year 7 assesments

[dancinqueen]

can anyone give me some advice. My d recently started secondary school. We have never had any major concerns about her learning, according to her school reports from primary school she has been working 'at the level expected' and slightly above for the past 3 years and achieved level 4 and 5 in her SATS. She has done quite well in lessons - if a little distracted and a bit too talkative sometimes!!
She has now been put into Learning support for English, bottom set for maths - her science assessment was level 6b?
Should I be pabicking/talking to the school/ getting tuition etc? help, please !

Is it a particularly high achieving school? L4/5 at the end of primary is a farily average kid who would be middle set material in your average comprehensive school. L6 in science is good at this stage. I think you need to speak to the school and ask how she was assessed for learning support for English in particular. You may want to get some extra tuition for maths, I only say that because I tutor for maths GCSE and see loads of girls who have lost confidence in their ability in maths and maths grows into some sort of monster by the time they get to Y10/11. Also try and get her doing some maths at home, helping you to budget for a a meal, work out how much the electricity bill should be, which is the cheapest mobile phone tarrif, this will all help her.

Talk to the school and ask how they have decided these sets.

A low level 4 SATs maths score could just about end up in the bottom set in my school, although we did a baseline assessment when they started Y7 and also gave them a test just before half term on what they'd learned so far and put them in sets based on the test scores they got for us rather than their SATs. Students at the top of our bottom set could conceivably go on to get a C at GCSE so it might not be as bad as it sounds, although tutoring for confidence and a boost wouldn't be a bad idea.

But I would definitely talk to the school. It is even possible a mistake has been made somewhere.

Our school originally setted year 7 on SATs but then undertook baseline assessments and sorted quite a few children into different sets after the first term.

What sets achieve depends so much on the cohort at the school.

I would ask too. If support is needed, well done them for initiating it. I would also put in home help, tutoring or whatever, where necessary so you aren't fighting to improve in too short a timeframe. Do it now, and time is on her side.

thanks to all. I will def talk to the school to get a clearer view and look at tutoring for maths.

Primary schools coach their students into getting goods SAT's or they get shit in the league tables. As a result they often enter secondary education with inflated SAT scores

Secondary is a whole new and different kettle of fish. Students often have to unlearn the primary apporach and become more independant learners. I would worry so early on in the year.

sorry that's wouldn't worry so early in the year

Surely parents know that SATs are only for the benefit of the primary school's ranking, and do not necessarily reflect the child's abilities or attainment? Secondary schools do their own tests to decide how to teach/help their intake, not surprising given their experience of the low predicting ability of SATs. So it's probably a good thing they've spotted and acted early to undo the possible damage done at primary school. Why would you want to get tuition when the school is already on the case?

Year 7 is more for settling in and learning to learn, making friends and gauging the academic landscape. In most places the real work ups in year 8, when there is often another shift in the "league" because some children have more gears to shift up into. Tis far too early to fret, maybe focus instead on her feeling positive about growing into both the academics and social aspects of secondary life. It matters far less where she is now, than where she will be in a few years.