Assessment week- 6year old upset and stressed

[BaronessBarbaraKingstanding]

My young and struggling 6yr old DS is in Yr2, they have been having 'assessment week' at school. He has come home every day and told me that he couldn't read the passage and answer the questions so he had to be taken out at the end by the tecaher to be helped,and he was the only one.
He told me that 'his heart was thunping.'

Today was writing,he told me everyone else wrote 1/2 or even 3 pages but he only wrote a few lines and others laughed at him and that he said he felt 'really sad.'

in what bloody universe is it a good idea to test struggling 6yr olds on tests which are too hard for them in a class full of others that can do it??? FFS??

I am really upset for my boy. He's been making such good progess i was so positive as everything was clicking for him and now this bloody kick in the teeth for him.

What shoud I do? Can i withdrew him for future assessment weeks? Can i withdreaw him from the SATS?

I am so upset.

I would be upset too
Assessment shouldn't be like that.

Mrz it just seems like an exercise in crushing the spirit of small children!

Is this assessment week a usual way to carry out assessments in infants now?

how should I tackle this with the teacher?

Any views from teachers or other parents with similiar children would be really apprecicted.

So what should i do for my boy? What can i do?

Can i remove him from all future assessment weeks?

I think you need to talk this through with the teacher.

a) she'll give you a fuller description of what's happening

b) you'll make her more aware of the effect it's having on him and let her know what the other children are saying/doing.

c) Maybe there's a more appropriate way for your DS to be assessed and if you flag up his and your unhappiness with the current way, she may modify things for him.

I disagree that this is normal.

I work in an infant school and all our assessments are informal. Infact the children would not know they are being assessed (not talking SATs here). Yes, this week and last has been assessment time. The class teacher and myself have been assessing our Y1 class in reading, writing and numeracy. Some has been group work, some individual work and all has been differentiated work.

Oh, and our results stand as the children come out at. We do not change them to suit school targets, etc.

Even in DD's prep school - which is quite academic - they don't do assessments like this, and especially not in infants.

Baroness, that's shocking and doesn't sound like any way to get the best out of him. I agree with Doodlez, you really do need to speak with the teacher to find a way of handling this situation better.

At my DD's school we have continuous assessments but the children aren't made aware of the relevance of this. So they don't feel stressed or pressured. We (parents) are given details of what children will be tested on for the week. I usually give DD little quizes on our 20 minute drive to school. And then leave her to do her best. No big drama, and at this age I don't see the need to stress them out. There'll be plenty of time for that later.

Hopefully your DS's teacher will be understanding and will find a way to make these assessment weeks more palatable for him.

By BaronessBarbaraKingstandi... Wed 09-Dec-09 20:34:23
Mrz it just seems like an exercise in crushing the spirit of small children!

Is this assessment week a usual way to carry out assessments in infants now?

Well I don't know any schools who work that way we certainly don't in my school.
I can't see any value in what this teacher has done. He/she should know what level each child is working at from their daily classwork and assessments can be made without "testing". As to what they hoped to achieve by taking him away at the end I can't even imagine.

I would ask to speak to the teacher and explain you are concerned your child seems to have had difficulty with the assessments and ask if she/he can explain further.

sorry PP it might be your experience but it isn't normal or desirable.

Would echo Hulababy and Mrz and say that it is certainly NOT normal, and is extremely bad practice at KS1.

However, we have had an assessment week in my Y5 class and they have not got the slightest clue - my assessment tasks were as close to normal every day activities as possible - and that's how they should be.

And I wouldn't DREAM of giving an assessment which was way beyond the child's capabilities - even KS1 SAT tests don't do that.

Please explain to his teacher how you feel this has bashed his confidence, op! [angry}

So cross I can't get my rage emoticon right!

Of course you can withdraw him for assessment weeks! He is your child. You do not have to send him to school at all for that matter.

Tell the school whatever you like; he is stressed, too tired, has a cold.

Or you could talk to the school about it. I (as a teacher) don't think all schools are like this, but some certainly are, and may or not be sympathetic.

My DC's primary is like this, they do assesments every yr from Y1, they opt in to the optional ones. DD found it EVIL (her words), DS1 complained the assessments weren't hard enough < shaking head at smugness of DS1 at 6>, Am absolutely dreading it for DS2, he will NOT cope well with this, I can forsee great problems, as the school won't let you remove them from the assessments (tried to in may when my DD was in yr6, she ended up not acheiving a level, (she was working on Lvl 1 in English and science, and still on 'p' scales for maths) and felt very depressed until she'd been at secondary for 6 weeks. Funnily enough, they didn't include her results in the league table, they claimed to only have 60 Y6 pupils, not 61....

I got told if she didn't attend, they would contact the EWO, and mark it down as unauthorised absence, as it was a whole week, I would have got a £100 fine...

Then tell them that she's got a cold.

Obviously the school doesn't want your child to miss the assessments; be careful that they don't make your child sit the assessments alone in the library the week after.

Find a different school or take her out and home educate her.

If you miss y6 SATs, you don't get a level. So what? The secondary schools are saying that the y6 SATs are worthless because the children in y6 are 'hothoused' so much to ensure they achieve the highest possible level, all by teaching to the test.

Certainly not normal in our school - not even for the actual SATs, which were very low key for the Year 2s. Yes, they do tests, but they don't make a big deal of it and the only time children are made aware that it is a "special" assessment week is for the Yr 6 SATs.

It cannot possibly be in their interests to make a child that stressed. Go and talk to them and make sure they know how he feels. And how can they help him without making him feel singled out. And what are they going to do about the fact he feels children are laughing at him because that is totally not acceptable, regardless of how they approach assessment.

Thanks for all your comments.

Today I am feeling like we just need to put up with this, as we have been in quite a bit recently about various things and I think we are getting a reputation for being a pain in the arse.

It's a very high acheieving school and they do so many things I disagree with that I think we now either need to shut up or move him away.

Dh and I did discuss HE last night, as I can see exactly what DS needs educationally and I know I could deliver it better and more appropriately for him than he is getting at school at the moment (lots of history/story telling/book making/ imagination activities to motivate him he loves things like this and is currently 'writing a book' and 'wants to do history at university' alsongside regular daily practise of basic phonic skills) BUT he is a very socialbl little boy who wouldnot like being away from groups of other children.

Also it would take a huge change in our life styles mena me giving up work, and Dh thinks all other HEdders would be 'weird' (yeah right we'd be the only normal poele to do this please don't flame me for my Dh's ignorant prejudice!)

Why is there no in between though????!!!!
Why does school have to be like this????!!!!

It is so frustrating, and sad.

Steiner school?

Not all state schools are like this, but quite a lot are, I'm afraid.

Home Ed groups vary a lot in their quality and make up. Some are weird, I'm afraid. (But then so are some teachers and quite a few school parents!) Some are very nice and normal, just as fed up as you are.