Upset about sons school test scores

[Lillybanks]

My son is 7
He did the Progress Test English and Progress Test maths test at the end of school and we got the results.
He did below average in Maths and just in the higher end of average in English.
The tests are done on a computer and my son mentioned his teacher said to skip any questions he thought were too hard and I think he took as he can skip through without trying.
His school report he does well in these areas and would be in the top reading group. They've never raised concerns and when helping with homework he always seems very capable. Any advice? To add he's one of the youngest in the year and not sure if scores are adjusted.
He got 80 in maths and 110 in english

There is a knack to those computerised tests. A key one is to have a go at every question as it’s better to try answering everything than leave them blank. Another is that a lot of them are adaptive, but not in a very sophisticated way, so if you get a few wrong in the first ten or so, it funnels you into a stream where it is then impossible to climb back up to the harder Qs where you can score better. Also to teach kids that just because they are doing a test on a computer doesn’t mean they can’t use a pencil and paper to help them work out the answer if they need to.

Atom is one of the main online platforms for teaching to the 11+, but I don’t know that they have content for kids as young as 7. There are lots of online maths games that do cover that age group though. Ask his teacher to recommend one or two and do that over the summer, so he gets used to entering answers on screen and eg checking he has typed in the number he meant to before pressing enter.

Do all kids do this test? I wasn’t aware

Thanks thats good advice,
From what he said he skipped quite a few so sounds like the computer possibly adjusted to easier questions maybe.
We didn't know much about the test before but were given a score sheet saying most kids in his school score above 100 so not very helpful!
I think the teacher told them to skip questions if they couldn't do something so they didnt spend too long on questions maybe but he took this quite literally.

But you’ve already said you know what happened. He skipped the questions because he thought he could.

See how he goes and just monitor him, he might be average, he might not be. So what? Healthy, happy, safe…those are all that matter, everything else is a bonus

The English is a good score. Higher end of average is throughly decent and nothing to be concerned about. The maths just below, so I would ask the teacher do they have any specific concerns that you could work on over the summer or is it a blip that doesn’t align with what they see in class and he had an off day and/or was confused by the format. Don’t be upset about it or make it into a bigger thing than it should be. He’s very young still!

Most children will be in the average bracket. That’s the whole point of a bell curve.

Well that's what we are assuming, im hoping the teacher can give some clarity.
I think we've always been given the impression he's above average in terms of previous clas tests and groups hes in so felt the score wasnt a clear reflection. But if he needs help that's ok just surprised I guess

But hes not in the average bracket, hes in the below average that was the concern

Yeah I think that it is just a case of asking them to recheck. It may be too late for it to be scored anywhere, but even just for your own peace of mind. This time with him knowing he should attempt it all unless he cannot do it

Oh, lucky teacher! Will she be expected to magic up time for all parents who feel aggrieved?

He is 7.
Despite having a house bulging with books and being read to every single day , one of my children couldn't really read until he was around 5 , his lovely teacher reassured me by telling me her child couldn't read until he was 7.
There is far too much pressure put on British children at such a young age and a one size fits all when children absolutely are not one size fits all !
Your son will get there eventually , let him have a wonderful Summer , he will learn naturally while having fun .

So should I just not communicate with my child's teacher?
Surely its better to have a quick chat to try and get my child the right support with his educator than just hope for the best. This is a really unnecessary and unhelpful comment

There is a knack to those computerised tests. - and all these test tell you is whether a child has learnt this knack! Not the most useful thing I might wish to know about my child!

I really am not sure it would. If he’s the youngest he likely needs decompression time even more than the average child in his year group and as many others have said at 7 years old his current test scores are unlikely to be indicative of his potential. I think maybe you are placing more weight on this than you need to. I’ll add my now 10 and 12 year olds, who are both young for their years also didn’t do great at this age but as they’ve got bigger the age gap has made less difference. If he was struggling to understand things I’d say maybe find fun ways to incorporate them into normal activities rather than workbooks. If he’s just struggling with focus that is genuinely going to get better as he gets older and trying to
force it might equally just end with a kid who stops enjoying learning or gets the idea fixed that they are bad at things as one who improves.

Firstly, very few schools that I am aware of are setting 7 year olds for maths and English so I think this is an unfounded concern. At worst he might start the next year in a lower table group, but if he finishes the work then he’ll be accessing the same work as others anyway!

