Is it worth moving down a set?

[deelite72]

MY 11 year old, nearly 12, is in year 7. In October he was moved up to the top set of maths. Meeting with his teacher at a parent evening last week, I realise that he is struggling, unwilling to ask for help, and does not feel motivated to do extension work. It's clear that he is struggling more with his maths HW since moving up. He got a B on his last exam and the teacher basically told me he's got a queue of kids waiting to get into the top set. If my boy doesn't get an A on the half-term exam in Feb, he'll be moved down. I feel mixed about this. A B isn't bad at all and he's been in the top set a very short time. I feel slightly under pressure by the teacher. Should I be expecting my son to be given more time to find his confidence and his sea legs in the top set? Should I be calling in the tutors for additional support or should I be realistic and allow my son to take it down a notch and learn at a better pace? I have to admit, he enjoyed the previous teacher much more. One of the reasons he was moved to the top set is that he was brimming with confidence in her class. He really worked at a level where he felt like he was achieving. Instead of feeling challenged by the work he is now doing in the top set, he just feels uncertain and doesn't understand a lot of the HW. I am just not sure what to do.

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Phone playing up, will have to try later

Some kids work better at the top of a set than at the bottom of one. Two terms and tests is probably enough time to see if your DS is struggling and would benefit from moving back down. There's no point in having his confidence knocked out of him just to be able to say he is in top set.

There is mobility either side of streaming. Move down to build confidence and to retain interest in subject. When the time is right, your Ds can move back up.

Almost exactly the same happened to dd, but in Y5. She started Y6 in the middle set with no confidence in her maths ability, and was utterly gobsmacked to have achieved level 5 in mock SATs at the end of last term. Since miving diwn a ser her confidence in maths has improved and she is much happier in the middle set than she was in the top set. As you can see, she is now getting 'top-set results'!

Email school

Let him move down a set if the teacher or your son wants.
Confidence counts for an awful lot in maths.
Certainly don't see the need to tutor just to stay in the top set!

Thanks all. Those are my thoughts too TeenandTween. On the one hand, he loves saying "I'm in the top set" but I don't want him to feel like it's do or die here. I want him to learn and understand what he is learning and enjoy it. I'll get him to the half-term exam and then we'll take it from there. They go to school until 5pm each day and to be honest, there's so much going on, we don't have the time nor the funds for a tutor.

One of DDs friends has always been kept at the top of the second set rather than the bottom of the first
it suits her personality and is getting her better results than she would in the intimidating environment of the real high fliers

DS2 always hoovered at the set 1/2 borderline. After some bouncing up and down we all agreed he did better as top of set 2 than struggling to keep up at the bottom of set 1.

Same with DD1 in year 5. They werd put into 2 sets and she was on the border. In the end we all decided top of the bottom set was best, although she was a bit upset initially. All came good and she got a level 5, which a few people in the top set just missed.

If moving down a set means he gets more support to enable him to do better then it might be worth doing (i.e. working in a smaller class). Also needs to check what maths paper he will be able to sit by doing so, linear etc. Normally top sets will be pushed and perhaps be given the chance to take GCSE statistics, practice for A/s papers etc. All depends on the school.

It's fine if he's moved down, let the teacher decide what's the best place for him. The sets are supposed to overlap, so bottom of set 1 should be between middle & top of set 2.

New research suggests boys especially do enter at the top of a lower set than being the lowest of a higher set.

He's only in y7. Your experience so far indicates the sets are fluid.

Don't get het up now by what maths papers he may/may not get to take for GCSE. Go for the set he will get most of now, (which looks as if it may be set 2).

DD1 moved up sets twice in y7/8. The second time they let her have a 'trial' in the higer set to see if she could cope. (Confidence is a big issue for her with maths).

Your son has loads of time to move back up again later if he starts consistently outperforming set 2. (You can ask he is only put up if he would not be near the bottom of set 1.)

My ds2 considers himself "thick" because he is in the top set for all subjects, but at the bottom end. He would be much better (I feel) at the top of set 2 rather than the bottom of set 1 but he won't let me talk to any of the teachers about moving him as he sees it as a demotion.

I can only go by my own experience (which was a few years ago), I was put into the top set and although I'm good at maths , I am a plodder who needs time to go through each new teaching method, I need to methodically work through everything, however the class went at the speed of those children who were quick at 'getting it'. I fell behind and could never seem to get back and in the end I more or less gave up, failed my exam and had to retake at college. I'm now an accountant who passed all my exams first time with good grades because I was able to work in the best way for me. It would have been much more sensible if I'd been put down a level but I was quiet and more or less over looked.

I would rather dd was in a group she felt comfortable with and where she wouldn't want to just give up or be overlooked, but she has very much the same personality as I do and I do think these decisions would be different for each person to suit their personality.

Sounds to me like he's be better off, and will get better results in the second set.

I was delighted when DD2 was put down a set at Maths. She then got the best teacher, more attention and a big boost in confidence. B grade is ok but not for a top set I would have thought.

DD1 maintained top set but was nearer the bottom end. The teachers always said she was in the right set and she worked with girls of similar ability. There were some maths geniuses in that set but DD1 sensibly did not compare herself to them so was not too hard on herself when she did not get 100% every time! It is all about confidence and quality of teaching.

I don't like the idea of moving up and down with different teachers several times a year either. However, OP, in your case if you can get the teacher he worked well with before, what have you really got to lose?

I was in second set for maths my twin was in top set. We got the same result at gcse. I loved my teacher...it counts for a lot.

OP, I think with Maths in particular it is quite a shock in Y7 in terms of the sheer speed and pace they move through the topics and curriculum (compared to maths in primary). So although your DC may well be bright and able, it may be the pace that's more the issue. Some children just need more time to understand, check and consolidate what they have just learnt before moving on to the next topic. I would try and explain to your DC that moving down a set is not about ability it's more about the speed at which they learn. And as other posts have said, it's quite true that lower set maths groups often go on to do well at GCSE and this is because their own confidence and self belief will have been much improved.

My DD is now in Y11 and is predicted an A*/A for for maths at GCSE in May.
She has bounced between set 1 and 2 so many times since Y7 I've lost count. She prefers being at the top of set 2. She says the set 1 students are scary clever.