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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

should i worry about my son's grades

23 replies

southeastastra · 10/07/2009 16:20

got sat results (year three) back today, he has only very slightly improved and his grades are still below average.

to me he's come on so well and seems to understand so much more now, can read well, write neatly etc yet his grades don't seem to reflect that.

i'm not sure what to do, whether to worry and get him some outside help or just let the school carry on.

his report suggests that they are very pleased with how he's progressing yet the marks don't show this.

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Runoutofideas · 10/07/2009 16:24

I would think that if both you and the teacher are pleased with his progress, that's probably more important than the grade. It seems a bit odd though that the grades do not reflect his progress. Maybe have a word with the teacher and see whether there's an obvious explanation for it....

Original poster

southeastastra · 10/07/2009 17:20

i'm not exactly pleased, feeling really depressed now.

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GrapefruitMoon · 10/07/2009 17:22

I would make an appointment to go to see the teacher to discuss what if anything needs to be done next...

madrush · 10/07/2009 17:23

Don't forget they're only meant to move up a number every other year. Sometimes they give you the banding (2c 2b 2a 3c etc) which helps you see progress even if child stays on same number (I think the aim is two of these mini steps per year).

Otherwise, don't forget that SATs probably won't be around much longer because they're not much use!!! What is important is that you and his teacher see progress.

LucyMinter · 10/07/2009 17:24

Same here SEA. Just got ds's report too, he's really behind in grades but they write a few good things...trying to make it all sound v positive. Thing is I've asked them about dyslexia and they said not till yr 2 will they even consider this...so he has to struggle till then apparently.

I thought he was getting on really well, I mean he is so much better at all the stuff they want him to do now. Yet still it seems not good enough

Original poster

southeastastra · 10/07/2009 17:32

i really wish i'd just had the report and none of the grades. just going to spend a whole weekend feeling fed up.

how old is your son lucyminter? mine has an IEP

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mrz · 10/07/2009 17:37

Year 3 is notorious for children stalling (appearing not to have moved on according to NC levels) I think it is more realistic to ask yourself is he able to do things now he couldn't last year?

LucyMinter · 10/07/2009 17:39

He's 6. It's shite isn't it - we've been asking for some extra help as think he has dyslexia, but they won't look at that.

I can't believe they still give him grades based on the same system as his peers when he has an IEP. That's not going to HELP him is it!

Original poster

southeastastra · 10/07/2009 17:52

mine is only 7 and in year three! i sometimes wish he'd been born just a little later. sucks being the youngest in the year.

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LucyMinter · 10/07/2009 17:59

Oh that is tough luck Ds was 6 end of May so quite little too.

I bet he is a fab kid.

Original poster

southeastastra · 10/07/2009 18:16

mrz that is great advice and when i think of the things he has achieved this year i know he's improving.

why do they always give you these reports on friday afternoon??

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hullygully · 10/07/2009 18:23

My son struggled terribly at primary school, he could barely write a sentence in year 2. He used to cry and get really worried about it all and insist on staying in at break to finish his work. I worried myself silly and then had him tested (privately) for dyslexia at 8, and he does have it (not really badly).

Now, he is 12 and top of his class, year etc with fantastic reports. I think boys especially take a lot longer to get going. So try not to worry too much and carry on being pleased with them and encouraging them!

LucyMinter · 10/07/2009 18:26

Three guesses SEA. The council always send you decision letters on a Saturday morning as well...

paranoid2 · 10/07/2009 19:11

SEA, Glad your DS has made good progress. I remember you writing about him last year when I had been told that my Dt2 needed a statement. I probably wrote under Maggiems then. I think you had been told that your DS was going to be seing the EP. The school seems to agree with you in that he has made good progress so thats good. However I would go and see the teacher to get a better feel for whats whats behind the grades but it does sound like he has done well during the year.

FWIW my Dt2 who is also a summer baby has also come on well this year. We are in NI so get assessment results at the end of yr3 and not yr2. The expected grade is "2" in each subject with approx 60% getting a "3". It seems to be a similiar system as England as text books for each level in England seem to be for the same level 3 in NI. Thankfully we dont get sublevels so I have no way of knowing what Dt2's "2" levels actually means. I knowsuspect its not at a 2A level but I dont care that I dont know. I completely understand you just wanting the report and no grades. It took me about 3 hours to open Dt2's report (on a Friday also of course which I HATE)

Its worth remembering that there is no account taken of age in the SAT's. So if every child was performing on an average basis for their age , then your DS would be below average in comparison to those children who are up to a whole year older (And dont forget the girls who are very oftern ahead anyway)

Original poster

southeastastra · 10/07/2009 19:22

thanks for that paranoid and hully. so much has happened in the year. brand new headteacher who didn't want my son to see the ed psych so absolutely nothing happened there. she said there was no way he'd get a statement. i have been very trusting of her (until now!)

so true about the age thing, poor ds isn't even 8 yet.

funny that the thing that brought me to mn in 2006 i'm still no nearer to finding anything out!

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paranoid2 · 10/07/2009 19:34

Its so frustrating. I think its easier to get a statement in NI. Maybe I'm in denial about Dt2's issues but it seems that children who are about the same as him or weaker than him in England wouldnt have a hope of getting a statement. I believe you can apply to get a child assessed if the school isnt prepared to do anything. Even if the HT is correct about him not being weak enough to get a statement,an assessment could lead to him getting some extra help.

Hope you dont feel too bad over the weekend. I find the first day of reading a report is the worst. It gets a bit better day by day

Original poster

southeastastra · 10/07/2009 19:42

thanks paranoid. i got very close to applying for a assessment myself, then went to see the headteacher the next morning.

she put my mind at ease and told me to wait for these results and they would show an improvement. guess i was hoping for more.

am currently waiting to see optometrist too as ds has weak muscle in his eye. could be causing his probs, could be anything really.

i would have felt better if the ed psych had seen him if i'm honest.

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Original poster

southeastastra · 10/07/2009 19:43

talking has definitely helped too, thanks.

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paranoid2 · 11/07/2009 10:46

Hope you are feeling better this morning. Dt2 has had eye problems too. He has been wearng glasses since he was 2.5 for longsightedness and a slight squint. I always think it has an impact on his reading as he talks about the words jumping out at him and he sometimes covers one eye if he has been reading for a while.

Original poster

southeastastra · 11/07/2009 10:58

mine is the same paranoid, long sightedness i wonder if it has anything to do with it. got an appointment through this morning (ironically) for the optometrist, right in the middle of our holiday so i have to reschedule, argh!

have to say i cried a bit this morning

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abraid · 11/07/2009 11:15

Southeastastra--it's quite normal to see a bit of 'stalling' between year 2 and year 3. Both my children seemed to stand still, but they're being tested on a much broader curriculum in year three.

Both mine went on to do very well at primary school. Don't be disheartened.

Original poster

southeastastra · 11/07/2009 12:07

thanks for posting that abraid, i need all the positive stories i can get at the moment!

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cory · 11/07/2009 17:12

also, don't forget that somebody has to be below the average; otherwise it wouldn't be the average

ds is also below average, but I have come to the conclusion that that is probably his natural level; he does actually seem slightly less mature and less "clever" than his mates in the upper sets. Doesn't mean I can't be enormously proud and pleased with the progress he has made this year- and grateful to the teacher who has helped him make it.

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