Primary school benchmarks used to dictate GCSE selection and predicted grades

[allyfe]

I found out yesterday that one of the local secondary schools uses the benchmarks (I think that is the right term) that children leave primary school with to determine a) what GCSE choices children are allowed to make at 13/14 and b) what grades they are predicted for those GCSEs! I was utterly horrified. They are supposed to totally ignore how well a child has been doing at the secondary school for the previous 2 1/2 years, and use the primary school benchmarks. I would be surprised if this were the only school doing it because it is such a shocking practice, but at the same time how is it possible that children's GCSE choices are defined by their performance in a test at age 10??? Does anyone else know if this is common practice? I am genuinely horrified and terrified that my child would be judged so definitively at such a young age.

Of course schools should track the progress of their DCs individually, as ability, FSM, ethnic and whole year cohorts. This is perfectly reasonable.

However, as Nobelgiraffe says these national statistics are gathered over either the whole country or for large groups of similar schools.

Applying them, unthinkingly to individual pupils or small cohorts is risky.

That Ofsted have based a substantial portion of 4 judgements (bad and good) on one years performance of cohorts of 15-25 is indefensible.