Nc levels end yr 2

[givemeaclue]

Teacher says dd should be aiming for level 3 by end yr2. She is in yr1. Not familiar with no levels but just done a google and understand that there are sub levels within each level etc.

Is there a higher level than level 3 that can be achieved by end yr2 or is that the highest?

Thanks

[PastSellByDate]

Tess73 - may help to read Mumsnet pages on NC Levels: www.mumsnet.com/learning/assessment/national-curriculum-levels - on each page there is a little blue box - click the boxes for what the levels mean & progress through the levels on next two pages - and by the end you should have a clearer idea about how the NC Levels work.

Now just to throw a spanner in the works - apparently Gove has decided to abandon NC Levels. What will replace them has yet to be decided but has been devolved down to individual schools - which sounds a recipe for disaster frankly - as schools can say your child is 5 unicorns and doing fabulously and as a parent you've no means of establishing what on earth that actually means. (more info here: www.nfer.ac.uk/about-nfer/news/losing-levels-must-not-mean-a-return-to-localism-in-assessment-warn-experts.cfm)

mrz - although I totally take your point that tests shouldn't be dictating levels. At many schools teachers (through fear/ anxiety/ pressure/ weakness/ etc...) let the scores on optional/ practice SATs dictate their assessment of pupil performance. It shouldn't - but it does. My DDs are tested 3x a year and if their score is lower than expected, their 'target' is brought back and I get the talk about 'loss of learning' over summer/ plateau/ etc...

HTH

[mrz]

Sorry tess but the tests are only meant to support teacher assessment and as they only cover a small part of the level 3 content and can only be considered a snapshot they should not be used to award a level

[Feenie]

I hope it was a much more thorough process than that, which I'm afraid sounds very confused.

[tess73]

They did teacher assess but only those who also showed level 3 in the test actually got the level 3. Many were marked back down to 2a one the yr3 teachers moderated the tests esp in writing.

[mrz]

"But don't schools have more freedom to choose their own curriculum after September?" No CQ we will have a different National Curriculum that's all

[Feenie]

Tess, not tests.

[Feenie]

Except that a level 3 paper by itself is not nearly enough evidence to award a level 3 teacher assessment, tests.

Schools should be moderating work across the board anyway - not just tests at y2.

[givemeaclue]

Ah, had planned to take dcs out of school on hols that week, best avoided in case sats are still going I guess

[tess73]

Our tests in yr 2 are just before May half term. They are marked by the teacher but any level 3's given out have to be checked / paper reassessed by the yr3 teacher. Makes sense, those getting 3's are expected to get 5's in yr6 so they're not given out too easily.

[Feenie]

Which is against rules, which clearly state children are only to complete one test.
Tests can be completed at any time of the year and are a small part of the teacher assessment.

[CocktailQueen]

Our school will still be doing SATs in Year 2 next year. SATs are in May; ds's class has been doing old practice papers for the past few weeks.

[givemeaclue]

Will there still be sats in year 2 when the nc levels end and what time of year are they please

[Floggingmolly]

What will happen to Year 6 SAT's, does anyone know? How will they be graded?

[tess73]

If the teacher is telling you that what she is basically saying is your dd is doing very well and will achieve above expectation next year.
Our school give these levels at yr2 SATS|:
Level 1 (essentially there's a problem we need to work on)
Level 2c (slightly below where they should be)
Level 2b (spot on at this stage)
Level 2a (very good)
Level 3 (well above where we expect them to be at this stage).

In DD2's class 4/30 received all level 3's, so not many. This is a primary which gets 75% at level 5 in yr6.

[CocktailQueen]

Mrz - But don't schools have more freedom to choose their own curriculum after September? So they could choose to stick with this year's one rather than change it? In which case the current NC levels would still be relevant?

(I wish Gove would stop mucking around with the NC and just allow teachers to teach.)

[mrz]

of not on

[mrz]

The problems with that CQ is that the levels don't match the content on the new National Curriculum.

[simpson]

My DC school and the school I am in are sticking with NC levels. Won't affect me in the school as I am in reception.

[CocktailQueen]

Mrz -both schools my dc are at will continue to use the NC levels after Sept.

[Forago]

It might have been 2b heading for 2a does that make more sense? hes in year 1 doing fine but nothing exceptional, above average but hes a september birth. Its the first I've heard about it at a 10 min parents evening and then it was someone else's turn!

[ThisSummerBetterBeDarnGood]

Why do you ask?

Why do you ask?

[TheGruffalo2]

Current year 1s will be the last cohort assessed under the old (current) curriculum criteria for End of Key Stage One in summer 2015. After that ... no one knows what assessment across the school will look like!

[givemeaclue]

Ok as the levels will be extinct I won't bother thinking about it anymore!

Cocktailqueen, I asked beacause teacher mentioned it today and g was unfamiliar with it. Seems like a reasonable enough question!

[mrz]

schools will be free to adopt their own systems