DS been asked to leave school due to low CAT score.

[omgitcantbetrue]

Just had a meeting with DS Prep school and I'm feeling so worried and anxious for DS.

He scored 92 average on the CAT test.
The teacher gently informed me this means he'll not manage to achieve above a C grade in any subject at GCSE. He's only in year 5, and I'm amazed they can make such predictions.
I was then informed that it's in his best interest to transition to a more gentle secondary school.
I don't know what I want really. Advice from parents in a similar position?
Are her life prospects totally limited? With C's only I'm assumings he'll never go to University. Which is fine. I'm worried for his prospects.
Do children who score 92 ever improve? How below average is this?
Thanks for reading

My son did not score well when a local indie school did a CAT test on him in Year 6 and didn't offer him a place. Trouble was it was our reserve choice, so we panicked a bit. but he passed the entrance exam for the our first choice School He got one C (a MFL) at GCSE, everything else was A*, A and B and was diagnosed as Dyslexic and some dyspraxic tendancies when he was 17. He is bright and had found a way of working round his dyslexia. He did history degree and Masters at a RG uni.
However, if the school has that attitude , I would be doing my homework on other schools and moving him now, as a PP said, they have already written him off. I am not expert but I am not sure that you need a specialist dyslexia school with his scores. Let's face it, they are not going to encourage you to move now, they are unlikely to be able to replace him in Year 5 and don't want to loose the fees.

My brother is dyslexic. They predicted he would never be able to even finish school. My mum didn't believe them and got help for him so he learnt how to learn with his dyslexia. He succesfully studied law in the end .

The dyslexia means that CAT scores are really quite unreliable. One of my DDs has a very high IQ when assessed by an EP . But her CAT scores have ranged from 77 (lowest possible score is 70) to 120.

Her teachers always used to go on about CAT scores being a very reliable indicator of ability and also that they don't really change much from one test to the next. Funnily enough they don't any more, having seen her results. And if 77 wasn't reliable for my child, how do they know 120 is? They don't, and they've all said her performance in class is more consistent with the kids scoring between 125 and 135, so...

If you look on the website of the provider it'll say their tests are suitable for everyone but will also have some weasley wording about how they may not be suitable for some dyslexics. Obviously if you are selling tests you will downplay their limitations.

I have to agree the school's attitude sounds very poor though. If you want to keep him there I'd be speaking to the head and also the SENCO about making sure he gets the right support and also that they find more appropriate ways of assessing him. Don't be disheartened. It's one way of assessing a child but not the only way, and certainly should not be used as a predictor of his whole future!

I would move him to a nice local state primary and use your money for specialist help with the dyslexia.

www.theschoolrun.com/primary-school-cats-explained

If I was OP I'd remove my child from a failing school which has so little faith in its teaching abilities and staff.

I'd take him out of the school, if he has been diagnosed with dyslexia was it by an educational psychologist? if so their report will tell you more about his actual abilities and weaknesses than a cat test score would.
If I remember correctly, there's verbal reasoning involved in a cat test so those areas could have understandably dragged his average down when his non-verbal intelligence could be much higher and from looking the test up now, it suggests that it might not be appropriate for a dyslexic to be assessed with a CAT test as our score profiles can be quite spikey.

It just seems like the school is trying to write him off so they don't have to spend money on support for him to actually get the scores he deserves.
I got 12 gcses without even knowing I was dyslexic at the time (i'm also dyspraxic but my school did nothing to support me with that), don't panic at this point, if you can get your son into a supportive school then there's no reason to immediately worry when he has 5 or 6 years to prepare.

Happens with some Prep schools. A relative had sons in Y3 and 5 at a very well known prep school in London and were told not to bother applying for Y7 for the older boy as they didn’t feel he was “school x material”. The poor kid was just average. They were quite put out when the relative removed both boys and explained there was no need as they felt the younger one WAS “school x material” so he could stay.

It’s not the right school for him OP

Private schools vary. Dd2 was at one for 4 years, when she moved to her current school she was in the lowest sets and quite behind. They completely turned her around and she was determined to do well. As I've said she outperformed once she moved schools.

My brother never scored above D and now has 3 degrees in engineering and the best paid job in our entire family. Dont say he will never go to Uni.

Terrible school and awful prediction, all they care about are their stats and keeping their intake up.

How can you predict what GCSEs he will get at year 5. FWIW my DS (state) primary school said he would never be a high achiever or go to uni and was below average. He got 5A, 6B and 3C and a First at Uni. ALevels were a bit mediocre though 😂

And if hasn’t made uni I’m pretty sure he would have gone great In a vocational apprenticeship anyway as he is very handy.

