Monitoring child's progress

[Cat111]

My child is in a small rural primary school. From what I can see he is making good progress and I know he and his peers are ahead of children in several much larger local schools. I would be interested to gauge the level of his class compared to other schools around the country though. Is there a website that gives any indication of the level that children of different ages should be achieving? Or any websites that test your child and show if there are areas that are not being covered?

Thank you!

What age is your child? I am in a similar position wondering how well or badly my son is doing. He's 5 in year 1 so I'd be interested in hearing others responses.

My eldest is 7 and my youngest is 5 - but we are in Scotland so my 5-year-old only went to school in August so early days.

They are both very different in terms of their approach to learning so it would be nice to have a barometer of progress. The eldest is very diligent and curious about learning. The younger pretends he doesn't care at all and doesn't like to show how much he knows but seems to be doing well despite this!

I don’t think this comparison info is published. Just as well really. Is this competitive parenting gone mad?

Like many parents you are making the mistake of comparing a small number of children you know with a few other children you know to confirm to yourself that your choice of school is superior. I cannot see how you can possibly know the progress or attainment of the children in the other schools and it comes across that you think your child is superior at a very young age. You obviously think you already have comparison information in your locality. I bet you don’t!

Child progress is not even. There are plateaux and spurts. You don’t know the data at the other schools but one assumes they are teaching the same curriculum and do have a variety of children in the schools so it is inevitable some are achieving above or below the expected levels. At this time of year, the first assessments have barely been completed so you are very quick to assume these other children are behind yours. Just be happy yours appears to be a genius.

There are no national expectations for achievement except at the end of each Key Stage so Reception, Year 2 and Year 6.

The national curriculum is online, as are the tests at the various ages mrz gave (there's also the phonics screening check which does have an expectation of achievement in Y1, but if you're wondering how awesome your kids are doing they'd have to be getting all of them correct without problem.)

What is your aim for your comparison? Presumably it's more than vague interest?

When my DD went to a private nursery attached to an independent primary school (wasn’t a prep school in the traditional way), I cannot tell you how many parents there thought their children were doing extra well and the vast majority expected them to wing it into the grammar schools. They had convinced themselves that paying gave them a huge advantage, the state schools were useless, small classes meant everything because the teachers could spend more time with each child and that, as wise and relatively well off parents, they naturally had very intelligent children that the state schools didn’t have. How wrong they were.

Very few got to the grammar schools. Some were not even admitted to the easy to get into Private senior schools. Constant parent angst directed at the school because they didn’t get the education they expected after y6. Totally unrealistic aims and quite often the small classes masked very poor teaching. Comparisons are therefore a waste of time when someone has convinced themselves that other children who have a different experience of education are somehow behind. It usually comes back to bite! Hard!

www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/46689

You can look here for maths. Pick there school year and see if they can do all the things. As you start school later in Scotland you may need to look at a different school year as based on englands national curriculum

DD's school used to do NFER tests annually. Age standardised.

www.nfer.ac.uk/schools/nfer-tests/

So you could see how your child compared to average (100). School used to say 120 plus may be suitable for grammar school entry. From a parents point of view I found it useful.