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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

what do these levels mean please? 3a reading, 3b maths and literacy

12 replies

lu9months · 12/05/2011 14:58

my son is in year 4 and we have been told he is working towards these levels at the end of this year. could someone put them in context please, I am not sure what they mean! we are wondering whether to think about applying for selective state secondaries, and would like to know whether , with these results at this stage, this is reasonable

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sarahfreck · 12/05/2011 15:42

Could be reasonable. Depends on how selective the schools are and how your ds continues to progress. Most selective schools say that they would expect children to be predicted level 5s in year 6. What does his teacher say?

peckle · 12/05/2011 16:06

3b is average at end of Y4 and on line to get a 4b average at y6 however in some schools they make more progress in Y5 and 6 so a 5 is possible.

Mmmmyesplease · 12/05/2011 16:12

Not trying to hijack this thread but I'm similarly confused. My dd is in Year 2 - it's a small independent school and they seem to be constantly testing the kids. I'm pulling her out of there as dh has lost his job and she'll be going to the local (good) state school in Year 3. So here's the thing. She was tested last October and got 2a in everything. They've now tested her again - and I'm told she's 3b in maths/literacy/reading. I''m confused about where this puts her in reality. It can't be that she's at Y4 level can it as per Peckle's post?? If so, I'm worried she'll be bored in her new school.... anyone any experience?

madwomanintheattic · 12/05/2011 16:19

mmmmm, level 3s are reasonably common in yr2. above expected, but imvho the 'expected' is a little on the low side. about 40% of dd2's yr2 cohort got level 3s, and about 45% of ds1's cohort (across the board). (including dd1 and ds1, neither of whom have been bored)

juniors traditionally gets a little more rigorous, anyway. dd will be fine. (notwithstanding that junior schools always complain that KS1 testing vastly exaggerates levels and parental distress that kids drop levels or just maintain in yr3...)

dd2 is yr2 now, and it all looks fairly similar. (fwiw in yrr she was assessed at working at from yr3 - yr5/6 levels in some areas, and she isn't bored either... )

Mmmmyesplease · 12/05/2011 16:59

That's great madwoman. Thanks so much!

crazygracieuk · 12/05/2011 18:25

Mmmmyesplease- my year 3 dd is currently a 3a in everything and far from bored. There's 4 or 5 working at her level and one who is miles ahead so enough to make a group.

Clary · 12/05/2011 20:27

3a and 3b at the end of year 2 is high achieving, but far from unheard of. DS2 was on all 3s at end of year 2 and he's bright but not exceptional (eg certainly not bored by work at school!)

Working towards those levels at end of year 4 is average so I wouldn't expect a child at that level necessarily to be material for a selective school. Guess it depends how selective you mean tho!

fifa · 12/05/2011 20:40

I'm so glad I found this thread!Having not gone through the british school system I hadn't a clue what those terms meant. Looking it up on Google gave me a headache so thanks for the synopsis!
Do secondary schools look at these scores? Do they stream children in different sets?
DD is in Y2 and on 3a's and I just look blankly at the teachers and ask, is that ok for her agegroup.She certainly isn't bored at school!

travellingson · 12/05/2011 20:43

FWIW my DD had all level 3s in Yr 2 but didn't pass for selective secondary

fifa · 12/05/2011 21:11

What's selective secondary?

travellingson · 12/05/2011 21:27

the area we live in still has grammar schools fifa. You have to pass 11+ to get in, if you don't you go to a high school.

pointythings · 12/05/2011 22:13

We have no grammar schools in our area, but I wonder what it takes to get into a selective state secondary? Do they all want little geniuses? Do they 'catch out' the ones who have passed through tutoring (or do the parents keep on having them tutored to keep them in the system?) What is it all about?

I am just glad I am in an area where the schools are good, where streaming/setting means that DD 1 is in a top set of about 15 and DD2 is in a top stream of about 9 and all this is state schools...

3a/3b is good for year 4 but not exceptional, OP - however, your DC may just be starting to fly - boys do develop later so high 5s are not out of reach. DD2 (year3) is expected to get 4a/4b/4b at the end of this year, but then she is a girl so maturing earlier.

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