Are these target levels unreasonable?

[LuckyLopez]

In the front on ds1's English book he has a sticker which says-

Current level- 4c
End of year target- 6c

He's in year 6 so presumably these are SATS prediction. Too much surely?

My DD's teacher last week explained at the end of year 6 the national average is around a 4b but she likes to aim for 5c.

I would ask the teacher if its a printing/spelling mistake as putting that sort of pressure on a child is unreasonable unless your DS is gifted/talented in this subject area then they may believe this is what he is capable of achieving by the end of year 6. If this is the case he will need a lot of support to achieve this level given his current level is 4c.

That's er... aspirational.
How 'current' is the 4c?

I'd like it if all my 4c children achieved a 6c ( in fact, I'd like it if ANY of my chidren achieved a 6c

What it'll be is most likely your child came into juniors on a level three. For many schools, 2 levels progress (which would be a level 5) isn't "good progress" any more, so they'll have been told to be "aspirational" in their targets. I refused to put these in my books as it was a) demoralizing, as you can see and b) pointless as levels no longer exist, officially.

Ok I've just looked up his levels leaving first school - he was a 4c

Does this mean they haven't graded him since then. I'm sure his end of year report in July had levels on but I'm still looking for it right now.

He's bright but not G&T.

4c to 6c is a bit of a stretch, even in Year 6. Has your DS just been a bit lazy and is really capable of much more...or has the teacher made a mistake?
Anyone, who I'm even considering giving a target at Level 6 in English is at least on 5c/b at present...and that's already quite aspirational.
In Maths, I expect mine to be at least a strong 4a or 5c to make it into my booster group for Level 6. I think, however, that getting to a L6 in English is a lot more difficult.

Depending on the child, making them aware of an aspirational target like that can be counterproductive, as however hard they try, they are always feeling as though they fall short.

That's my concern.

I'd say he probably can be a bit lazy. He always does his homework but rushes and presentation leaves a lot to be desired!

He always does his homework but rushes and presentation leaves a lot to be desired!

You have just described my Y6 son, as well as my Y8 son and my Y10 son!

Oh good!

OP: was he 4c in English at end of yr2?

No end of yr 4.

Gotcha, I didn't know what 'first school' meant.
2 sub levels/yr of progress suggests 5b at end of yr6, I think(?)
Does he like rising to a challenge, does it feel impossible or couldnt-care-less to him?

Oh shit sorry. We are three tiered system here.

First school - R to yr 4
Middle school - yr 5 to 8
High school - yr 8 to 13.

OK, if he was 4c at end of Y4 then he could potentially be 4a or 5c now. If he is progressing at a steady pace then it's reasonable to hope for L5 by May.

2 sub levels is expected per year for good progress. Schools wishing for outstanding will aim for more than this. Therefore 6c would not be impossible from end of Y4 to end of Y6. Although this year level 6 grammar was virtually impossible to achieve.

I personally think he's got more in him. He's note interested in Minecraft and playing out on his bike though.
Also I'm not a teacher so no idea what 6c work looks like.

(Though I have googled and it says it's equivalent to GCSE grade B, that can't be right surely??)

More*

I don't think GCSE B is the equivalent of a level 6 - that is the expected level at age 14. It's more I think that if you get level 5 at age 11 then you are expected to be level 7 at age 14. 80% of children with a level 5 at age 11 go on to get a B grade at GSCE.

Expected progress was 2 full levels over KS2 so from end of yr 2 to end of yr6. So a child with a level 3 in KS1 SATS should be level 5 at end of KS2. If they are making linear progress then they would be level 4 at the end of yr 4.

Level 5 is the expected level at 14.

I stand corrected, I thought it was level 5 or level 6. DS1s targets aren't so bad after all then!

Level 6 is equivalent to a D in GCSE, I think.

Ok I have more info. I emailed school and got a full breakdown of his interim report.

Current levels as of this autumn term
Reading - 4a
Writing - 4a
Maths - 5c
Science - 4a
CT - 4c
French - 3c (only on his third term of studying this)
Humanities - 4a
Ict - 5b
Music- 4a
Pe - 3c
Re- 4a

All of the targets are 6c apart from french (5c) and music (4b which he's already met). Efforts are all B (good) apart from music which is A (outstanding).

There is also a note to say 'he is currently benefiting from personalised English intervention to ensure progress and support him in reaching his aspirational targets'

What do we think?