Can anyone tell me if ability groups at this tender age are based on ability (ie how bright a child is) or actual attainment. Also, at an age when a year makes a huge amount of difference to their development, to what extent do the groupings tend to reflect birth dates?
DD just had lovely, positive feedback from first Y1 parents' evening. The teacher says she is doing very well academically (April birthday, reading ORT stage 6 with ease for eg), so I was a bit surprised when she told us DD is somewhere in the middle in terms of ability groups. We understand this is because she has a tendancy to rush her work and doesnt therefore do as well as she is able. In which case, are we right in saying that 'ability' groups reflect what a child does rather that what they are actually capable of (which would not, until now at least, have been my definition of ability)?
Can any experienced mumsnetters tell me if the ability groups at this age are a true refelction of ability (in terms of potential) or to some extent of the childrens' relative stages of development and age? If the latter, I guess the groups must be pretty fluid and things will even out??