Dd1 (Y5) has only progressed 2 sublevels since Y2

[Madsometimes]

In Y2 she was a level 2a and now half way through Y5 she is a level 3b.

Our school has a policy of not reporting NC levels, but last night at parent's evening I asked her teacher what her exact level was, and she told me. The teacher said that children are expected to reach 3a/4c at the end of Y5, and that as dd1 is on target for a 3a there is no problem. Dd1's school reports have always been good, but lack of NC levels made me have to guess where she was over the past two years. I guessed that she was on track for 4a/L5 at the end of Y6. I was wrong.

Our school is supposed to be excellent for value added, and gets all or most children to level 4 at the end of Y6. I just feel that because dd1 will probably reach a L4 at Y6 that the school think that they have done enough. They are putting on extra classes for the top set to push them to L5, and give support to struggling children.

My child is average and is slipping through the cracks. I wish I had been told her NC level earlier .

Sorry for such negative post, but had to let off steam here so I can be positive in RL.

I'm a bit confused as to what the problem is? presumably you have been happy as to your DD's progress thus far (in terms of reports/talking to teacher/progress you've "seen" her make). But suddenly when you get a "grade" you think she is not doing well?

No doubt others will correct me if I am wrong, but I think it is pretty usual for NC levels to "fall" between KS1 and KS2 due to the different ways they are measured - so her progress is "actually" more than 2 sublevels.

At KS1 she got a 2a - so the upper end of "expected". Sounds like she is on course to get a 4b at the end of KS2 - so again as "expected". Seems like you feel she is capable of doing "better" - what makes you think this - and why do you feel the school is "failing" her?

TBH, I would be slightly concerned.

At our school a child is expected to make 3 sub-levels of progress over a 2 year period.

Madsometimes, I understand your worries. It sounds like they are not giving her extra support because she falls in the middle, between the gifted and the strugglers. Is it possible for you to find a private 1-to-1 tutor for her? A good tutor will work wonders, I think she will be able to race up through the levels with good tuition.

I'm sure I've read posts on here from KS2 teachers bemoaning KS1 teachers who grade their pupils too high - perhaps one of them could comment?

Of course talk to your dd's teacher about this, though.

BTW I'm not suggesting that your dd wasn't on target in Y2, rather that KS1 and KS2 teachers (apparently) grade differently. I could of course be totally wrong!

I think that you need more information. For example, was she a level 3b based on one assessed piece of writing or is that a level based on numerous pieces of work? Children can vary level based on the genre they are writing or just can have an off day obviously. A child can be fab at writng stories and get a high level at the end of one year for a narrative piece, but are not as good at non-fiction so do not do as well the next year. Yes, she could have been over marked in Y2 that is also a possibilty but you need more of an overall impression of her progress in the intervening years to know this. Did you ask her class teacher about this? Does your daughter reach all of her targets easily? What targets does she have now? You can really help your daughter to improve if you help her in the areas that her teacher has identified.

Value added does measure sublevels, so the school will indeed be penalised if your dd doesn't achieve a 4a in the Y6 tests. Sounds like their tracking system in years 3 and 4 isn't the best - if they are happy with a 3a at the end of y5 then the poor y6 teacher (and your dd) will have a lot of work to do.

I would approach the school again first - satisfactory progress as far as Ofsted are concerned is 1 and a half sublevels per academic year. What are they going to do about her less than satisfactory progress? What intervention strategies could they put into place? And yes, as another poster has suggested, what are her targets and how can you help her to reach them at home?

I wouldn't get a tutor unless you have a very strong personal recommendation - they vary hugely in quality.

Feenie, I am very glad that sublevels do count for value added.

At our school, Y6 tends to be very focused on SATs. Last year they got all children through at L4 and 60% got L5 in English and 50% got L5 maths. It is a good school, and dd1 will get a L4. I guess that I assumed that she was on track for a L5 given her KS1 results and the fact that last year's results were good. It might have just been that last year's cohort was particularly strong, and unfortunately the Y6 teacher has left now. She was only in her second year of teaching, and she did brilliantly but has gone on to become a deputy - she was a mature entrant to the profession.

Dd1 was not overmarked at KS1, her Y2 teacher said that in reading she was one month away from being a L3, but she needed a little more time to mature. She is an August child, so I was not concerned.

Her Y4 teacher said that she was a high 3 for literacy, so I was surprised that she was graded 3b in Y5. It may be that this teacher prefers to mark low. I do not know if her grade was from teacher assessment or mid term test.

Does handwriting have much weight for the literacy result? Dd1 has a medical condition which effects her fine motor control and she tires quickly. Dd1's teacher said that her writing needed to improve, and I was unhappy that she knew nothing about it. Dd1's SN does not have much impact on her education apart from handwriting and PE and I have always wanted her to feel like everyone else.

No, handwriting is just a small aspect of a teacher assessment and only 3 marks out of 50 in the KS2 writing tests.

I teach Y5 this year, and actually taught this class of children when they were in Y2. I assessed one girl as a 2a in Maths, but she is barely a 3b now. But because of that it is action stations in our school, and all sorts of extra help is being given to her. We have also made sure her mum is involved every step of the way.

If your Dd tires quickly when writing it may make it harder for her to write pieces of sufficient length when writing under timed conditions in a SATS test. Not a problem for the short task but it can be for the longer one. Although, as she is still in year 5, she probably has not had to do this very frequently. Unfortunately, with the SATS writing test, the ability to write quickly (and well obviously) under timed conditions is important and some children do struggle to finish in time. Pupils do get a teacher assessed mark as well however.

Your daughter's school certainly got excellent results last year. I would not worry too much about her actual handwriting though as long as it is legible. If your Dd was a high 3 at the end of year 4, by the end of year 5 your would hope that she would definitely have achieved a L4. Children usually fall back a little in their writing attainment at the beginning of the school year after the long hols and then start make progress. If I were you I would monitor how your Dd is getting on with her writing tasks from this point and encourage her to meet her targets with stickers or something (if she does not get these already at school). Be really upbeat about it (as I am sure you would) so as not to make your Dd feel insecure about her ability. I have taught y6 for 6 years and find that once children are clear about their targets and are motivated to achieve them they can make heaps of progress. For her to be enjoying her writing and reading is equally important.

Why would everyone assume the level is from a test, at this stage in the year? Must be teacher assessment, surely.

"In the end, do levels actually mean anything, though?"

Yes. In teacher assessment, they mean measuring the difference between progress and no progress.

That one piece of work was better than the other?

"DD2 (11) did two pieces of written English work last week. She has the level for all work she does recorded in her home/school book. For the first she got a 5b and for the second she got a 6c. Three sub-levels difference. What does this suggest?"

It's 2 sub-levels. And no teacher gives a teacher assessment based on just one or two pieces of work - they are based on a lot more evidence than that. It suggests that she was more confident using one genre than the other, Pixie.

They are a good indication of when a child is perhaps not progressing, though, as in the op's dd's case. I agree that other factors are important too, though.

i can relate to this- my dd was 2a for maths in year 2 and was still 2a for maths at the end of year 5. in english she was 2c in year 2 and 3c in year 5.

For her year 6 sats she got 3b in maths and 4 overall in english. She has been diagnosed as dyslexic and has progressed to 4a in one term in her new school. English is taking longer but one thing that i have discovered is that she found it impossible to keep up with what was being done in class and therefore missed huge chunks of important information- especially in maths. Starting again from the basics with assuming no prior knowledge made a huge difference. We are just starting this with English- covering punctuation for example.

I am not saying for a minute that your dd has the same issues but it might be that she has missed a few basic essentials and this is just holding her back.