Does a child that starts ahead generally stay ahead?

[NorhamGardens]

Looking at some of the other recent threads has got me thinking.

Looking at my brood the ones that started reception or Y1 in the top group etc tended to stay there going forward.

It's rare in our school for someone to move dramatically 'up' in the scheme of things. Sure a few do but they are the exception rather than the rule.

Increasingly I think that if a child is perceived as being more capable than average early on this becomes a self fulfilling prophecy going forward.

I'd say mine are all broadly similar in intelligence but some have been 'believed' in very early on which has given their confidence and subsequent progress an enormous boost.

Cortina, I agree with everything you say. I have repeatedly assured you in the past, on these threads, that teachers don't put children in boxes because of what they perceive children to be capable of (or because of what they have been told by professionals who meet these children only a handful of times) - but some of the comments made on this thread have really worried me.

Thanks, Feenie I have appreciated your reassurance too.

I do think that there are a minority out there that have some worrying, rather potentially damaging belief systems. In our case the teacher was well liked and well regarded which made things more 'dangerous' somehow. Others were beginning to believe and share this teacher's views.

Reminds me of the teacher and the locker numbers story that does the rounds.

Teacher is worried that her class is slow to learn, so goes to look up their IQ's in their information files. She is astonished to find that they are all 120+ IQ. Well above normal. So she works them very hard and they all achieve very well.

Then she finds out that it wasn't the Iq's she had looked up, it was their locker numbers

becaroo, yes, I've known lots of children who have 'taken off' in their reading later on, - especially in Y2, it's very common. It sounds as if your ds's new school have a much more positive attitude towards his learning, and I hope he starts to enjoy his new school soon. Keep us posted.

I didn't know the locker number story, will google it.

It sounds like the study in the 60s I think where each class in a school had their IQ tested. The teachers were told they were going to be given the top two student's results in each class.

The teachers were then given two children's results at random in each class but told that these two were the top performers.

At the end of a year in every case the children that the teachers had believed had the 2 highest IQs in the class had made by far the most progress.

Sounds like the locker IQ story is a bit of an urban myth.

Teacher401 Mon 01-Nov-10 22:58:41 Who says they can't? Education Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist, and the statementing panel.

I've never known any of the people you mention put a level that a child will never exceed.
I know I would be putting up a stiff argument if my LA worked this way.

becaroo please don't think that the term inadequate should ever be applied to your child or any child. The term applies to the teaching and how it affects the learning - not the child.

Chn can take off with their reading at any age. Whatever year group I've been in there is always reluctant children, they get there in the end once the time has been taken to find out their likes and dislikes and feed it into their reading.

My older brother is quite badly dyslexic and didn't get into reading until college. He got a 1.1 at uni a few years ago. Much, much later than the rest of his peers but much better degree than most of them!

I hope your ds grows in self esteem, it's very sad when children don't think they are capable. It sounds like you have had an unsatisfactory time with your child's old school - hopefully whatever you choose next will be more beneficial for both of you. Good luck

I realise that "inadequate" is a term used by OFSTED. I still think it is a dreadful term when describing children/their abilities.

It should never be used to describe a child as I said earlier Ofsted use it to describe quality of teaching and the quality of education provided by a school even they do not use it when referring to children.

I know a little girl who excelled in reception and yr 1 then plummeted for no apparent reason
even had a brain scan to rule out anything sinister
turns out she just peaked very early and is now decidedly below average