Level 7s at end of Yr 9 - what GCSE grades?

[annh]

DS1's Spring report has just arrived. It is generally very good but there is just sooo much reporting of figures and soooo little information, if you know what I mean? I've got the grades listed again from his Autumn report, the new end of year target grades (presumably the same as in Autumn) although I will dig out the last report to check, his actual exam grades from April exams, numbers of nominations received in various classes,etc It's very comprehensive but there isn't a damn thing that indicates whether any of it is acceptable for his year.

Can someone tell me what a grade 7 for end of year exams in Yr9 would indicate in terms of GCSE grades? All his exams were 7s, mostly a and b. I do know this is good but is it good enough? There are three sentences of text which tells me almost nothing about whether he could try harder, do better or is absolutely extending himself at the moment. Sigh - it was never like this in our parents day.

Is he meeting his targets? This is more important than how he compares to others.

Level 7 in year 9 is high but not exceptionally high - there is probably a chart somewhere on the net with likely GCSE grades.

L7 at Year 9 should = A or A* at GCSE (but only if the pupil is willing to work damned hard too!).

Yes I recon DD1 could get a A for maths so long as she works as hard as she has so far.

Agree with what Remus says, the predicted grades or end of year grades are only as good as the child who sits the exams.

They are great grades for end of yr9, no doubt about it. All you need to do now is guide him and support him, without being too pushy, until the end of year 11. Easy!

Thank you, I did try googling but most of the results were from place like MN with people posing the questions rather than answering them! I did know they were good(ish) grades but between DS1 and DS2's SATs I just seem to get bombarded with figures and levels and loose sight of where we should be at!

Yes, I suppose I am more concerned with the fact that he has achieved these grades with little evidence of any work or revision so how to keep him motivated to actually translate this into decent grades in two years time could be a challenge!

I was looking for this recently and came across this on a schools website:

Guide to understanding Key Stage 3 levels

The following is an indication of the meanings of each of the levels we use to describe performance at Key Stage 3.

8a ? High level 8 ? Exceptional Performance
8b ? Solid level 8
8c ? Low level 8 working slightly above level 7

Level 8 would be exceptional performance in that subject, students achieving level 8 at Key Stage 3 would be expected to be capable of an A*/A at GCSE

7a ? High level 7 ? working towards level 8, Exceptional Performance
7b ? Solid level 7
7c ? Low level 7 ? working slightly above level 6

Level 7 would be High level performance in that subject area ? Students at this level would be expected to be capable of achieving the higher grades at GCSE (A* ? B)

6a ? High level 6 ? working towards level 7
6b ? Solid level 6
6c ? Low level 6 ? working slightly above level 5

Students at level 6 would be expected to go on and achieve a minimum of a Grade C in GCSE examinations in that subject

National aspiration is that all students work towards a minimum of level 5 by the end of Key Stage 3.

5a ? High level 5 working towards level 6
5b ? Solid level 5
5c ? low level 5 ? working slightly above level 4

Level 5 ? Average performance at Key Stage 3 ? students at this level would be expected to be capable of achieving a Grade C at GCSE in that subject area

4a ? High level 4 working towards level 5
4b ? Solid level 4
4c ? Low level 4 ? working slightly above level 3

3a ? High level 3 working towards level 4
3b ? Solid level 3
3c ? Low level 3

annh I almost wrote an identical post as yours tonight, did a search and found yours!. We also received my son's report today, sounds very similar to yours and left me wondering the same thing... all these 'levels' mean nothing to me. Comments seem to be very good, but his 'predicted level' is in some cases lower than the 'target level' of the Autumn report - should this be a worry, is he not performing as they thought? were targets wrong?...Exam results also sometimes higher and sometimes lower than 'predicted level' so, I am left very confused. My DS says that in some exams you couldn't get over a certain level even if you got 100% so I am confused as to why the 'predicted level' chart can even go that high? Maybe things will get clearer in Year 10 - I think they then stop referring to NC levels and go on to GCSE grades.... I hope so!!

I think at this stage (2 years from GCSEs) level 7's with continued effort is likely to produce higher grades at GCSE level BUT the next 2 years are very important.

