My "above average" son is starting to slip. Should I be concerned? (end of year 8 grades)

[Zanshins]

My son has been "above average" ever since he started school.

In the year 2 tests he scored 3's in everything, the average score was 2s

At the end of year 6, he scored level 5s on everything, the average was level 4.

He's now coming to the end of year 8 and his scores are:

English : 6A2 (target 6B1)
Maths: 6B2 (target 6B1)
Science: 6C1 (target 6B1)

Should I be concerned? to be fair I have no idea what the B/1/2 stuff means but the actual report does say he isn't reaching his targets in some subjects.

Although I'm no expert on targets, they look pretty good to me.
I don't know what the numbers at the end of the levels mean, I would tend to ignore them!
It looks as though he has exceeded his target in English, reached it in Maths and is just below in Science.

Just to give you some indication, my son is in yr8 and these are his scores:

English :6c (target 5b)
Maths : 6b (target 6b)
Science : 6c (target 6c)

I wouldn't be too concerned at all. His English, at 6A is only one sub level off a 7.

Sublevels are fairly arbitrary and if your school is assigning sublevels to sublevels then it sounds bonkers. The difference between one sublevel and the next could be down to a single mark on a test and therefore nothing to really worry about.

As for yearly targets, these are based on the idea that your DS will progress through the sublevels (and their sublevels!) in and orderly linear fashion throughout the year and the keystage. They probably take a computer generated target for the whole of KS3 and basically divide by 3. This is bollocks, learning doesn't work like that and progress isn't linear. So long as the report says that your DS is working hard, completing homework etc, please don't worry if he is a 6B2 and someone somewhere has decided he should be a 6B1.

I think the grades are fine, but not exceptional for an above average child. It is difficult to judge without knowing what his peers at school are getting and the expectations of the school. I assume the B 1/2 stuff are subgrades. I don't think that grading is an exact science. I assume there is no narrative with the report? What are his grades in arts or humanities?

If he is doing his homework, the teachers are happy with him at parents day and he enjoys school I wouldn't worry about it. All seems good to me.

If he has always been above-average without trying then it is possible to fall into the trap of laziness. As they get older the results are more about the work they put in instead of innate ability.
Time to focus on effort, not acheivement?

The number at the end might be based on effort.

Y7 is about settling in and making a good impression and in Y9 the work starts gearing up towards GCSE.
Y8 is IMO the easiest year for DCs but is notorious for being the time when they might coast a bit.
I'd look at what his report says about effort rather than levels. If he's not getting As for effort then you might need to talk to him but otherwise I wouldn't worry. Just keep a close eye in the Autumn.

Having a few dc's go through the secondary years I recall Year8 seems to be a bit of a 'non year'. Teachers focus on Year7's settling in, Year 9 SATs, Year 10 & 11 GCSEs. The reports don't tend to be very scientific at this stage and I would use as a general guide. Effort and attitude grades are more relevant.

I would agree with the year 8 being a bit of a non-year. These grades seem fine to me too! (KS3 science co-ordinator here).

My yr8 son coasted this past year too! He did really well in his his yr6 sats and the yr7 cats - enough to make him think he was good enough already! I have noticed a slight drop in the amount of progress he made in yr8.

We have already discussed it and he knows he has to maintain the amount of effort he puts in on order to reach the grades he needs. Sadly you can't make them do it - only encourage.