To be extremely concerned that DS (yr9) school has decided that achieving GCSE level 4s in Maths/English will be good attainment for most pupils.

[sunshield]

I came back from DSs yr 9 parent evening last night a bit 'shell' shocked . The school which is deemed one of the better moderns around ( i did not use to call them that but when you compare the DDs grammar school ).
The school deems ' level' 4s to be a laudable achievement , they indicated that was the level they will be teaching the majority of pupils to.

Even lazy bones DD 2 (yr11) (posted about that April 2015) is predicted level 7 in Maths 8 in English . When she sarcastically told her Maths teacher that level '5' would be fine because she was not doing A level Maths was sent to the year head who roasted her !

This illustrates the difference in expectations in grammar and moderns a why is DSs school setting such low expectations in year 9 for 'gods' sake.

Or is it a case of seeing grade 4 as a pass....

[sunshield]

Since you ask GCSE English grade E 1990 !

What has my improper use of English got to do with hoping my son will not end up with similar grades.....

I have been called a 'snob' but every poster keeps going on about A Levels and needing level 5 ( for the record that a level 5 will equal a failure at A level).
I am talking about effectively disbarring 30% of children more vocational level 3 courses which previously were available and thus potentially could lead to a degree.

No i am concerned that the new grade system is so badly thought out that my son could do quite well and still not get on a level 3 course .

[noblegiraffe]

I am surprised at colleges saying they will require a 5 for A-level when the government have said that the first cohorts should not be disadvantaged compared to the previous cohort who only required a C.

I wonder if they may change their minds when they realise exactly how much their pool of potential applicants will narrow if they exclude kids who would have got a C last year.

[Whatsername17]

A 5 is the equivalent to a C.

[noblegiraffe]

whats you have been misinformed, a 4 is the equivalent to a low to mid C, a 5 is the equivalent of a high C, low B.

[PlayOnWurtz]

I don't understand these levels. My dd is year 7 and her baseline tests show she's beyond this level 4 in many subjects. Are the levels different for different year groups?

[noblegiraffe]

Play any school that is attempting to assign a new GCSE grade to a Y7 is basically making stuff up. I can't even predict GCSE grades with any confidence for my Y11 and they'll be sitting the exam in 7 months, let alone say what grade they are currently working at even though they've sat a full mock.

Giving out GCSE grades for maths and English in Y11 is making educated guesses. Trying to give new GCSE grades for other subjects whose syllabuses were only released at the end of the summer term is madness.

[PlayOnWurtz]

I wonder if they're applying old sats levels to them. They offered no explanation for these numbers just tested the children and handed out a list of numbers for the results.

I'd ask school but we are actively discouraged from communicating outside of parents evening. It's frustrating.

[ColinFirthsGirth]

My kids school has said that Sixth Forms will be regarding level 5 as a pass as that is a high c grade equivalent and the standards are going up.

[Boundaries]

The real shit will hit the fan when they decide the grade boundaries. No one has a blimmin clue where they will be.

What we do know is that the government is determined to "raise standard", which they seem to think equates to more children failing.

As you were.

[ColinFirthsGirth]

Play that sounds like Sats levels not the new gcse levels.

[ColinFirthsGirth]

Oh my son is in year ten btw. School adament they need level 5 to be counted as a pass in terms of Sixth form

[pieceofpurplesky]

Shadow not all pupils need a c in maths and English. Many don't resist.

[LunaLambBhuna]

Looking at my year 10 predicted data, many of them have been predicted grades 4-5. Some have even been given 3s and other up to 7 or 8. This data has been generated by Fisher Family Trust and is based around KS2 scores.

We have also been asked to give a teacher target. A near on impossible task because we have no real idea what each grade actually looks like. There's very little in the way of exam questions available. So, ultimately we are guessing or going with a gut feeling.

It's a total mess!

[smallfox2002]

"They are expecting only about 30-40% of pupils to achieve a Level 5 or greater !"

So in terms of old GCSE they expect 30-40% of students to achieve a high C/ low B or higher, where as they are aiming to get the majority the equivalent of a C.

In an area where there is a grammar school which will take the top 10% of students ( in some areas 15) that means that they are aiming appropriately for the students they have.

YABU.

[noblegiraffe]

play SATs level 4 is around the expected level of an 11 year old. GCSE grade 4 is roughly old C grade level which is around old SATs level 7, and would be exceptional achievement for an 11 year old. Hopefully that would give you some idea as to which they are using (if indeed either, and not some school-based tracking system).

[Boundaries]

piece students do now have to resist.

[Boundaries]

*resit

[Bluebolt]

Schools do seem to have varying ways of recording. DCs school have trajectories that are between 1 to 5. Which have not yet been changed to reflect the 1 to 9. I think mainly so there is wiggle room a 5 trajectory is 7/8/9.

[noblegiraffe]

Here's some measures being taken to accommodate resit students this summer just gone. It will be far worse when the need for a 5 kicks in.

www.tes.com/news/tes-magazine/tes-magazine/double-decker-buses-drop-hundreds-showground

[user1471494124]

Nobody even knows what the grades actually mean yet anyway. The exam boards will make up whatever they need to to fit with the narrative required by the government, I'm afraid. All your children can do is work hard and try their best.

[noblegiraffe]

Can we just remember that this is what teachers were talking about when we hated Gove and we were painted as lefty workshy whingers?

[PoppyBirdOnAWire]

"Shadowboy

Your right not all kids got c's but you'd be surprised how many had to resit. We have approx 1500 applications for A level courses during enrolement. Approx 200 of those 1500 don't have 5 c grades with maths + English and therefore have to resit their entire GCSE program. We don't do a mixed program. A school that only aims for 4 effectively means many more being a year behind."

Your?
c's?
enrolement?
program?

Wow. I do hope the litter-strewn post above is a spoof.

[PberryT]

Noble if I could "like" all of your posts, I would.

People in the real world have not a clue.

How many O Levels were pupils at secondary moderns expected to get?

[HereIAm20]

It was my understanding that the "much loved" league tables which currently look at the percentage of those achieving at least 5 A*-C grades will be looking at 9-5 grades and therefore the schools were going to be aiming to get their students to level 5 (inc Maths and English). If the school in question is aiming for level 4 then they will be seen as a failing school.

The fact that a level 5 was a high C /low B was where the contention was in that students who were low Cs would now not been in the categorisation as above.

[noblegiraffe]

No, there's no floor target for maths and English any more. A school will be 'failing' if it gets a progress 8 score of less than -0.5.