Why don't some teachers like to tell parents how their Dc is doing compared to classmates?

[forgottenpassword]

Just wondered really. Is there a difference between practices in private and state on this? Ps not asking from position where answer is likely to be "top of the class".

[seeker]

Well, if a child is doing badly- ie not making progress based on NC levels- then you would go into school, talk to the teacher, ask what they were going to do about it, and act accordingly. If you weren't happy with the response, then you might move schools, get a tutor, whatever. Ditto if a child is doing well- making lots of progress. Although, I'm not sure why you would move a child that's doing well and is happy. My point is that it's what happening to your child that's important.

[pickledsiblings]

Seeker, it's got to be both to be truly meaningful. Your DS could be top of the class but making slower progress than the rest of the class. Compare that with a DC who is bottom of the class and making slower progress than the rest of the class. Both students are the same in relative terms, their needs are the same (ie they both need to make more progress) but the school's resources may be deployed differently in each case. I think parents should be aware of this.

[pickledsiblings]

'Your DC is doing very well and making steady progress' = high achieving DC
'Your DC is struggling but making steady progress' = low achieving child

[pickledsiblings]

Possible scenario to go with my previous 2 posts: We have a teacher that is excellent at teaching to the middle, soon your high achieving child will be in the middle just like the rest of them and because of the extra resources we've deployed, Mrsx, your low achieving DC will be around about the middle too.

[Dromedary]

I've always been told that a child will do better if they are with similar or slightly higher level peers.

Apparently research shows that mixed ability groups are better for lower ability children (who learn from the high ability ones) and worse for high ability children.

If a teacher is poor, and many children in the class are doing badly, it is very unlikely that if you discuss your child's poor level with said teacher they will tell you not to worry about your child's ability to learn, as in fact they are doing ok in relation to the class, and the problem is to do with the teacher's bad teaching. You will be fobbed off, but you won't know it, because you won't know that many other children are also doing badly.

It's really about transparency. And I don't really believe that telling parents say once or twice a year where their child is in the class (or say which quartile they are in) will result in loads of boasting between parents at the school gate. It's not about one upmanship, it's about knowing how your child is doing and whether you need to be doing more to support them.

[NorhamGardens]

Replying to a PP re: private schools having a reason to give form position/class average etc where they don't work to NC levels etc...Well the elephant in the room, IME, is that they generally have higher academic expectations.

Those private schools I know aim to get the majority way beyond the equivalent NC expected level and consider this to be an unambitious target for anyone with average intellect and beyond (with similarly high ambitions for those with below average intellect). Small class sizes etc mean they generally deliver on this promise - if they didn't parents would generally vote with their feet (although I know parental choice isn't just about having high academic expectations).

I get so cross when I hear one of mine is 'doing fine, doing great and on track to achieve the expected level'. Especially true when a lower KS1 level has them pegged as a low or middle ability child. If they go on to do as expected I am supposed to be over the moon - what if I think or even worse know for sure that expectations should be higher as they can do more?

Sorry anecdotal I know but I get fed up with reading these sort of comments on FB: '95% in Maths and 78% in English and they want more! Expectations are off the scale at our school! They're on John's case and have recognised his potential!". And then I come down to our school and get at our school 'don't worry he's doing great - bang on target for national expectations'.

[campergirls]

Do you really know people who put comments like that on Fb NorhamGardens? I've never heard anyone be so boastful in rl (or on Gb for that matter)

[NorhamGardens]

Oh yes, tip of the iceberg stuff and everyone wades in to praise...I'm just jealous really :) That's before they start on all their other accomplishments.
If I am really honest I am not sure they mean to boast, many are super proud of their DCs and want to share. I just can't help but compare sometimes and as someone put it so well on MN 'comparison is the thief of joy'.

[seeker]

Not getting into a private good/state bad argument - but I can't see why you thinking private schools are at a higher level than state ones is relevant to the discussion!

Anyway, I'll say again- I'm not talking about teachers who say "oh, he's doing very well" of "in line with national average" or something wafflly like that. I'm talking about the scenario where you know what level they were at 6 months ago, you know what level they are at now and you know what level they are expected to be in 6 months time. If you're happy with the rate of progress, then fine. If not, talk to the school.

[Dromedary]

Norhamgardens. I agree, I would not trust a teacher's expectations of a child's progress to be gospel as to what they should be achieving. Expectations may very well be too low. Maybe they are occasionally too high for the child. And they won't take into account extra help that you might like to give the child. Some teachers are happy for the children to coast along for a year. When my DC1 started school my idea was that she was going to a highly rated school and I would just let them get on with it. I very soon learned that if I took that approach she would sink - I was told by the totally newly qualified teacher that I shouldn't expect my DC to learn the 100 basic words or whatever that they're expected to learn in R (because she was too Thick, though the T word was unspoken). My daugter, within about a term, was coming home with the idea in her head that she was stupid. She is not Thick, and with some help from me plus a decent Y1 teacher shot up to the top of the class in Y1. I now try to keep a close eye on how my DCs are doing, and to encourage them to stretch themselves, though sometimes it is frankly too much for me, especially as the oldest one is now doing stuff I don't understand (in science, not my best subject).
Research shows, as has been well publicised, that at primary level a child's progress is mainly related to how much parental support they get. So give parents more respect and let us have all the relevant information about our child.

[seeker]

If you find a teacher happy to let a child coast for a year, I will show you a teacher who will fail her OFStED assessment. They are judged on the progress their pupils make.

[NorhamGardens]

Dromedary I agree. Those amazing readers in early years classes - well if you've read Outliers it gives you some idea - more often than not they're the ones who have had the most exposure to books, to reading and yes even to basic phonics before Reception in some cases.

Thing is Seeker who is to say your average or low achiever in Y2 can do way more than what would be considered expected progress? There's no real incentive to push a early attainer on to the top of the class - generally the child won't be thought to have the requisite ability, they are low ability in NC terms. As long as the expected progress box has been ticked it's job done.

[NorhamGardens]

Sorry I mean push a low early attainer to the top of the class above.

[seeker]

How would knowing class position make a difference to that?

[TheFallenMadonna]

There is every incentive to push a child to exceed their Target, especially if their target is low, and especially in Core subjects. Essentially, we are judged on % reaching certain levels (not just national expected average by the way), and on levels of progress for individual pupils. If any teacher is teaching to the middle in the days of the transition matrix, then they're going to be in bother come their performance management review.