Key stages and end of year target levels.

[Cortina]

Do end of year target levels ever cause progress to be limited or negative labels to be applied?

Looking at year one as an example as it's something I am dealing with at the moment.

Surely anything less than a 1b or a 2 is limiting and potentially negative? (Unless a child has learning difficulties).

I read that this target can change each term but if parents see that their child's target is lower than they might expect isn't the danger then that parents and teachers negatively label, even subconciously, 'Susie isn't good at maths' etc?

I don't believe it's about innate talent. I believe anything is possible. The more a child is challenged the more they grow.

Other 'qualities' should also be measured IMO.

I'm not too sure I follow ( sorry, bad cold and head like cotton wool so excuse me if I've caught the wrong end of the stick) If a child enters yr 1 on a, say, 1C we would expect them to make 2 sub-levels progress over the year-ie to a 1A. However if they achieve this level before the end of the year we don't stop teaching them, we just move their target on to a 2C. So there is no "limit" placed on their progress. If a child has learning difficulties, they might ( depending on the particular circumstances) still be expected to make two sublevels progress but from, say, Wc to Wa, or they might be aiming for just 1 level progress but this would depend on the child. Hppefully the school sees the children as "people" rather than numbers. If Susie is either "below average" (if there is such a thing as an average child) or making progress below expectations then it is the teachers job to overcome this. If she isn't good at maths, I need to work twice as hard with her to help her catch up, or at least make progress.
A fridge magnet I have says "all children have wings, a teacher helps them to fly" and that's how I see it. Some children's wings develop faster than others but they all have them somewhere!

Hope this answers your query, sorry if it doesn't, Lemsip and sleep might help!

You sound wonderful and any child is lucky to have you as a teacher, what a brilliant motto.

I feel like I need lemsip too but to clarify we have an end of year target level for our children and what I am trying to say is why is this not always as high as it could possibly be?

If you shoot for the moon you might get the stars and all that sort of thing

cortina, I'm not I get what you mean either. Children are assessed and given a level that they are working at. It is not a race to get to the top. I mean suppose you were learning to read your name. If you did it once, you don't tick the box and then start on a new word. You have to make sure that the child is really secure on that one task. so you make sure they can do it lots of times, whilst gently moving on to the next thing, but keep going back to the original task to make sure it is second nature to them to do it. There isn't anything to be gained by racing through stuff, it's better to learn fewer things but learn them properly, after all, it's all building blocks for later work.
Also, it's a matter of self esteem. Not sure if it's the case in your child's class, but I had to put up a display on the wall showing each child and which target they were working towards, it's much more worthwhile for the child to see themselves making baby steps of progress, that way they can see for themselves that they are progressing.
Of course all staff want their pupils to reach for the moon and all that bit, that's why teachers will pitch a lesson at a certain level and then tailor it to the particular needs of each child. I mean, even if a child can't read one single word or can't even speak English, they will still sit and listen to and try to follow the class reading a story, because as you say, that might be the day it all clicks for them. Even if they then sit down and learn their alphabet because that is what is the right step for them, while others in the class write a short story.
Does that help at all?

Also, it's easy as an adult to look at the different levels and think it's all basically the same. It's amazing how easily we forget how difficult it is to count in tens or add up 2 numbers (0-9). In year 1 you are learning the absolute foundations and I think you would be shocked at the number of children who have not grasped these basics. For example I have seen children in year 5 and 6 who cannot immediately answer a basic addition e.g. 5+6 without counting on their fingers. So it is worth putting in the hours now as it will pay dividends later

Hi Humpty I am with you all the way. I agree about self esteem and love the idea of the progress chart on the wall.

I don't know how it works in your school but in our ours we are given a predicted end of year target level now. It feels like these targets are often low and easy to reach.

The levels are intended as a guide and I'd have no problem with 'X is currently a W we are aiming that he will be a W+ by the end of Feb'. What I am concerned is that his current target level is a 1b for the end of the year. If that's what he achieves then great but why not higher if he can do it?

It's probably just the way the report is written and I will bring it up so I can understand more clearly how this works.

Basically from what you've said you ignore the end of year target level phrase and just see it as the next goal/milestone?

Cortina, I would not get hung up on this. At the end of the day, if your child is doing well then that's great. and if they are struggling, then focus on getting them support. Also, it is very difficult to say where one child will be next summer. All you can do, is see where they started and where on average a child would be. I would see all targets as the next thing to aim for. And try to remember the difference between level 1c and 1b may seem like nothing to us adults but it is a big deal for children who are 5!!!!

Will do, Humpty

Seems odd to predict end of KS1 levels then to me? Why not just next goal? Guess as you say best not to read too much into it just make sure child is supported and happy.

Cortina, they have to predict these levels. So much of a teacher's time is spent with doing seemingly pointless paperwork and this is another example!!!
In reality the teacher is probably more focussed on the next step than the big picture because that's all she can do, take the kids to the next step. So please try not to worry!!