Year 4 end of year levels

[BetweenDogandWolf]

Inspired by the end of year 1 thread and yes, I know academic auccess isn't everything etc I'm just wondering what MNetters DC have achieved, which I expect will generally be above the national average!
DS:
Maths 4A
Writing 3A
Science 4B
Reading 4B

sorry - it starts with the level 3 questions and get harder (typo)

Yes- That is how I understand it as well. I also believe they may be given a percentile band, which will tell you where they cam against the rest of the country.

My daughter is going to struggle in the grammar test, it is very difficult, especially she has not doing to much grammar in the school.
In maths she will be ok.

My daughter got a level 4b in maths and she is not a genius.

Oh I don't know my 9 yr old's levels!

I read the report and went to patent evening, so it usnot that I don't care.

He is doing fine.

Should I demand levels so I can brag put them on FB MN? LOL

Am I the only person willing to admit to my child getting a Level 3 for all the areas??

Also, are the grades totally standard across the country or is it the case that some schools/teachers are stricter with grading than others?

There can be a great deal of variation from one school to the next

As I expected!

Thanks for explaining. I now understand the current system. My ds is one of a group of children who apparently have been ear-marked for sitting the level 6 paper in 2016. If this is not going to exist, does that mean this group of children will only be sitting the equivalent of the level 5 paper, and that school will no longer have any incentive to teach them once they reach this standard (which some of them are at already).

My dd is level 3 in writing and reading.

There won't be a 3-5 paper and a 6 paper, there will be a 3-6 paper instead!
( And the level of teaching isn't restricted by the availability of a test!)

In 2016 the papers will have what are regarded as Level 6 questions on it because the curriculum is getting harder. Some of what I currently teach to Level 6 children will be the normal expectation of Year 6 children. So my belief is that your child will (if her levels are correct now) be in a higher percentile band than a child who is currently at National expectations for Year 4.

I do not understand a school who is already 'ear marking' children for Level 6 papers 2 years out from the actual tests. The school would also know the Level 6 papers are gone in 2015. So the only person 'ear marking' her would be you!

*That should say Level 6 papers are gone in 2016- typo

I am a bit sceptical about this level malarkey. Apparently DC4 is Very Bright Indeed level. Except I'm pretty sure he's no brighter than my older ones who are just ordinarily bright.

Blossom, I don't really care about levels, other than being a way in which I can see that my child is making progress, but I have heard that some schools will teach children at lower levels so their stats look better. We have been in a school (not in this country) where ds spent lots of time colouring because he was grasping things quickly and I don't want this to happen again. I heard about the group being ear marked for level 6 papers from another mum and did think at the time it sounded ridiculous. I would hope that our school would put all children in for papers that they had a hope of passing.

That shouldn't happen and in this country the higher the SATs results in Year 6 the better.

What happens, schools are judged on not only how many Level 4s/5s/6s they get but also the progress they make from Year 2 to 6. Expected progress is 2 levels. So if little Johnny got a 2b in Year 2 he must get a 4 in Year 6. Outstanding progress is 3 levels so for Johnny he must get a 5 or 6 for outstanding progress.

Whereas little Patrick got a 3 in Year 2- for Year 6 he must get a 5 for expected progress and for outstanding he must get a 6.

Some schools skew their results by lowering results in Year 2 then accelerating them when heading for Year 6 to show outstanding progress.

On the other hand some parents feel their children are doing better than what they actually are because they do not understand all of the targets they must reach for a Level 3. Just because a child can read 'Harry Potter' does not mean they are fully understanding what they are reading.

As a Year 6 teacher I would not believe Level 4s in Year 4 unless they sat a Year 6 SATs paper. Over the last three years I have had a number of children enter my class with a so called Level 4 or 5 and when given a Year 6 SATs paper to try, they fall hard! The QCA papers are so much easier than a Year 6 paper. I just hope you wont be disappointed when they leave Year 6 with a Level 5 or 4.

Sorry to burst bubbles here!

blossom, I understand your point and where you are coming from, your experience must be telling you a lot. On another hand sorry for saying it, but I never trusted school. School is like an institute thats telling you what you are and what is your ability is. Probably the reason for that I am a foreigner to this country and to this system. I do not believe entirely these levels either. What I do believe in however is thinking independently and working hard. Just then you can succeed. I do believe in teaching a child to think "out of the box" and not to be afraid to make a mistake - never! Actually its funny but it is a mistake that can teach you a lot.
I could be wrong, of course - looking around my DD peers: several achieved about the same levels like her with a different approach - going to extra sections of K... after school etc. (no comments...) and nothing like "do not be afraid to make a mistake"
But I`ll stick to my guns.

Does your school not moderate levels internally blossom? Personally I would be more inclined to believe a rigourously moderated TA level than the results of a one off test

I am also not convinced with levels. If a teacher on one school gives a 4 a for example a teacher in another might give a 4c or they may change things to make the levels look better as a whole year group?

Of course we moderate levels. I have always moderated levels. I am also not talking about a one off test either. There are many places where I get my levels from. But the Year 6 test is such a different kettle of fish. It is a different way of answering and it is a different way of reading a test. Children need to be prepared for that. I know that when I am told to give my new Year 6s a SATs paper to try in October. My so called level 4s and 5s do not do as well as they think they would.

I trained in Australia. I am an Australian teacher and I totally agree with you Goldie. I think this system relies too heavily on the academic. I had much more rounded students enter my Year 6 classroom when I was in Australia than they do here.

I agree the test requires a specific technique rather than specific knowledge

It depends how the teaching is organised too. My daughter got a 4a in maths, where they have streamed the groups across the 3 classes so she is taught maths with only the most able 25 children out of 90. Obviously this has accelerated their progress, as despite maths being her top "score" it is not where her strengths naturally lie. She got a 4b for reading and a 4c for writing, where they are taught in mixed ability classes. She loves literacy and is closer to the top of the cohort in her work than she is in maths. I am sure that if this streaming situation was reversed and the streaming happened in literacy rather than maths, then the scores would have been reversed too which makes the whole thing rather meaningless.

The evidence suggests streaming /setting in primary is ineffective

mrz- totally agree with you. I hate setting and in my 3 years of teaching Year 6 the year that made the most progress was the year that was not streamed.