Scottish report cards - can someone translate them for me?

[Aefondkiss]

..or point me in the right direction...my dd is in P3 now and I still can't get my head round them.

If dd has attainment level B has she passed that and moved onto C, or is the progress of 3 meaning she is nearly passed level B?

How worried should I be about it all? am I the only person who finds them a little confusing?

From what I can remember, ds's reports used to say things like "working towards level B" when he hadn't got it yet, and then "level B" once he'd got it. So, I think it probably means she's got level B and is now working towards C. Even if she's still working towrads level B I don't think that would be a problem - this link shows the school years when they expect children to reach the various levels.

Are you having a parent's evening before the end of term? The teacher should explain what they mean and whether that means she's typical for her age or what.

My understanding is the same as AMuminScotland's - but check with the teacher.

It sounds like your dd is doing OK.

Thanks, I checked with the teacher. I still think it could be a bit clearer, but that might be something I should take up with the school.

We were very confused too, AMum, as dd kept coming back with 'A's' and we thought this was good but apparently it is all back to front.
It is not a very good system imo as it confuses a lot of people.

Can anyone help me? I find the levels all very confusing and didnt know anything about them till parents evening (moved to Scotland a few months ago)

My son is P4 working towards Level C maths so is this okay? I only know that because I saw it in his Maths book and have noidea what level he is for any other subjects (bad mother!)

My daughter (P2) sat a test for Level B (reading, writing) and passed it so does this mean she has gained her level B or do they do more to gain a level? And what do they do to get a level?? I never knew they did tests as such so slightly confused??

I should have asked more questions at parents evening but just presumed they were doing well, and didnt quite understand what my daughters teacher was talking about!

Hi, Insanity - if you follow the link in my earlier post, you'll see at what ages they are expected to reach the levels. So, most are expected to reach level C during P4 to P6, so it's fine for your son to be working towards it in P4, and that's a fairly typical level.

Getting level B in P2 is more unusual so it's likely that your daughter is in quite a high group for English.

To get a level, they just have to pass the test, so if she's passed level B for both reading and writing then that's it, she's got Level B and will now also be working towards level C for those subjects.

The tests are so much more low-key than the English SATs that they are often not even that aware that they are sitting the "level tests", as only some groups in the class will be sitting tests at that stage. Basically, the teacher gives them the tests whenn he/she thinks they are ready.

She sat it a few months ago but didnt say a thing to me - I was only told at parents evening. When I ask her what she does she says she did free choosing all day so I was a little bit worried about their education, but after seeing their books they do actually work hard!

From my understanding, she had to read and then answer questions, so without stating the obvious, I take it that for the maths one, it would be a case of answering maths questions? Do they do it for every subject i.e science...?

It's so hard to get sensible answers out of them at that age, isn't it? ds always used to say "nothing" or "painting", and you could never get any feel of what they were actually spending their time on, but it does sound like she's doing fine.

Yes the maths one would be maths questions - I think further into that link you can see all the things they'll be covering in each stage, but tbh I always just left ds and the teacher to get on with it, so long as he was always doing as well as expected.

I think they do the tests in other subjects like science as well, but you tend to hear most about the maths, reading and writing, because the school has targets like "X % of PY to be at least at level Z" for those subjects, so they tend to be more "enthusiastic" about setting the tests for those ones.

No, they are only tested for maths, writing and reading. The class work towards the other levels as a whole, as part of the curriculum.

Kids up here are only tested when the teacher is sure that they will pass. Once they attain level whatever (ie they've passed the 'test') then they move onto the next level - ie working towards level whatever.

The DCs do tell me when they've passed a level test, and the teacher sends home a well done certificate, but there is not the same level of pressure put on them as SATS do, which can only be a good thing.

I know they are funny little things - Im sure they just mention the fun things, not wanting to bore me with the technical things!

I havent really felt the need to speak to their teachers before as they are both happy and have settled in well....and I have always been on the understanding that the scottish education is good.

I think I will pop into the school just to pick up some info on the levels - so next parents evening I can nod knowingly, and actually understand what the teachers mean