Parents evening from hell

[Muskey]

Just been to the parents evening from hell. DD is in year 6. Her level expectation for English is 4b not bad I hear you say. However at the end of year 5 she was level 5b/c. Is it me or should children move forward not backwards should I go back to speak to the teacher or is just something that happens. DD is very rude and stroppy at the moment is this something to do with it

god take a chill pill sis - maybe I am a teacher too?

A lot of you seem to be confusing setting and target grades. The SATS are used to set the target grades. I agree that all school do this and that OFSTED use it to judge student progress.

Setting is the means of getting there. Students can move up and down sets quite easily and this will be based on teacher assessment of where the student is now.

We use KS2 data to set initially and then move students any time they need to be moved.

If you are sunny you can't work in the state sector! Shipwrecked has backed up everything I have been saying ....

A lot of schools will use ks2 SATS results to set the children at the beginning of year 7. I know the school DS will go to does for maths at least. And overall GCSE targets are based on ks2 SATS. People who say they don't matter are being a little naive at least.

State schools have to use SATs results in FSH to set targets - but sometimes teachers can adjust these or use the aspirational targets as well - to avoid demotivating pupils. Admittedly it can give crazy results - my DS had a target grade of B in Latin despite having only studied the subject for less than one term and then having dropped it.
Not all schools set from the start, and often prefer their own internal testing to SATs results. SATs results have been known to be fiddled.

OFSTED do not rate in % grades anymore. They rate on levels progress from KS2, regardless of the rigorous interal testing it is the KS2 test mark that schools are measured on.

No mummy time state schools must report the results which are used by the DfE to set targets for GCSEs

Yes, we also internally adjust targets (usually upwards) based on the FFT targets. But, importantly, these are unofficial and only used for motivation.

The achievements though, are based on the FFT targets and they cannot be changed for this. They are the ones used for teacher performance management and for OFSTED and for assessing students progress to the next stage.

Can they fiddle externally marked exams?

Generally, I have found the TA marks for science to be broadly reliable for setting, especially when set against the SATs exam marks for maths and English

I would have thought that schools would love to take a child who underachieves in their KS2 SATs and boost them above their expected GCSE grade, does it not reflect well in the school's value added metrics?

Sadly though cakes primary schools are bound by KS1 results and often the KS2 results are high ...

The can fiddle SATs by not administering them properly - it has happened - and locally used to happen at one school until quite recently.

Of course the teacher could cheat but only the desperate would run the risk.

There was a school locally where there was malpractice with ks2 SATS a few years ago but given the amount of coverage there was I think it was a rare occurrence. But it does happen.

Yes, I would agree with that it is possible and has happened. The vast majority of the levels we get are sound.

Muskey - we had a similar experience with ds back in December. His literacy levels had plummeted and I was told he wasn't concentrating, day dreaming in tests etc. Like you, I got home and read the riot act, but then I gave it a bit more thought and realised that 11 year olds are still just children and there must be an underlying cause. I discussed it with him and got to the bottom of it (it was a combination of a number of things) and arranged another meeting with his teacher.

I'm pleased to say that we got everything sorted and his levels immediately bounced back up - so there's still time - don't lose hope.

Does nobody think it's a problem that we are talking about a ten year old in terms of levels and targets?

The issue the OP has is that her child is bored and stroppy. That's the problem, not what level she hits, which set she's in and what her GCSE target is.

I have two kids in this system atm. I am holding on to the mental health of one of them with my bare hands after three years of target pressure and assessment.

Be very, very, very careful about what you wish for.

Thank you gwynivere and super swimming.

Super swimming I an sorry for what you are going through and I hope things get better for you

I am in the process of writing the teacher a letter as I am angry that she hasn't told me what is going on and the fact that she doesn't seem that bothered that she is allowing a child to coast. We will be following this up with a meeting. My job as I see things is to ensure that dd isn't rude to the teachers. I take full responsibility for my child's behaviour but the teachers job is to ensure that the dc whoever they are and whatever the teachers feelings are about that child is to get the child to engage and ultimately learn what they are being taught. DD is supported 100% at home we are both very involved in her schoolwork. So if we are doing our job why isn't the teacher doing hers

It is good that you are supportive at home - theffitstbthing is to ensure your daughter is working at her best level - if she is not producing work at a higher level she won't be set that work - she needs to show the teacher she can do it then the teacher can do her job properly

First thing is - attack if random Bs