Y3 help?

[ihearttc]

Sorry didn't quite now how to word this!

Just wondered if any teachers could help if possible? DS1 is in Y3 at a Junior School (this is relevant I think). When they did their SATS last year he got 3's across all the subjects. It wasn't written what levels on report but teacher said he was 3B in Maths and 3C in literacy.

When they assessed them at the start of Y3 he was apparently 3C in Maths and 2A in literacy...fair enough to be expected after holidays I suppose despite the fact that he did reading and maths in the holidays. They have now been assessed again and he is now a 2A in Maths and a 2C in Literacy. He is a little boy that takes everything to heart and is so upset and I don't quite know what to do to help him.

I totally understand about different teachers and with it being different schools (they are linked though) then obviously there will be variations but is it really normal for him to both fail to improve and in my opinion fall quite drastically in that period of time?

He isn't fond of writing I will say that but Im a bit stuck as to why this has happened? He is "free reading" if you can call it that...school books are a bit short on the ground (well the ones he enjoys!) so he is reading some Michael Morpugo ones (Billy the Kid etc), David Walliams and he has just finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What sort of level is a 2C?

It honestly doesn't matter to me what level he is on...just want to make that clear but Im surprised that he has "fallen" this much and he is bothered by it and I want to help him.

Oh and if anyone can point me in the direction of some more books he might enjoy that would be great!

[Feenie]

Most having been doing this since the publication of this document, back in 2005. If testing is prevalent now, that would suggest some LEAs have gone back the other way, which is disappointing.

What role do you have, Jodie, where you currently teach but have oversight of assessment in all those LEAs?

[jodieland]

Well my main role now is in a consultancy capacity. Up until last year was still in class but now do teach a bit but am no longer a class-based teacher. My main remit is actually ICT consultancy (so my teaching is mostly around using technology to enhance learning in literacy and maths) but often this requires helping a school with their assessment data - how to make the most of excel spreadsheets and various assessment/tracking software. Which is how I see a lot of schools still wanting to input a separate test score as well as the Teacher Assessment score. I will show how to extract the Teacher Assessment data - making graphs with it for Ofsted and the like - but they still want to input a test results every term for each class. Which is where my experience is coming from.
As I say, Feenie, I would much rather it was not the case and that I was wrong (always happy to be proved so but unfortunately speaking from experience here).
I hope the test score does die out completely or at the very least teachers feel more empowered to make the judgement themselves.
As my role moves further from the classroom it is no longer my issue I guess in that I no longer have to have meetings showing those test results and discussin them but I do feel for the teachers still in this position.

[Feenie]

Confused now - you described yourself as a current, outstanding teacher - now you are a consultant? That's not really current.

[jodieland]

Well current is as current does ;-) but Feenie you are right. Current as in current academic year. My ex-teacherspeak I guess ;-)
Current was more a reaction to the assumption my knowledge came from 2005 (I actually qualified as a teacher in 2007 so going back to 2005 would be tricky :-))
On that basis I should have probably said current consultant helping schools with assessment but am still a teacher and until this academic year will hang onto that :-)
After that I doubt I will be in class much. It's a tricky transition for a teacher to make to be honest but I assure you I still teach and my ofsted result was very recent being at the end of 2012 so still current academic year. I would not presume to talk about what it is like to have a class right now but I do see the current use of assessment data a lot.
Sorry if you feel misled - not at all a intention!

[Feenie]

And not getting at you personally at all - but I think allowing a teacher to be a consultant after only 5 years teaching is daft. Although it does explain some of your misconceptions, such as the ARA only being guidelines

[jodieland]

Well I don't take it personally at all, Feenie. I am happy with my job as are the schools I work with so am not at all concerned to be wrong on some points too! Always love to learn new things hence joining forums at all :-)
I may be new but I am very good at what I do. I took on a lot of extra responsibility in my NQT year as had a lot of management experience before being a teacher so I guess it all came together.
Am not sure how long you have been a teacher but assume much longer than me and have full respect for that. Misconceptions possibly. I think mostly my hurried wording and typing on phone is my undoing more than anything!
I do know what I see in school and can only speak from that experience.

