at Jellyfish...

It's called 'Assessment without Levels' and is a really good, carefully thought through and meticulously implemented idea. Or a crock of shite. You decide.

I just ask the kids "is that good or bad?" and they tell me

This is why we need National Attainment Scales!!!

Or, why don't we do away with all this crap and go back to the old one-liner reports of old, followed by some good old-fashioned exams at age 16 and 18.

My parents and I knew exactly how I was doing in every subject, from the A in Music to the C+ in Art. My favourite comment was from PE aged about 9 - "Could improve ball skills." Yep, that was me, see a ball, drop it! (I was awesome at the wheelbarrow race though, see other threads!)

To be honest, all parents ever GENUINELY want to know on a report is a) are they doing ok for them according to their interests and ability? and b) are they behaving themselves and does the teacher sound like they know my child?

Gobbin Sadly there are a lot of parents who would not be happy with that these days.

I have had many a parents evening with parents wanting to know a lot more detail than just a grade.

I reckon if you gave them a truth drug, what most parents would most want is a class position. But nobody would ever admit it.

Ds2's Y7 report came with a selection of grades and learning profiles, plus a predicted GCSE grade (!) for each subject. The only thing that made any sense was the colour-coding for dummies where green was good and red meant 'pull your socks up, laddie'.

I think he's doing okay, but if I were colour-blind I swear I'd be none the wiser.

Bertrand Russell I have loads of parents ask me for class position every parents evening.

Noodle-'presumably you don't tell them? Fortunately, my special "reading upsidedown" skill
means I can always find out!

It's not a measure we have to calculate so can't be precise. I can say they ate top/middle/bottom compared to the rest of the group so they have some idea if a set move up or down may happen and isn't a shock.

I am good at upside down reading as well so look at data as they sit down then cover it up!

Our school does the coding. Red and green and Amber for each subject.

In dds report You have current grade, last years grade, what the national average expected grade is and where your kid is in relation to their end of targets (did they meet their target or not). So quite easy to see how they're doing.