Advice from Teachers Please, Re Year 3 NFER results.

[rosie42]

Hi

We have been told our child scored 89 on the NFER assessment. We understand the average is 100, and know that our dd isn't quite there. The school is telling us that we need to get an Ed Psych assessment done as this result is a BIG problem.

So my question is this..... Does this score really warrant such concern or are they being over the top.?

Any thoughts really appreciated.

This result alone does not indicate the need for an ed psych assessment. Do the children do a non vr test too? Was the test nfer 7 or 8?

The result falls in the "average range" (85- 115) so wouldn't automatically ring alarm bells.
Do you know which NFER test it was as there are a considerable number of tests produced by NFER.

I would guess it depends on how that particular result fits with day to day performance and any similar assessments, is the concern based on consistent information or are these results random. Also had your dc taken papers like these before ? ds' first numeric score at yr 3 was one of the lowest the school had seen but subsequent PIP/CAT assessments and Ed Psych report placed him well within the average band, and his Verbal scores were in the 120's

Which NFER test?
Although 89 is average, it is the very lowest score that is average. The school must have concerns other than the score or they would not be suggesting an Ed Psych I would have thought.
What level is your child and how did she/he perform in the other tests?

She is 7. We have been asking for help from the school for about 18 mknths as we felt there was a difference between how she erforms outside of school to at school. We had an assessment done 18 months ago which the scholl recommended. Her results indicated that she should b a high achiever, We were told to look at her learning environment. It was at this point the school became quite defensive. She has just started Year 3 and we went to a parents evening where this info was given to us regarding the 89 mark, we felt OK with it but the teacher was saying it was a BIG issue. So again we asked what THEY were going to do to help. We do alot of support at home and her results are always fine. There answer is learning support 20 mins a day during her break time at a cost of approx £4000 a year on the guarantee from us that we have an Ed Psyche done.

We are lost for words to be honest. The school run a reading/spelling after school club which is invite only for children who are havung difficulty. If her need was as great as they are saying why wasn't she invited along to this club. Also, maybe it is just me but I would have expected to be spoken to earlier not have this brought up at a parents evening.

The teacher said the average is 100. The pip test result showed that although below average that she is performing better than expected.

I must add that we are not in the UK, we are in a BC school overseas.

Do you know which NFER test was used?

No, she said it was for English.

I think you need to ask then you can work out what you need to do next.
Your daughter has been assessed at the lower end of the average range. This means she needs a little extra help but I can't see that it warrants EP involvement.

Thanx MRZ. I guess we have never really been academically driven with her, we have been very much hands off schooling. She has a long day at school here, and once finished we would rather she just had kid time. I know alot of families have private tutoring, some even before school. Rightly or wrongly we have not been interested in going that route, they are kids for such a short time and have years of study ahead. So hearing that she is below average wasn't so much of a concern, she has needed reinforcement of work and we just accepted that for now its not for her. But with the teacher saying she is way below average, actually her words were bottom of the bottom and talking about Ed Psyche has us slightly anxious now.