[Feenie]

Fair enough, Jodieland

[jodieland]

:)

[Taffeta]

Jodieland - FWIW as a parent and regular lurker, occasional poster on MN Education boards, I found your post Tuesday 9.27am one of the most helpful and informative I've encountered.

[mrz]

informative but incorrect

[christinarossetti]

Do Ofsted require all children to 'know their levels'?

I know that they ask children about their targets, but surely not the letters and numbers?

[mrz]

No

[jodieland]

Taffeta thank you very much am glad it was of use.

mrz am sorry you found some incorrect. I assure you I know this stuff as per my own experience as mentioned but maybe did not word it correctly and get that point across to you as well as I would have liked.

[mrz]

unfortunately taffeta for one has read what you have written and accepts the errors as facts which is how inaccuracies are perpetuated

[Feenie]

It's quite common, unfortunately - we had a Literacy advisor on here last year telling parents key stage 1 tests were 'optional'

[jodieland]

My experience, mrz, is correct. What I see in schools as I have described is correct and factual. What I have been trying to describe is the practice I see on a regular basis covering the span of my experience.
I have no need to be right all the time on facts you would like to discuss but you cannot possibly argue that my experience is wrong for all those schools, not because you know fewer facts than me but because you have not been in my shoes. Just as I have not been in yours and do not suppose to assume what you have experienced.

[mrz]

The problem is the more time people repeat these "facts" the more people believe they are true

[mrz]

Just because you have seen it doesn't mean that it is correct jodieland.

I have no need to be right all the time on facts surely you are responsible for being accurate and not providing incorrect information

[jodieland]

Ahh. You mean that it is not correct for schools to be doing it, mrz? That is not a discussion I have tried to have.
The word correct has been used by me as the meaning that I am correct that this practice exists.
And who am I supposed to be responsible to exactly? Schools don't hire me to tell them whether they should do a QCA reading test or not. They hire me to help them assess the data coming from them.

[mrz]

no jodieland I mean what you wrote is incorrect regardless of what you have seen

[Feenie]

But surely as an advisor you are responsible for telling schools what good practice re assessment means?

[jodieland]

I am not an advisor on assessment Feenie. I am an ICT geek essentially. I can make the data easier to manage ie spreadsheets and graphs. I train teachers on how to input their data into systems and how to analyse the data. It is a numbers and computer game. It helps teachers to spot children who have not progressed/gone backwards easier and group them by need but what they do with that information is down to the teachers and the school.
I do, of course, have discussions with headteachers but most of their practice is influenced by the LA who I do not work with as I am there to help the school individually. Schools often ask me about what other schools are doing so where I have seen great practice or know of a school who did well in inspection etc then I can pass on anecdotes but my remit does not go beyond that.
If I were an assessment advisor then yes that would be different. It can be frustrating to not have that remit but as you know my experience is not advanced enough for that - I have never been a headteacher or deputy so cannot advise on that level of issue. It is not an area I originally intended to get into - I mostly advise on use of tech for teaching and learning. But schools often need help with data so I often get asked to look at it while I am at the school training on ICT use in class. I used to be in charge of the data for my first school - not the assessment coordinator but again the making the graphs for Ofsted and borough inspections - and it was from that I learnt I had a nack for it and Ofsted were always very pleased with the data presented. So it is a role that has grown out of schools' needs rather than any desire from me to get into assessment too deeply. Although I do find it geekily fascinating ;)

[Feenie]

So you are an ICT advisor who doesn't work with the LA?

Now I am even more confused!

[jodieland]

No, Feenie, I am freelance. Most LA ICT advisors have been made redundant after the Harnessing Technology Funding was stopped by the new government. So I work mostly in LAs where there is no LA ICT advisor left.
I sometimes work with LA as some LAs still need occasional ICT help, i.e. a workshop available to all their schools, but mostly I work direct with schools.

[mrz]

I'm getting more confused with every posts sorry josieland