Test results in primary school

[tiggergoesbounce]

I was just wondering if others schools provide your child's test results to you.

Our school is always saying they want their parents to engage more and be more involved in their kids education but then say its not school policy to release the test results, which would help know areas of improvement, and if their child is improving with tangible results.

I was just wondering if other areas release these papers or marks.

Which test results?

Grammar school area here, and for all of Y5 we were kept informed of the PIRA/PUMA and CAT4 results so we could make an informed decision on whether to do the grammar school entry tests. But other than that, no.

I'm assuming you mean unofficial, in class 'tests'?

Legally you have to be informed of the results of official assessments (end of Reception profile, Year 1 phonics screening, Year 4 multiplication check, Year 6 SATs etc). Anything 'in house', is purely to aid teacher assessment. They don't have to inform parents (thankfully - how stressful for the children!) of exact scores. You'll be told at parents evenings and in their report whether they're working towards or expected in each area. That's all you need to know. Exact test scores are irrelevant.

No we aren't told test results. Generally I only know they have had a test because DC tell me. Sometimes DC know how they did, sometimes they don't.

Just weekly spelling test results, reading book level and then working at level at parents evenings.

Statutory test results - yes.

Reading level/phonics group - yes.

On track or not on track for the year group expectations - shared at parents evenings, yes

In-class tests that school use to inform their teacher assessments and judgements - no.

Can’t your child tell you how they did if you’re that bothered. Weekly spelling tests of tables etc I wouldn’t fuss

Hard disagree that precise scores are irrelevant. There is a massive world of difference between a child "exceeding" by being in the top 20% or a child in the top 1%. I imagine it's the same at the other end of the scale.

A child who cannot score better in a standardised test needs stretching and challenging.

We got our scores from school because I asked for them after a tip off from another parent who was a teacher and knew they existed. As a consequence, we went from a child who was bored and unstimulated to using the scores as evidence of WHY the school needed to be doing more and now both children are happier and more engaged.

Our school doesn't publish the results, you have to ask for them.

You can 'hard disagree' all you like, you're not going to change my viewpoint that results of every single test should be shared with parents. By all means you can request it, if you're 'that parent', but it shouldn't be standard that schools share every single set of test results with the parents. Education, and indeed life itself, should not revolve around test results.

Why would the teachers telling me scores stress out my children? If I think my child will be stressed, there's no need to tell them surely?

And sorry, but having been subject to a state school system that neglects extreme ends of the academic spectrum, sometimes you have to be "that parent". Otherwise you end up with a bored child because the teachers think they can use your child as a free teaching aid (which benefits neither child according to scientific research).

I work in professional services. I am challenged on my performance and results more than every five years. If a client doesn't like what I am doing, and I am not delivering results, we discuss it.

Teachers need to be subject to the same levels of scrutiny and performance management. Not just in Yr 2 and Yr 6.

Clearly you know absolutely nothing about teaching if you don't believe teachers are subject to scrutiny! Unless you pay for private though, you are not their 'client', so the two situations are completely different. Teachers are subject to scrutiny from their SLT, Ofsted etc. They do not need to be held to account by parents.

The state system as a whole does not neglect the extreme ends of the academic spectrum. I'm sorry that has been your personal experience but that's a poor school. It's a huge generalisation to accuse the system as a whole of those failures.

Ofsted inspect a school once every how many years. That isn't regular and appropriate scrutiny by any means. Let's not even pretend it is.

And I wouldn't say the SLT has a vested interest in driving standards in the same way as in a commercial setting either.

We are very lucky that we have had some outstanding teachers but we've also had some absolute dross where the phrase "those who can't ... do anything else, teach" applies.

Teachers are in the rare situation where the individuals they interact with i.e. pupils are not capable of (being, what, five years old) and are not encouraged to articulate their needs. Therefore parents have to step in for the best interests of their child (and others) where appropriate to do so.

