Another SATS thread sorry - can you tell me how streaming works

[nametaken]

You know those tests the year 6 children are doing this week. Well, I'm guessing that whatever score they get determines which stream they will be in when they go up to secondary school is that right?

Also are there always 4 streams per year. In my old school there were 4 streams

G = top stream
B = bottom stream
A = middle
Alpha = middle

Is this the norm?

I'd never confess this to anyone in real life but I have to tell someone - I think my daughter is going to be in the bottom stream and I'll be really disappointed if she does. DH and I both grammar school education. Plus I feel disgusted with myself for minding when I know we should be grateful for everything we've got.

Thanks for listening

I think most schools now have mixed ability classes for year seven and then use how they have done in that year to stream them.

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Hi name I have 2 ds's, one in year 6 and one in year 8. At my eldest's school they had "tests" in the first week of year 7 to get a better knowledge of the child. They were then only streamed for maths in year 7, unless they had SN. In year 8 he has been put in sets for Maths, English science and foreign languages.
I don't think you should be worried or disappointed in your daughter she might just surprise you. I had a grammar school education but I thought long and hard about it for my DS1. He did pass the 11+ but we chose to send him to the catchment area school, which is very good, as we felt that he would do better here with his friends and being nearer the top of his group. I think it could have been a blow to his confidence to have all of a sudden found himslef in the middle of his group.
Many people don't have a grammar school education go on to do great things with their lives- just be happy with her for what she is. I always say to mine just try your best and I will be happy.

They aren't streams but sets. Most secondaries will divide year into tutor groups of mixed ability. Sometimes students are setted from start on basis of KS2 SATs but more likely that setting will take place after internal tests (DS's school set in English/Maths after first half term). Setting for other subjects - particularly science generally occurs later.

At ds's grammer they're not streamed till yr 8, and then only for maths.

SATS load of bollocks really, the sec. will run all sorts of tests to work out individual targets over the first 2 terms of yr 7 anyway.

Also sats results not available until mid july so secondary schools do not have access to results when deciding on classes, the head of year 7 at one of our feeder secondary schools was at our primary school a week or two back to discuss transfer and she has six other schools to visit so has probably made a start on class groupings based on information from the year 6 teacher.
However fwiw I feel the year 9 ones are useful for exam preparation for gcse (first module papers come in november of year 10) and some schools use them as an extra indicator for entry level at gcse foundation or higher

My dd is year 7 at a 'good' comp

They are in mixed ability classes for most lessons. Setting takes place in core subjects over Year 7 and Year 8 - maths first, then english, then foreign langs, science. All other subjects - humanities, music, IT, D&T etc, are taught in their mixed ability forms.

Other schools in the area follow the same general pattern but vary as to how they do it - some set in first term, some do not set at all until start of Y8.

As it is an 8-form entry, there are 8 sets for core subjects. There is quite a difference between the top set and bottom set, but the others are very gently graded.

As I understand it, they dont go purely on SATS to set - it's done on a mixture of basic tests on entry, SATs, and ongoing performance (ie classwork, homework, tests etc). SATS results are a very small part of the overall picture - ignore those who tell you otherwise.

My Ds's rapidly improving comprehensive wanted to know actually sats scores Ie % as well as level. They sat CATs tests in the July before they started as well.
They were set for Maths, english then another set for all the other classes, none of them mixed ability. Their form/house is mixed ability.

my ds's comp will only use his maths sats to set him. They will also assess him every few weeks and move him up or down depending how he's doing.

Schools have different policies.

In our school they don't have streams, but they do set for some subjects. (The timetable is organised into two half year groups; these groups are usually broadly equivalent ability wise).

In yr7 atm we set (on the basis of SATs results) in the following subjects: Maths, Science, English. Everything else is mixed ability afaik.

MFL set in yr8, I think IT do too.

Humanities, art, music, drama, guidance, technology, PE are all taught in mixed ability groups up until the end of yr9.

In the school ds1 is going to in September yr7 are all taught all lessons in mixed ability form groups: ie the same group for every subject, no setting whatsoever.