KS1 Attainment levels

[mumof2littlegirls]

We got DD1s KS1 attainment scores yesterday with no explaination (parents discussion on Monday). Have found myself really stressed about the whole thing - DH tells me to just wait till Monday but can't help it!.

Basically final scores on top of report show no improvement since March in reading and writing, which are now below the predicted scores for the year.
Firstly, the teacher has given no indication that DD was not improving or achieving, despite having had several conversations since March. Secondly, there is a further teacher assessment score from June which shows the grades attained as were predicted.

I guess I feel firstly annoyed that a child can go 3 months at school with seemingly no improvement without anyone being aware (only 23 in class), and secondly that us worrying parents are given far to much information, without so much as an explaination as to what all of these scores really mean.

How much progress do you expect to see in terms of scores? I assume you mean NC levels?

Not too sure I understand. You say the final scores show no improvement since March but the teacher assessment score in June shows that the grades attained were as predicted. What is the difference between the "final score" and the teacher assessment score?

it could be that the final score is a "test" score and the teacher assessment score is based on a whole range of ongoing assessments, in which case it could be that your child has not improved in tests but has when assessed on classwork ( which does happen!) And children are not expected to rise a level every 3 months so intermittent progress is also possible.

Sorry, for being confusing. Basically, we have being presented with a whole list of scores.

The TA scores dated June are as we were predicted and told in March that she was on the way to achieve. However, there are a further set of scores which are dated a week later - these are the same as the March scores (so lower than we were expected), and are the only ones presented on the top of the report. Could these be the SATS scores? But how come the TA score is higher? I know you don't have all the information, I'm just trying to get more of an understanding as to how all this works before I go in on Monday.

Also, I could fully understand that DD would not achieve as highly in tests as in the classwork as she is a nervous child, but why would they present the lower scores as the final ones?

Cynically? Because if they present the lower scores as the final ones it makes it easier for her to show "sufficient" progress during KS2? Since it is the KS2 results that schools get really judged on...

The TA scores are the ones that are reported by law. The school does not have to tell you the test scores.

Ah, a proper professional opinion rather than my sneaky suspicions.

I sometimes have sneaky professional suspicions

Ok, so should the highest TA be the one that is reported?

The final TA assessment will be the level reported to the DfE.

And could this TA level change (i.e. go down) in a week?

Levels can go up and down from one piece of work to the next quite easily. The teacher will make an overall final judgement based on work over the year.

Thanks mrz - still a little confused as to why the levels haven't changed since March though...

Sometimes they just don't - it could be that she was only just into a level 2a (or whatever) in March, but is now a solid 2a starting to occasionally produce 3c work.

As long as she has made progress over the year, I really wouldn't worry too much.

A child is expected to make roughly 2 levels progress in 2 years so the progress they make in a few weeks may not affect levels

It is very likely that she hasn't made sufficient progress to move up a sub level in a few weeks, yes. This doesn't mean that she hasn't made progress during that time though.

Well, its actually 4 months - the teacher certainly led us to believe that to move up a sub level in 4 months was to be expected.

This is only a subset of the lengthy list of scores we have been presented with -

EN AT2: Reading KS1 30 June 2011 2B
EN AT3: Writing KS1 30 June 2011 2C
MA TA: Mathematics KS1 30 June 2011 2B
OPT Reading TA 29 June 2011 2b
OPT Writing TA 29 June 2011 2c
OPT Maths Progress 29 June 2011 =
OPT Reading Progress 29 June 2011 -
OPT Writing Progress 29 June 2011 -
OPT Reading Progress (term & year) 29 June 2011 4.00
OPT Writing Progress (term & year) 29 June 2011 4.00
OPT Maths Progress (term & year) 29 June 2011 2.00
OPT Maths TA 23 June 2011 2b
OPT Reading TA 23 June 2011 2a
OPT Writing TA 23 June 2011 2b
OPT Maths Progress 23 June 2011 =
OPT Reading Progress 23 June 2011 =
OPT Writing Progress 23 June 2011 =
OPT Maths TA 08 March 2011 2c
OPT Writing TA 08 March 2011 2c
OPT Reading TA 07 March 2011 2b

I am not being totally stupid here am I? Looks like the TA has changed within 1 week - also, are the EN AT2 and AT3 the SATS?

Sorry to go on about this but seem to have a bit of a bee in my bonnet....

the 23rd of June TA scores are as predicted, hence, I think, the = signs for progress. But on the 29th, it all changes..... mrs - have you, or any other teachers any clue what all this means??

Wow - that is far more information than I have ever seen schools give!

I can see what you mean with the numbers, but frankly I don't think it is odd enough to get worried about. Children's academic performance is not always a smooth climb - it is usual to have periods where they come in leaps and bounds, and others where they might drop back a little. It depends on so many things - how the child is feeling, how motivated they are, how tired they might be, how interested they are....

Whilst it does look like the TA has changed in a week, it is possible that your child was given two separate pieces of work a week apart and simply performed better the first time round. Which could be for many reasons.

I can understand the writing levels, if levels are based on units of work in a certain type of writing, children often write better in certain genres than they do in others (may like stories better than reports or prefer letters to poetry) and similarly with maths ( may be strong on calculation and weaker in measure) but I would expect reading to be more linear/consistent. I'm wondering if a reading test (additional to the SAT tests) has been used ...

Thanks guys - all very useful information which I will bring to the teacher tomorrow..... hopefully all will become clear then!!