Year 7 report with y11 target grades!

[bourgeoisfishwife]

We received a report today for our y7 dc. For every subject they have given grades for current attainment and effort alongside a gcse target grade, based on their ks2 SAT scores.

Is this standard practice at all schools? It feels very wrong giving them gcse predicted grades in year 7. A lot can change in that time and it puts unnecessary pressure on them right from the start. Plus SAT scores at many schools (including the juniors dc went to) are often inflated so the target grades are unlikely to even be accurate. AIBU?!

Yes. They are their MEG (minimum expected grades) they are produced by the Fischer Family Trust (FFT).

Our school produces these as well. That’s not to say a pupil can’t exceed this grade by year 11, but the grade is the very least they should achieve, based on their starting point, and other points . The FFT also accounts for attainment, pupil premium etc

yep
same here

Crazy isn't it! I hate it.

I do agree it’s shit though. I don’t agree with it, especially when SATs at ks2 aren’t even moderated so they can be completely fabricated.

Yep, it’s standard for schools to get the FFT data for all students as our min targets. As the yr 6 SATs are in English, maths and science, you can get fairly reliable targets over a cohort. But for subjects like MFL, geog, art etc, it’s not greatly reliable.

Yep, totally standard.
Poor bastard teacher’s pay progression often linked to how many pupils achieve this grade.
It’s bonkers all round.

Same here at a different MAT. The only scores they get are on the current 1-9 GCSE scale. So obviously they mostly are failing. We are used to it now and I guess they would be using some sort of grading system regardless.

I think at many schools they do reassess them in Y7 based on the understanding that y6 scores are unreliable.

@noblegiraffe, you are needed!

Until noble gets here to explain this in much more detail, the summary is as follows:

This is very common now, pretty much standard practice. There will probably be graphs involved, and the term 'flightpath' will be used.
It is a load of horseshit.
Even ofsted are now saying it's shit.
Best thing to do is teach your child to ignore it.

I'm really shocked and quite angry tbh! Everyone knows SATs are nonsense. DC has got several 'below target' despite having scored the highest for current attainment in the same subject, which just proves its nonsense!

I don’t agree with it, especially when SATs at ks2 aren’t even moderated so they can be completely fabricated.
Year 6 SATs are moderated on a regular basis, just not every school, every year.

Have a read of this thread OP. YANBU

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3538779-Flight-paths-in-secondary-are-nonsense-and-demotivating-for-pupils-SAY-OFSTED

YABU.

it’s not saying what grade they are going to get but what grade they should be aiming for minimum based on achievement at SATS.

nuffaluff fully moderated then, apologies, I stand corrected.

Nope. We don’t have that, they get graded on ‘progress’ and ‘commitment to learning’ but not a predicted grade.

I hate it too, more proof that kids are numbers for a league table and nothing else.
Considering we get one Parents Evening a year, with 2 minutes per teacher (when a lot of subjects have more than one teacher), it's not helpful at all.

Yup my twelve year old has got 9-7 for everything and the behaviour for learning system means she can only ever her good as to get excellent you have to exceed your target.utterly horrific

it’s not saying what grade they are going to get but what grade they should be aiming for minimum based on achievement at SATS.

And you don’t see anything wrong with that? For a year 7, they will see that as a forgone conclusion and be on the road to potentially a host of MH issues over the next few years. They don’t need to know their fake target grades in order to achieve their potential.

no, not everything is a mental health issue!

it’s literally just a way for teachers to ensure that students are not falling behind where they should be minimum. All teachers should push students regardlessz

The fact is if a child is at X in year 6, and another child is at Y , the latter child is likely not going to be attaining the same as the first child.

obviously other factors play a part but it’s just true.

also predicted grades and target grades are two different things- you seem to use them interchangeably.

Predicted grades- are what a teacher thinks the child will get ; given closer to the real exams

Targets- where a child should be minimum based on ability shown at landmark points so SATS, GCSE, ALEVEL

Maybe you could direct your ire at successive governments who are bent on enforcing that all children make steep rates of progress from KS2 to KS4 and teachers in secondary schools should make up for seven years of primary mis-education in five years?

Ofsted might say they don't like them, but they're bloody quick to rate a school's teaching and learning as inadequate if the school can't provide them with tables of figures showing that each category of student is on track with the Flightpath/Target Grades.

Yep normal and our dc school colour code reports as well - red if below target, orange if on target and green if exceeding. Dc is in yr 8 and I now print things in black and white just to avoid the termly meltdown over the fact she’s achieving her targets but looks like she’s doing badly

FWIW as a teacher, I hate it too, as do most colleagues

Yup my twelve year old has got 9-7 for everything and the behaviour for learning system means she can only ever her good as to get excellent you have to exceed your target.utterly horrific

Only on MN will you see a parent whose child is predicted A-A** complain it's "utterly horrific" because this means they can only get a "good" for behaviour for learning. Utterly horrific ' really?!

also predicted grades and target grades are two different things- you seem to use them interchangeably.

I have done nothing of the sort. Where have I mentioned predicted grades?

And to belittle what current teenagers are going through at school and how far too many are not coping (it’s heartbreaking to deal with everyday), with a line ‘not everything is a MH issue!’ shows that you really have no idea. It’s a grim state of affords currently and this has played a big part.