If a child got 2b in Reception what would they get at end of Yr2?

[leeloo1]

At the end of Reception we were told ds was working at NC levels & when we asked what level he was at, they got him to sit SATs papers (he hadn't been prepared for this & wasn't helped with it. He also hadn't any extension work during the year - except e.g. when other children were asked 1 more than 5 he was asked 1 more than 95).

We were told he got "a high 2b, almost a 2a" and that his reading/speech/comprehension is also a 2b.

Of course its complicated by the fact that NC levels are being changed I believe, but do we just expect that he gets a Level 3 or should he (can he?) get higher than this?

A child should make a levels progress every two years to be making satisfactory progress. So a 3b in year 2 would be satisfactory.

However, I would be worried if they were basing this assessment purely on a practise year 2 sat paper. A sat paper can form part of an overall assessment but shouldn't be the sole assessment especially out of year.

Under the old system he would be expected to make 2 full levels progress over the key stage

DD got a 2B in reception (might have been a 2A, I forget as it wasn't put on her school report) & she is targeted a 3A for the end of yr2 (this is in reading, although she is very strong in literacy too.)

School say they cannot award higher (don't get me started on this!!) however, DD is still only 6 so very young really & I don't want undue pressure put on her to reach a higher level anyway tbh. She enjoys school & loves learning so that is fine by me

Children in reception are assessed on the early years foundation stage. Children learn through play so make their own differentiation. I find it horrifying that children are being assessed with SAT papers at five years old. Last year our year 1 children followed the new national curriculum. They will not sit key stage 1 SATs as we know and love/loathe them.

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/328859/2014_KS1_mathematics_sample_materials.pdf

Looking at the new materials I don't think that they are more challenging than the old SATs. There is less problem solving and I feel its stupid that they have got rid of method marks.

In dd's school the early years foundation profile is passed on the year 1 teacher. The year 1 teacher makes his own assessments based on class work.

Thanks for the opinions everyone, so he'll probably end up as a 3A then?

ReallyTired - we were told at a parents eve in the 2nd term of R that DS had exceeded the EYFS & was working at NC levels (to be fair I think he had in maths & literacy before he started & he coasted for the year) & that his target was something I know he could already do - when I queried this they said it was what they were covering next term & hadn't assessed him on it yet ...

So at the end of the year when they said again he's exceeded the EYFS (in almost all areas) I asked what NC level he was working at - I didn't expect them to test him, I hoped thought they'd know from the targets they'd set/work they were doing with him...

I'm hoping though that having a 'benchmarked' level of ability now will force them to challenge him & set appropriate work though, so its good that they did the test.

Also, DS enjoyed doing the test, he loves being challenged - he's getting my husband to teach him algebra, as he sees him doing it, & we're working on converting fractions to percentages to decimals. I'm sure he did learn through play in reception, but he also seemed to be bored as what he was being 'taught' was below what he already knew.

I think your son would reall enjoy dragon box

www.dragonboxapp.com/

He might enjoy the singapore maths approach where children can learn to solve complicated maths problems with very simple malipulatives like lego or counters or drawing pictures.

I am sure that your son is extremely able, but I am still a bit meh at a school putting a five year old child through a SATs paper. What are they trying to prove? A decent teacher can assess ablity through the early years foundation stage profile. A more able/ gifted child can self differentiate with learning through play. A teacher's role in reception is more of a facilator who provides the necessary resources for the next steps. In many ways the reception approach to teaching is far better for a gifted child than the more formal approach of year 1.

It isn't really possible to accurately assess the ability of a very able child solely using the EYFSP. It has a ceiling on the skills it assesses so you will need to dip into the NC/KS1 curriculum. Although you an teach and assess that using EYFS principles.

Assessing using only a SATS paper isn't brilliant practice because it won't have covered all the level 2 skills just a selection them. But it doesn't necessarily mean putting pressure on a child.It depends how it is done. My niece would have absolutely loved being given a booklet of maths questions at that age and would probably have asked for another one when she got to the end.

In year 2 a child's level is decided through teacher assessment rather than a poxy SATs paper. If a child gets 2B in a SATs paper the teacher is expected to have classwork that backs up the exam result. (At least under the old curriculum.)

Why do you think the early years foundation stage profile has a ceiling on attainment or assessment? Lots of countries use a very similar approach up to the age of seven and get better academic results than us.

In the early years achievement is so dependent on development. I feel its unfair to put pressure on an early developer to remain top of the class. Some gifted children are late developers, some children are strong at a particular subject. For example Albert Einstein excelled at Maths and Science, but was dyslexic.

A child achieving 2b in reception would be expected to make at least 2 full levels progress (more to show good progress) a level 3 would be considered inadequate

100 percent agree with ReallyTired

Oops, sorry mrz - I wasn't being deliberately dense (clearly ds did not get his brains from me) I was thinking levels as in 2a, 3c, 3b...

"A decent teacher can assess ablity through the early years foundation stage profile. ... A teacher's role in reception is more of a facilator who provides the necessary resources for the next steps."

I definitely agree, but a lot depends on it being a good teacher. Ds' teachers seemed happy to let him coast through the year because he was clever and well behaved & they had other children they needed to focus on - who needed their efforts more perhaps? It was precisely because I suspected they felt their job was done because he'd exceeded the EYFS that I asked them what level he was working at - the fact they couldn't tell me without setting a sats paper perhaps says a lot?

e.g. with 'guided' reading books - some weeks he'd bring home a chapter book, some weeks a book with only a couple of words per page - there was no rhyme or reason to it!

"A more able/ gifted child can self differentiate with learning through play."
Sure and to some extent he did - he taught himself to count in 5s, appointed himself as a TA & learnt/taught sign language to another little boy & spent a lot of time reading in the book corner. I'd still have liked them to know where his learning was and challenge him appropriately.

"In the early years achievement is so dependent on development." Very true, ds is an Nov birthday, so old in the year. But he's still clever (if he's working to some extent at a Yr2 level). Letting him coast til everyone catches up could lead to him getting disillusioned with school - and in some ways he is. He was upset last week that he was told he couldn't label a tomato as a 'sphere' - it had to be called a 'circle' - because 'we don't cover 3d shapes until yr2'. Beacuse ds was upset about how unfair it was I clarified it with the teacher who confirmed it was true. :(

"I feel its unfair to put pressure on an early developer to remain top of the class." definitely and I would never put pressure on ds. We're trying to allow him to be himself, to enjoy learning and encouraging him to develop broader skills (sports, languages, music etc).

btw, thanks for the dragonbox recommendation, I'll have a look. Ds played dreambox a lot over the summer & enjoyed it & learned a lot - he's fab at negative numbers & number bonds now, but its getting a bit same-y, so nice to have something new. :)