To wonder what is going on with Scottish education/high schools, is it just my local school?

[Pinesinthedunes]

Just that. I can't seem to get any feedback on how my child is doing. They don't seem to use textbooks, work supposedly goes up on Google Classroom, it doesn't, I've looked. My child passes their tests (they're 3rd year) but refuses to do any additional work as they say it is wasted effort as they don't get a score/percentage - just pass or fail. I thought this couldn't be true - I checked, it is. I can't encourage or support my child's learning if I don't get any feedback on the effort they're putting in. Is this normal?

I have an S3 child in Scotland and their school doesn't really use text books either.

We have parents evening, once a year and a report, it is quite low on detail but does give a good indication of level of effort - do you not get this?

There's quite a long thread in Scotsnet about Scottish education, it is quite an eye opener.

My DD2 is S3 in Scotland too. All tests have percentages / scores and loads of extra work is put up on Teams. Has your DC started NAT 5s? DD's school starts 8 NAT5s at S3. Her school is a school that does well academically but with the help of supportive parents and paid tutors. I buy the How to Pass It books for each subject. Getting info out of the school is like getting blood from a stone though. Contact guidance if you have any concerns (for DD1, I wasn't even aware who or what the guidance teacher was). Good luck, I know it can be really frustrating.

Thank you for your responses. Yes I have received the report but it's so vague it's effectively meaningless. Parents year 1st year was 3 mins with a PE teacher speaking on overall progress, "they're doing fine", 2nd year I skipped as the first was a nonsense. 3rd year was online meetings which cut off before I could ask questions. I'll contact guidance but I don't anticipate much luck with this. I will try. I have bought additional materials but because I never know how tests have gone I have no way to either gauge progress or reward the additional effort. My child likes doing well and without that simply can't be bothered beyond the minimum. They're doing Nat 4s this year - next year is Nat 5, is that normal? They're in the top English and Maths set but I'm very worried they'll fall behind

We get percentages for every test. Homework is on an app - parents and pupils have a log-in.

Not all homework is marked. This is a fairly recent change. It was based on research concerning pupil centred learning and as a response to homework marks creating a false expectation for external exam scores.

kids in high school in Scotland here too. Textbooks have gone the way of the dinosaurs.

All work is online, our school uses ipads.

However, assignments ARE posted on google classroom (to which I can log in). My kids get marks (not pass/fail) for assignments.

Parent's eve are short, but they should give you a summary of how your child is doing and present progress over the year/curriculum stages.

Most schools won't be doing Nat5 at S3 (S3 should still be BGE phase) however, sometimes some do- my son is S4 now, and did one N5 last year, and will do Higher in that subject in this school year.

You should be able to contact your child's year head (not guidance I would have thought? but perhaps titles vary between schools) or the department and ask for a detailed update if that will help with e.g. subject choice next year.