I can't decide whether you are against the provision of exam results because you think it's bad for the students (which was your initial point about anxiety) or because it's extra work for teachers when parents try and understand what happens behind the locked school gate and try and make sure their children are appropriately challenged.

I'm definitely coming from the stance that I don't believe education should be exam driven. However, I do think you speak very disrespectfully of the teaching profession in general and you clearly have no idea just how much (regular) scrutiny teachers are under (it's definitely not just from Ofsted).

My point is, parents are not the right people to be judging teachers. Unless you pay for private education, you are not their client. Your child's teacher is a trained professional who knows how to assess your child's ability. You do not need to know each individual test result to know whether they're doing a good job. Initially I thought this thread was about pushy parents who were genuinely interested in their child's results. All this talk about teacher accountability has made the thread take an odd turn.

Sorry, No, I didn't mean weekly spelling tests. I mean the start of the year tests that they do and then the end of year test. I don't mind being "that parent" if that's how the school will view me for enquiring on 2 test and showing an interest. I don't need to speak to them throughout the year.

No, my child was not given the results of these tests so can't tell me how they did. They said they were not sure how they got on, so I was just interested, as a previous poster mentioned, there are obviously catergories they fall within, but have they just scrapped that or are they at the top end. I just wondering what other schools did, that's all.

We do termly PIRA/PUMA and report standardised scores but parents always want to know “what it’s out of” and struggle to understand how they work. We also do tests before and after each unit of learning in all subjects to evaluate progress. There are termly progress meetings to discuss the data and allocate interventions accordingly. We are also scrutinised termly so all subject leads observe us over a week using Ofsted guidelines.

Personally I think we do far too much testing and it both wastes teaching time and detracts from the bigger picture. The children who don’t do well in tests constantly feel they are not good enough even though we tell them it’s just for the teachers. For those children who struggle academically or emotionally, school must feel like one long test that they are failing.

Our school seem to do mock style sats weeks for y3-5 and don’t routinely release the results but I asked for results as I wanted to understand progress. There is a massive range for ‘expected’ from pretty shit to very close to exceeding and that statement hides a lot.

In primary, teachers collect different types of evidence to make judgements about where a child is working. Any summative tests carries out will form part of this. Your child’s school should be reporting on how they are achieving 3 times a year, either though written reports or parents evenings. This is when you find out how they are doing.

Disappointing attitude from the school - like you say they want you to engage but they seem to not want you to engage in your way!

I'd just keep pestering them for exam/test results. If they're still unhappy and don't want to divulge them then make a complaint and file a subject-access-request - then they'll have to hand them over.

Presumably your clients are paying you to deliver the results they want. You are not a client, they don't answer to you, and you are not in a position to performance manage the teachers.

Absolutely. Definitely the best way to build a relationship with the school.

Why make friends with people that aren't giving you what you want?

Most schools conduct data scrutiny meetings or pupil progress meetings every term with teachers. Around once every 12 working weeks. If you think teachers don't work under a constant and high level of scrutiny you're living under a rock.

To answer OP tests don't give the full picture and teacher assessment is more important which is why your child's school may not release them.

Ours only routinely release Phonics and Times Table test results. I asked for SATS and CATS and they sent them through - they have to if you ask. If they did that you would be within your rights to do a GDPR request which would be considerably more work for them.

Exactly, why not just tell the parents, especially the engaged ones that ask?!!

This. We also have an LA advisor above the head who comes in and drills us every term too. I worked in the private sector for a decade before teaching and it's just not true that teachers are scrutinised less than in other professions.

I would give test results if a parent asked for them but they don't mean a huge amount. We use the same tests annually so it would be very easy for me to tailor my teaching to, for example, the spelling patterns I know will come in the spelling tests that term. I really try not to but it's not the same as an unseen test like you get for SATs. Some terms the tests are easier and on average the class tends to score higher. I know that and use the test information alongside what I see in class. Parents aren't going to be privy to that same level of information.