Not sure if I quite believe DS2's levels

[people]

He's year 4 and been told he's working at 4c for maths and literacy after their recent test week. He's never been marked out as particularly bright and apparently "Miss" thought she must have marked it wrong it was so good

He's not daft, but that's not far behind where DS1 is in year 6 (expected to achieve 4a/borderline 5 ) and I've always thought DS1 was the brighter of the two He was certainly much earlier with his reading.

So, how reliable is this mid KS marking? Are we setting ourselves up for a fall next year when he appears to go backwards?

I have twins in year 4. One is on a level 3c the other on a level 4a. They should leave primary on at least a 4 so he is ahead but is not particularly unusual. Teachers are not allowed to put their grade down so if anything she has given herself extra work to do to make sure he increases in sub levels. He should be on a 5c by next September. My ds in year 6 is in set 1 & on a level 6. He is going to grammar school so I trust their marking.

At first glance I thought it said he was 4 and working at 4c - wow - genius, lol!!!

I would be surprised if they had marked it wrong but I have noticed with my DC (y1) that in literacy if he is writing about something to do with history he will reach a 2a and then other things like decribing a charactor from a story he will get a 2c so obviously the content is what grabs his attention leading to better/worse results if that makes sense.

Maybe those particular tests really suited him and because of that he had lots of confidence so did well and may now continue in that way.

I have a ds who does much better in tests than he does in general classwork, to the extent that his scores are often two full levels higher than his class work.

His teachers take the approach that they will take the level that he is working securely in rather than the level that he scores in tests. If your ds is working at a 4c level in class then that's fantastic. If the teacher is basing the score on one set of tests then you may well find that your ds' scores come back down again if he is not consistently working at that level.

Either way, well done to your ds. :)

Why not believe them? I have a DD in year 3 whose maths level is the same as her sisters' in year 6 and is a 4c for writing and reading - not that either of them know.

Like you we always thought DD1 was the clever one but it seems DD2 is going to out-perform her older sister academically, at least at primary school; who knows what will happen at secondary?

I'll report back about DD3 when she passes her GCSE's in year 2 .

4c in maths and literacy in Yr4 is perfectly possible - maybe he has just had one of those leaps, has clicked with a particular teacher or topic?

Also sometimes if siblings are close in age, the younger wants to do the same things as the elder and pushes harder - that's certainly been the case with DD2, and DD1 has been very generous in sharing her knowledge (in a nice way).

DD2 has always done everything earlier than DD1, they are 2 years apart. DD2 is predicted a 5c in reading and writing, teacher told me yesterday she's pretty much there already. She's predicted 4b in maths. DD1 in Yr6 is on course for 5a possibly 6 in reading, 5b in maths, 5a in science - she wasn't as advanced as DD1 in Yr4 but has really flown since - and I'm convinced she's pulled DD2 along with her.

He was certainly much earlier with his reading.
That's an indicator of very little except an ability to read early. Or rather, reading later isn't an indication of lack of brightness. Some kids seem to struggle all through KS1, then pick up rapidly in KS2. Maybe your DS2 is one of these