If a child is just 6 and has a reading age of 6.7?

[Changebagsandgladrags]

DS just turned 6, (July baby) In in report he had a below average mark (1b+) and a comment saying he needed lots of 1-1 support.

When I spoke to the SEN person she said he has a reading age of 6.7 Surely that's OK, as he's much younger than 6.7? And he passed the phonics test with no cramming on our side (not sure what school did)

I don't get it...

1B isn't below average

My son is 6 next month and a 1b.
He needs to be prompted to concentrate and not to daydream, look at the pictures mid-sentence...
Could it be that your son needs help keeping focused by an adult?

According to our school, only 1a is average.

Yes, he does tend to drift off a bit and tell his own sub-story...

I thought B was in the middle, A top, C below targe. Kids read at different levels anyway! Is he a happy reader?

'Where's Wally?' is great for encouraging concentration on books.

1B/1A is average for the end of year 1. I wouldn't worry. He is summer born and this sometimes has an impact in the first few years of school.

Hi Changebagsandgladrags:

First the link to Mumsnet's advice on progress through National Curriculum levels suggests that notionally the average year 1 child should attain a 1a (in reading/ writing, maths & science) by end Year 1 regardless of age - Mumsnet learning page link here: www.mumsnet.com/learning/assessment/progress-through-national-curriculum-levels & grid showing expected progress for notional 'average child' by year at bottom of article.

I think you have to take several things on board.

Yes - a reading age of 6.7 when he's only turned 6 is good (and indeed on track) - however others have posted that reading age assessments can turn out high.

1b is slightly below expected level. (but I'm not clear if your DS is in Y1 - but if in Y1 that's not too bad, but the problem is the expected level is regardless of precise age - which is a slightly different kettle of fish and disadvantages summer born children).

The statement that he needed a lot of one on one support may be their impression over the year (but also is a stereotype for summer born children). It may or may not be actuality - but it may be them noting that he needed more direct teacher/ TA support than others (and to be fair that can be very relative).

I had an autumn born DD1 who did far worse than this at the end of Y1 - so my feeling is that your DS is off to a reasonable start and that the relative advantage differences in age provide will decrease from here on out year on year. As you know 4 to 4 1/2 to 5 are huge steps, but 5 to 6 is less of a jumb, and year on year age differences become less of an issue...

I'd take it as your DS is reading well for his precise age, but slightly behind expected performance for all 5 - 6 year olds nationally. You can help by continuing to work on reading and decoding (sounding out) words over the summer. Possibly join a reading club at a local library or see if you can pick up inexpensive second hand children's books at local charity shops/ book fairs/ etc...

There are also lots of free e-books out there for young readers.

Mumsnet has some links here: www.mumsnet.com/learning/ebooks

Oxford Owl also very good - link here: www.oxfordowl.co.uk/

I also recommend the jolly phonics books - which really help practice those sounding out skills and gives good writing practice as well (also lots to colour in - so doesn't seem too much like work - and good to have on car journeys over the summer anyway).

Finally my advice (having had a DD1 who really struggled with reading) is start from where you're at and work on what concerns you, don't worry about the rest.

HTH

First the link to Mumsnet's advice on progress through National Curriculum levels

The MN link is somewhat flawed. The 'average child', fictional or otherwise, is not expected to get 4A in Year 6, for example.

The only expected levels are level 2 in Year 2 and level 4 in Year 6. Anything else in between in guesswork for schools as they try to ensure children remain 'on track'. Therefore some schools expect level 1B at Year 1 and some a 1A or even a 2C.

The link also cites 2 sublevels a year as progress for the average child in KS2, whereas in fact that is good progress according to Ofsted, not average.

1b is slightly below expected level.

I don't think you should post this quite so starkly - it isn't true, since there is no expected level in Y1, and in some schools a 1B+ would be completely on track.

The mumsnet link is wrong I'm afraid ... it says 3 sublevels progress in KS1 then 1A in Y1 (+3 sublevels in Y2) which would indicate that 2A is the expected level in Y2 which isn't the case.

I thought 1b was expected (not average - just expected) level at end of Y1 and 2b at end of year 2?

The only expected level is level 2. The rest is guesswork on behalf of schools (and MN).

I am remembering the recent thread where a teacher expressed incredulity at all us thick parents who couldn't get our heads round this, and smiling in a smug, justified sort of way.

This is all just irritating and confusing nonsense.

"By the age of seven, most children are expected to achieve level 2."

www.direct.gov.uk/en/parents/schoolslearninganddevelopment/examstestsandthecurriculum/dg_10013041

technically the a,b,cs don't exist

It is confusing - how many sub-levels is the correct progress from end Y1 to end Y2 and does this vary depending on the level achieved at the end of Y1, eg if a child achieved a 3c or something would they be likely to progress slower in Y2?

The expected progress in KS1 is one full level per year. In KS" it is one full level every two years.

I have now given up entirely trying to make an sense of this. So long as my daughter isn't actively setting fire to the school, I shall just assume she is doing ok. No doubt the entire system will be changed in the next six months and we will grade children according to some complex quadrilateral equation linked to the phases of the moon.

at spero

The government have announced they plan to scrap levels but they haven't thought what they will replace them with ... so watch this space.

Spero - following the sports day, as long as its not based on the sack race, I'll be happy.

And I am a governor!
actually, achievement based on sports day success can't be any less barking than this current system. At least it would be clear where your child actually was in the sack race, even if it is last and sobbing.

so a y2 child is expected to get level 2 and the sub category i e a,b or c is not as important, as my ds's school say they should be getting 2b at the end of yr 2 and they are very clear it should be 2B and not a 2c as that would be below average? not that i care tbh, i can see that my children are making progress and doing just fine, but the school are quite hung about about the a, b or c part of the level.

tbh in the case of my elder 2 childrne the level they were at in yr 2 didnt seem to correlate much to what they achieved in yr 6, they were slightly below where they should be in yr 2 but then caught up and by yr 5 were achieving level 5, which is where they should be in yr 6? i have come to the conclusion that i am not that fussed about the levels as long as i can see progress and my child is happy and enjoying school and trying their best, i think they seem to get their at their own pace, and not all childrne are going to follow the same learning curve!

I know you say 1 full level at KS1 but would a child finishing Y1 on a 3c really be a 4c at the end of Y2 - I would assume a 'plateau' may occur at some point (I know not always but likely?) and also a level 4 seems quite high considering a possible lack of maturity of a 6/7 year old.

I ahve no idea what is required to achieve each sub level etc so I am a bit naive about all this TBH.

The problem with blanket expectations is that it assumes children learn in a nice smooth line climbing up the graph whereas real children have spurts then period where they consolidate and appear to stall or even dip ...

Since technically there aren't any sub levels 50shadesofstress it's no wonder people don't know what is required (basically if a child is securely working within a level they are b)

Thanks Mrz, I think the trouble is with reporting the levels so often at some schools that human nature means parents are often concerned about the level/speed of progress. On the otherhand its nice to know how they are doing in some sort of measurable terms rather than just the basic 'at/above/below expected level.

Hello, just to let you know we've seen this thread and so have the peeps at Pearson. The page will be updated and expanded to make it as clear as possible, hopefully this week. Thanks.