Sending good luck and kind thoughts x

Hes in year 5.
There is no way they can predict what he will end up getting at GCSE's.
But I agree with others this school doesnt sound right for him if they write him off so easily.

Most predicted GCSE grades are from SATs sat in year 6 is it is common to asses how a child will do from a young age. Obviously what they predicted isn't always the same as what they get but the fact that this is the age most still use demonstrates it can be a good indicator.

Many private schools are aiming for students to get high grades and therefore struggle to support less able students hence why entrance exams are taken. I'm not saying that makes it right but I suspect this advice has been given because they know they won't be able to support your child's needs.

He might be a bit unsettled in the short term but far far batter than staying at a school who is clearly only bothered about your money rather than helping your child. Move him to a local state school, use he money saved for any additional help he might need or a really good holiday, all far more beneficial to the shit show that is this school.

Move him to a local state school or a better private school.

@omgitcantbetrue I can't tell from your posts that you are dyslexic. Your posts are very articulate.

I don't know about the CAT score but my grandson was struggling at primary school, it was probably year 5 when he started to make progress. He is in year 9 now and achieving marks at the top of the 2nd set at his school, I assume it is his dyslexia that has made a foreign language a challenge but it is the only subject he seems to be struggling with.

Your son is still very young and I think the school don't sound great, I hope you find somewhere more supportive.

My son is profoundly dyslexic. He missed his early school targets at the end of KS1 and KS2 in English but achieved above expectations in Maths and Science.

At secondary school he selected his GCSE subjects based on how much reading and writing was required (eg he took Geography instead of History. With a huge amount of extra support he achieved a Grade C in his English GCSE. He went on to get Maths and Physics A Levels at grade A and a First Class Honours MA in engineering at university.

He still struggles with reading and writing but has developed strategies to deal with it and it hasn't held him back in life at all. He is currently working in Europe

I'm not saying that makes it right but I suspect this advice has been given because they know they won't be able to support your child's needs.

It's bot at all a case of not being able to support his needs. They just cant be arsed trying to help support him as he may require additional help. It's easier for them to only have pupils that will do well when being taught in a set way regardless of how shit the teaching is than to attempt to differentiate to support all their students.

Yes! They can.

My son didnt get a grade on any of his SATS. He matured and it came naturally. He left school with 6s and I was happy with that x

It is very common for preps to start 'weeding' out children in yr 5. A lot of snr schools in the private sector want CAT scores of at least 100 but ideally 110+.

Look for a school better suited to your son. And don't worry that this is cast in stone. I had a teacher tell me in yr5 that my august born son would be impacted by his birth date for the whole of his school career. He is now in the sixth form and she was wrong, very wrong.

Just wanted to say I’m an exception and so was a friend of mine. Not great CAT test scores (I was stressed and there was loads of maths that panicked me, also taken yr7 after a house move and summer break), but got 7 A - A* at GCSE, the rest were C (double awards). My cognitive ability is fine but that really didn’t show on the test at all. I actually could have done far better in science than the CC as I’ve now managed to do it way past GCSE level, but it was taught poorly at my school. Do they give him help with dyslexia and appropriate alterations to exams if needed? If he’s just had a break due to covid and the summer, he might just be a bit behind and overwhelmed right now. Also, I thought 92 was within average. Isn’t normal above 85? I think that’s a disappointing and unsupportive thing for the school to say, private and selective or not. Surely they’ve got the resources to help and probably smaller classes?

Parent of a dyslexic here. My child did terribly at a mainstream school, bottom of everything. Her teachers said she tried hard, she was fine blah blah. She wasn't, she knew she was struggling while her friends weren't and her mental health took a nose dive in around Y5. I moved her to a school that has very good dyslexic provision and she's just soared, doing so well. She couldn't access her education and my biggest regret is not moving her earlier. IMO the sooner a child gets the right help they need, the better.

There are exceptions, obviously, but the data they analyse is huge, and the predictions aren't far off in my experience. The results being fairly accurate for a population is very different to saying they are accurate for an individual.

OP, I was at a private school like this. I was managed out in year 9.

I transferred to a lovely inclusive state secondary and got straight As because I had teachers who loved their subject and cared.

The private school which my parents had thrown £££ at had decidedly average-poor teachers and relied upon exceptional kids with exceptional parents to get their A grades. They set hours of homework a night which my parents didn't have the knowledge to support me with.

It sounds like you're better off away and I'm sure your boy will thrive in the right setting.

Tonight on the PM programme at 5pm on Radio 4 they were discussing dyslexia - some very positive stories. It was from about 50 minutes in.