Child scored 95 on KS2 SATS, are they going to struggle forever?

[mayandjuniper]

Realistically, are they forever going to be the child in bottom set struggling to scrape the lowest grade? 95 was across the board. They already have as much home help as we can give/child is willing to accept.

Not necessarily. Some children are just late bloomers, some schools do a better job of preparing children for the tests, some kids crumple under the pressure of the SATS.

The scaled score alone doesn't really tell you anything - it's just a snapshot of how they performed in that particular week. How does your dc do in school more generally? Have you had concerns over the years or have you been happy with overall progress?

No, definitely not. I know few kids who didn't do so well in ks1, who have taken over early boomers in ks2.

Have been concerned for years. I am just wondering if there is any hope of them doing well academically and being able to choose a career path without being overly limited. Probably not.

My DD did slightly better, 100, 97 and 96 iirc.

She does find secondary a struggle but isn't currently in bottom sets at a good comp.

Being taught at her level has helped her grow in confidence (for example she no longer has the top table kids calling out the answer in maths while she is still understanding the question).

As she has matured she is more willing to accept help from me.

Reading and writing hits more subjects than maths, so (though it pains me to say it) time spent on those will give you more bang for your bucks.

If they can be persuaded, try to keep basic skills going over the summer holidays so at least they hit the ground running. e.g. Holiday diary, library reading challenge, and some maths towards the end of August.

Remember that scaled scores go down to 80, so 95 is only a bit below expected standard.

And don't listen to the people who say leave them to it when they get to secondary. If she will accept help then you can add quite a lot of value helping 1-1 at home.

I would say that 10/11 is still quite young, so I wouldn't rule out the possibility of your DC turning out to be a late bloomer. Are there any SN that could be hindering performance?

Of course, the other possibility is that academic study may never be your dc's thing, and if that's the case, that's ok too. There are many good career paths which require more in the way of practical skills, and these are equally valid. What is your dc good at?

Thank you, that's reassuring. Scores now only go down to 85 so 95 is relatively low.

Wow, just realised I've made a whopping mistake. I mean KS1 not KS2. Sorry! Year 2, hence mistake.

KS1 ?

Don't worry, just carry on supporting at home. Far too young to be worrying about limited career paths!

I know someone that got terrible SAT scores and totally flunked their 11 plus and just got all A's and 8s and 9s in GCSE.

Lat bloomers is a thing. I was an even later bloomer, barely average GCSEs then straight A's at A Level.

KS1? Really nothing to worry about yet, then. Your DC is very young. They might turn out to be academic or they might not, but either way, it's too early to worry. No harm in doing what you can to support them at home, but I wouldn't push it too hard at this stage - you don't want to put them off!

Oh KS1, def don't worry, lots changes between KS1 and secondary x

For funny reason, I read it as KS1. So yes, you still don't know.
Little bit of support daily at home will make a huge difference in the long run.

I really think sats are pretty meaningless. I know lots of kids who struggled at school (primary and secondary) who are successful adults with good careers. My ds1 couldn’t even write his name until age 5, but is predicted really good results in his GCSEs. Ds2 wasn’t diagnosed with his dyslexia / dyscalculia until age 9, but now I know we’re working together to overcome his issues (and he’s coming on in leaps and bounds).
The best thing you can do for your dc is not let them see you’re bothered by the results (not saying you are) and keep making learning fun for them.

Ds1 and Ds2 (August born) didn't get the pass mark for KS1 SATS but got the band above pass for ks2. Ds1 did GCSEs and has an A in maths and B in English. He was just immature and not used to tests in ks1. Ds2 is in secondary and not in bottom sets. He had good quality help in ks2 which helped with weaknesses like spelling.

I read your first post and was ready to come on and say that there was no need to worry and then read your second post to see your daughter is actually only 7. Definitely no need to worry!
My dd is now 12, ks1 says she got in the 80’s (can’t remember exact scores). Ks2 she got 96/97/98 and her results for this year have been better still and she is now past the 100 mark consistently. I figure she is a late academic bloomer and now that it has clicked a bit, she is doing really well. School have always said the best thing we can do for her is encourage her to read, this is a massive uphill battle as she doesn’t enjoy reading, but we do try to encourage it.

Tbh at ks1 it could just show that the school is not even teaching the material.

It's also worth adding that the expected levels are stupidly high compared to what they used to be. Formal learning doesn't even start until 7 in lots of countries. Some children simply aren't ready for it at that age, but it doesn't mean that they won't ever be ready.

My dd got a 97 in her writing and the spag one I think. I'm not too worried, she's not even 7 until mid August, but I'm going to pop into school to have a quick chat with her teacher tonight to see what we can do over the summer.
She struggles to do any work after school but I know through the holiday she'll be willing to do a bit and she does seem to come on leaps and bounds with a bit of one to one work with me.

Thank you, feel much better for reading the replies! Really appreciate it.

It is a good school, many children (including those with pupil premium/EASL) scored incredibly well, which I know as saw the scores on teacher's sheet and am friendly with a lot of parents (hence knowing about the PP/EASL, it's not a data privacy problem!). My DS is 6, end of August baby. Of course I would never ever let him know I was upset or let him judge himself on his own academic prowess but I can't help feeling like a failure myself.

He's almost a year younger than some of his peers, OP. A year is a lot when you're only 6! And he is a boy, and we know that boys (on average) tend to be ready for academic learning a bit later than girls.

I really don't think there is any cause for concern. 🙂

DS2 was in a special group just for him below the bottom reading group until well on in primary, maths not much better. He had just won the Sixth form English prize and is off to a top uni. We always say he's the tortoise overtaking the hares!

I'm a primary school teacher and I've seen plenty who didn't quite make their KS1 SATs go on to do it at KS2. Age gaps and other things can have such an impact for younger ones. I wouldn't worry also, I think testing is bollocks anyway at that age but shhh

Yeah i was going to ask if summer born.
There are stats that show decreasing scores from sept down.
Smaller gap top to bottom in ks2 and i think again at gcse.
Arithmetic is very different to maths. As is being able to read and comprehension and creative writing.
Though have to say at gcse level a grammar /spelling paper might be good as lots of adults cant seem to do it and i actually would have done better than on the creative writing side.
Maybe try 'summerborn children at school' fb group i think is the name