Gently, I would assess your own level of anxiety and concern around this. He is going to sit hundreds of tests in his life and his is going to do badly on some of them (in fact, it is only healthy that he will!) I think you have probably already sent a message to him that you are disappointed with these scores based on the conversation you describe, and I would consider having another chat to emphasise to him that you aren’t disappointed at all and that, importantly, you love him for who he is rather than any test score he will ever get! I have worked with students who have been terrified to go home after one below average test score because of their parents’ reactions and it leads to significant test anxiety at best and really deep-seated issues about self-worth at worst.

I can assure you that if the teacher is concerned, they will contact you to discuss a plan of action. If they don’t do this, then continue to just provide your son with unconditional love and lots of cultural enrichment!

But he's not in the average bracket, he's in the below average that was the concern - even if he is it simply does not matter!

One of my DDs has a good degree from a Russell Group university and an MA and a wonderful life in a worthwhile profession. She was "behind" in so many things for the whole of her school career and to this day does not have a pass in GCSE maths. But she is happy and respected and loved and admired, pays her way and contributes to society in so many ways - and is raising a lovely family.

People would say she was below average at school - it did not matter one jot. She was who she was and is who she is and she is just great.

Tests are not the be all and end all.

We funnel our children down this narrow chute and burden them with competitiveness from such a tiny age. It does not matter whether your child is better or worse at something than the next child - it simply does not matter. It does not matter if they are above or below average - it simply does not matter.

There are so many posts on mumsnet from highly educated people who have come out the other end of the chute and are not any happier for it. They are harassed by demands, trying to keep up with everything and be as good as someone else and achieve, achieve, achieve ..........

Please don't worry about this silly test.

Tell us what s wonderful about your boy - I am sure it will be a long list!

Hmmm handy for the school if the progress tests start low because they told the kids they could skip a few questions

I think you are missing my point!

Your list of activities involves adult organization and structure and going around contrived attractions (all of which have their place as part of school educational outings) - my list is about free activity that capitalises on the child's natural ability to learn through doing what takes their fancy if given the opportunity and materials to use their imagination - children of 7 are brilliant at this and every second is a learning opportunity - but not a testable one!

We structure our children's lives at home and then they have structured lives at school - when are they free? Clearly they need boundaries in order to feel safe - that is important, but they do not need us to present them with endless learning opportunities - they can do that by themselves if you give them the chance!

And they certainly do not need workbooks during the summer - give them some paper and paint and pens and glue and let them make their own workbooks and fill them with the things that take their fancy! - activity opportunities that are outward rather than inward looking. Because that is what children do best. You will have nothing to mark - nothing to pronounce that it is done right or wrong - nothing to check - just stuff to delight in .....

I agree. The school year is long and they really do need time to decompress. I'll go to the library with my daughter over the summer and make sure she has a good supply of books to read but I'm definitely not spending 10 minutes a day doing workbooks.

P.S. She got 130+ in all of these tests in case anyone thinks I'm a dead beat parent.

Thanks I think I needed to hear that,
I'll definitely be having another chat with him tomorrow and giving him a lot of reassurance and hopefully undoing some of the damage.

The first teacher who taught my son to read said he was below average academic ability - he ended up at a grammar school, got all 8s and 9s in his GCSEs, studied English Literature for A level and is now at a Russell Group uni. Seriously, your son is young and has plenty of time. My son didn't actually read much until a teacher gave him a book on spy stories for kids aged 10 which seemed to spark an interest in him and then he had his head stuck in books for a few years. What I did with my kids is one-two weeks before each new school year I would get them to do some revision. This meant when they were tested for groups in the first week back they always did fairly well.

This makes sense. At this age they all just want to be the quickest/first - with class work, running, to the dinner queue whatever. His priorities are all wrong but that’s to be expected at 7 years old. He’ll grow out of this as they all do. Nothing to worry about.

His priorities are all wrong but that’s to be expected at 7 years old. .... or maybe his priorities are right and ours are wrong!
They are certainly right for a 7 year old!

Your poor child, he's only 7 and shouldn't even be having tests at that age. Let him be a child for goodness sake. No wonder so many young people have poor mental health these days with pressure being applied at such a young age.

Hi, the progress tests for English and Maths are not adaptive. The one for Maths has two parts, the first one timed with a mental maths element, the second part consists of between 22 and 32 questions (based on age, so your son would have sat the one with roughly 24 questions) and the scores produced are scaled scores.

69 is the lowest scaled score, 100 is average, 141 is the highest scaled score. The detailed reports that GL generate can show which ones were incorrect, so the school will have that information (I’m an academic deputy head for a large primary school), but it does sound like it was the learning behaviours that were the issue, rather than content knowledge.

Your son will develop these in time, he’s still young. I would just continue to reinforce maths at home in a fun way, and maybe do games with TTRS or Khan academy - seems like he’d find the idea of earning points etc quite motivating.