The work for GCSEs only really start in Year10 and how they cope with the workload is very important. I've gone through this with several dc's (and seen their friends) and some very bright child in year9 (level 8's) fail to achieve their potential as GCSE workload/study/social life all gets out of balance.

However broadly if nothing changes and the dc's continue to cope with study for 2 years then level 7 at year9 would indicate GCSE grade A's. A factor in final achievement is also how the schools coach for Grade A and As. Some schools focus on how to achieve the As, others don't.

Also you should be aware that exam boards are having to SLASH the number of A* grades they award. Ofqual have insisted, but the response is fairly extreme so far.

In 2011 in AQA Biology 23% of all entries were graded A. In the Jan 2012 Biology module, just 0.9% of papers were graded A!

So a student's exam results bear no resembelence to the work they actually produce but to the Government that happens to have been in situ at the time you pass.

7a=a/a 7c=a/b 6c=b/c. YEAR NINE STUDENT, MYSELF. I get mostly high level sevens and i am predicted a/a's for gcse's.

It is different in different subjects though. A level 8 in English is almost unheard of while it is quite common in Science.

Anyone getting a level 7 in English should be able to get an A grade at GCSE at minimum.

And MFLs are lower, iirc.

So I should lean on DS to get min. solid 6s for end of y9 to have strong chance of passing his GCSEs, is that right?

In KS3 Maths is the only subject that officially goes up to level 8. In other subjects the maximum level is 7a.
"So I should lean on DS to get min. solid 6s for end of y9 to have strong chance of passing his GCSEs, is that right?" Incorrect actually. GCSE grades below grade C (they go down to G) are still technically "passes" you have to obtain a really low mark to be unclassified and "fail".
A student obtaining level 6s at the end of KS3 should really be expecting GCSE grades B and above as it is possible to obtain a grade C from level 5 as well.
However GCSEs and levels are not assessed the same way so it is difficult to precise. Usually though a student with high levels at the end of KS3 will obtain good results at GCSE.

You cant get a level 8 in science, you can only get it in english or maths!!

late back to this but thanks for answer. Sounds like L6s for DS at end of y9 are not unreasonable as minimum target.

3 levels of progress across the two Key Stages of secondary school is considered "acceptable progress" by OFSTED. So the best measure is to look at KS2 levels. 3 levels of progress from a level 5 would be a GCSE Grade C.

Our school doesn't or hasn't set targets for end of KS3, only for end of Yr7. DD is predicted 6b/6a in English, maths and science, lower for new subjects like MFL. I tell her she's doing well, but I feel very strongly that the predictive power of these grades isn't that good - especially with teenage hormones kicking in, starting the actual GCSE syllabus itself and of course the usual meddling by a worse than usual government, grades could be anything.

DD1 will start the new and 'rigorous' GCSE syllabus in 2015 as one of Gove's Guineapigs - thanks a lot, Mike .

The work for GCSEs only really start in Year10 and how they cope with the workload is very important. I've gone through this with several dc's (and seen their friends) and some very bright child in year9 (level 8's) fail to achieve their potential as GCSE workload/study/social life all gets out of balance

Completely agree with this comment - having had dc's go through the process multiple times. The SATs give an indicator of the dc's strengths and may show if they are struggling with some subjects but the real work for GCSE's start in Yr10.

If they apply themselves for 2 years and put in the hard work - especially in Yr10 (which is often a shock as Yr9 has less workload) then they can build on the SATs results. Having the study and essay skills seems to be the key to high grades in GCSE's.

what grade in year 7 would they need to get a GCSE grade 5 projection ?

its all change again now, isn't it? Now we have grades 9-1

Levels are a crude indication of progress, I'm afraid.

I think a student's work ethic, interest in the subject, support for studying and quality of teacher input have far more impact on their eventual outcome than the number/letter combo they get in KS3!

Read Carol Dweck's work on the Growth Mindset for inspiration.

Dd was getting level 7s in year 9 and is predicted Bs for most subjects, A for graphics and photography and D for german. She isn't working at anything apart from the arty stuff.

Hi all!
My girl got 7s in science test,, is it a good score? Im lost in these grading scores