Frustrated about bookband / SATS year 2

[bonbonours]

So my 6 year old boy, year 2, is an August birthday so the youngest in class. He is excellent at reading, and at home is reading Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis perfectly capably. However, his handwriting is appallingly bad and it takes him a huge amount of effort to write a small number of words. They have been preparing for the year 2 SATs at school and he has done quite badly in the practice papers despite his teacher having him down as being 'expected'. I suspect this is due to two things 1) he is quite immature and loses concentration easily if he is not interested in something, 2) he hates writing and so does the minimum in the tests eg writing one word answers. I have already talked to his teacher about this and we discussed him having a scribe so that he can get his ideas and answers across without having to physically write them.

He has been on the same bookband (Lime) for five months, and the books are really easy for him to read, so I just let him read them to himself in the car on the way home from school and then listen to him read other books at home. However, when I asked if he could move up (they have three further book bands at his school), I was told that his comprehension level is not good enough because he is not passing the year 2 comprehension tests in preparation for the SATS. Also I was told nobody is above Lime and my son told me his teacher said in class the headteacher doesn't want anyone moving above Lime so this seems to be a school policy. (based on what? What is the point of having higher book bands if nobody is allowed to read them?)

It seems to me that it is unfair to judge his reading level on the basis of comprehension papers which he doesn't want to sit (and realistically which I am fundamentally against - 6 year olds shouldn't be sitting exams at all). He is not excelling in all areas, so it would be a great boost to his confidence to allow him to move forward in the area he does excel in.

He does understand everything he reads. His teacher even said that when she talks to him about what he is reading, he shows comprehension. It is only a test situation that he is not 'showing comprehension'. Therefore, as I see it it's the test that is the problem. He has no problem with comprehension and I don't see why they won't let him move forward.

bugclub is online reading programme school subscribe to.

Normally, teacher assign books to each pupil according to their levels and they can read and do comprehension question. My ds' teacher didn't assign any books to him, instead, she gave access to 100+ choices.

https://www.mumsnet.com/learning/ebooks there are some samples of Bug Club books available via MN

"Also, I don't think I have ever seen books banded by colour." Does your child's school use reading scheme books? Biff Chip or similar

Yes, we get ONLY Biff and Chip, but they are grouped by levels and bird. For example DD2 has the last of the magpies level 9, which corresponds to level 8 purple in today's money (I searched the title).

Biff and Chip are book banded by colour on the back of the book

Well, it is a greeney-bluey kind of colour. We couldn't decide what colour, but most certainly not purple :D
We neve use colours... only levels and birds. Both these classifications have disappeared in later editions (our books are between 20 and 30 years old).
You can check yourself... At home we have now "Survival adventure" and you can still find the old cover on the internet.

I don't need to check they were published in the 80s as a Look and Say reading scheme using ORT levels which were later standardised using the book banding system (based on mixed methods) neither system is a good measure

Survival Adventure is ORT 9 which roughly equates to gold band.

@Feenie, on the ORT website it is listed as level 8, purple. However I do not know whether the text has been altered in the ensuing decades :D

mrz, but what does it mean in practical terms?

If he won't demonstrate his comprehension, how are the teachers supposed to know he is comprehending? The expected level is a very low bar for most reasonably competent Y2 readers.I seem to remember a lot of it is just one word answers so even if your kid's writing is poor he should be able to manage that
I also do not buy that there is a school policy of holding KS1 children back with their reading by not letting them progress beyond lime!!

"mrz, but what does it mean in practical terms" it means they have more words than the book band /level below and fewer words than the level/band above

a lot of it is just one word answers so even if your kid's writing is poor he should be able to manage that a lot of it is multiple choice which doesn't require writing at all

.

Thank you for your usual pearl of wisdom, mrz.
I was referring to this: they were published in the 80s as a Look and Say reading scheme using ORT levels which were later standardised using the book banding system (based on mixed methods) neither system is a good measure

It isn't a good measure for what and in what way does my "survival adventure" differs from the purple level 8?

or whatever level that might be. The important point is, has that book changed at all in the last 30 years?
Looking at the ORT website the colour looks turquoise...

Says Survival Adventure Stage 9 Gold on the ORT pages I'm looking at

It isn't a good measure of reading ability /progress/ difficulty /anything really

"The important point is, has that book changed at all in the last 30 years? " no

Springflowers, I have seen enough posters talking about KS1 children being restricted to books up to Lime to believe that some schools, and not just ours of which I have first hand experience, clearly do this; why should I not believe this?

Restricting KS1 children to Lime books and below, does not however 'hold back their reading'. Except maybe if they have no access to any other books whatsoever, and there is no teaching of reading skills at school either. And even then.... Seriously, do you think you can 'hold back' children's reading by not giving them the next stage of reading scheme books?
I'd expect most children who'd be ready to move beyond Lime during KS1 have got to that stage by reading books other than ORT (instead, or in addition, to school reading books). And will have had a degree of parental support, e.g. in the form of providing them with non-scheme books. And will have had teachers teaching them reading. What I don't buy is that children learn to read by moving through the book bands, or that book bands are in any way essential to learning to read.

Feenie, Arkadia, I believe some ORT books have been re-levelled or re-banded. Nowadays I think each 'level' corresponds one-to-one to a colour i.e. 'band'. But that wasn't always the case. Our school's books are older than the re-banding and so we encountered e.g. level 9 books that were turquoise, purple or gold; or 'gold' books that were level 8, 9, or 10 (from memory). Sounds like Arkadia's books are the same.

BigWeald Yes, I agree, the intersection of kids without access to any other reading material, and are able to read any material is going to be tiny, and I would expect any teacher would find such a child extraordinary and help them out - by slipping them a copy of Matilda or something.

I can't see why people would encourage their kids to read scheme books by the time they can read other stuff that interests them for pleasure. So we encourage DD to choose plays and poetry and other stuff that are more interesting and useful for us all to do.

" I believe some ORT books have been re-levelled or re-banded. Nowadays I think each 'level' corresponds one-to-one to a colour i.e. 'band'. " no they simply display the book banding colour alongside the ORT level colour

sirfredgeorge DS's school would help out children in that situation anyway as they let them choose from a selection of non-scheme books once they are beyond lime, some of which are quite advanced. DS (amongst others) have finished all of these so now choose from books selected for Year 3 children.

But as you say its unlikely any of these children have got to this level without reading books outside of school.