year 9 exam results, new GCSE levels

[jaws5]

DD's exam results in main subjects are
English 4
French 4+
History 5-
Maths 2+
Science 4

it seems very low to me as she finished year 8 with levels
6b in English
4a in French
6b in History
5c in Maths
4 (new GCSE level) in Science

Should I be concerned?

sorry, my question is, is there a significant drop or is this due to the change from old levels to new?

i think it's the change to the new levels
noone has a clue what the grades look like and so they are making it up

my son has just got his and they do as low/secure/high and then a number up to 5
if they are higher than a five they aren't allowed to give a number just say beyond level five

so for maths my son got beyond level 5
but for science he got low level 4

who knows?

It would be better to refer to the "numerical grading system" for the new way and "levels" for the old 6a, 5b etc.

They aren't related really so you can't compare them in this way.

The new system is about progress over time. What are your DDs GCSE targets in these subjects?

no idea about targets yet. Yes, I get the impression the schools feel quite lost and under pressure, which adds to confusion and stress for children and parents. So unnecessary, and all for political means all the dumbing down lies peddled by sections of the press and pandered by some politicians

absolutely it is all political wankering about

set kids up to fail then say 'look the grades have gone down' then change the exams again

we haven't had gcse targets yet
only end of key stage 3 targets

Dcs end of year 9 exams have been very challenging. Getting over 50% is being seen as quite an achievement. The frustrating thing is they have set the kids up for failure especially in Maths and Science (only marks we've had back)....none of the class work, homework or suggested revision came anywhere close to the level of difficultly presented in the exam - one question couldn't even be completed by the teacher!!!!!...it's hard to figure out what game the school are playing. To give the kids very challenging exam with very poor prep is baffling.

There is a significant difference between the new grades and the old levels so don't worry.
Basically it's all guesswork because at the moment there's no way of knowing the grade boundaries. There are various conversion tables if you google conversion of gcse grades to national curriculum levels you'll find a tutorfair one. The old level 8 is pegged around a 5-6 but that's still really a guess - there is more maths content now and it's harder so difficult to compare - although it does suggest your dd is doing very well in history!
It's more helpful to ask the school what they consider to be an average grade at the end of year 9 and work from that.

Blanketdog totally agree with you - it's so demotivating, especially in maths. It's counterproductive if dcs lose confidence.

Thanks for your responses. I have told my DD not to worry, although I am worried, not so much about results but about her anxiety levels which have been rising this year and I am sure it is due partly to this.

very angry with politicians who play with our children's health in order to grab a few votes from people who don't understand

If these are exam results, are they saying something like 'if you took the GCSEs now, with the quality of answers you are giving, this would be the GCSE grade you would get'?

If so then those results look very good, apart from the maths. she could pass everything already except maths.

I recommend that in the absence of clear info from the school you contact her tutor or Head of year and say 'should I be concerned, or do these indicate she should be able to get 7s (old A) in 2 years time?'

The results are made up because no one knows what the new grades look like yet.

But the maths grade is a cause for concern, as it's a warning that she might not pass her maths GCSE. This goes with the 5c at the end of Y8 which suggests similar rather than being wildly different. Has anyone said to you that she is struggling with maths?

Also, the science level seems to be static from y8. I'd ask the school for more feedback on maths and science and what they were predicting for those at the end of year 9.

I wouldn't worry about getting a 4 now - she's got almost 2 years to get higher grades and she'll know 2 years more information so it should be easier to get higher.

I would be more concerned about the maths being much lower though. Did she study the right topics? What was the highest grade in her class? My dd is in y9 and they did Foundation level Gcse questions for end of year tests and was happy with her 4 when she realised that 5 was the maximum grade that she could get.

Iff she's getting 4/5 now, surely that's pretty good with two years to go. Tell her she's doing amazingly, but ask what's going on with maths..

At our school getting a grade 4/5 in Year 9 - would be the grade they'd expect for GCSE, they only examine n the topics covered. Knowing more topics to be examined in Year 11 doesn't help, it just means means more topics are examined and the increased quantity of information required will not make getting a higher grade more likely.

Ask your dd how she feels she is doing, she'll judge her performance based on how the rest of the class is doing. If she's unhappy ask her what she could do to improve next year. Reinforce the message that it is hard work and effort that get results.

Ah if Blanketdog's right, that's a sod. Sounds like you need clarification on how they grade. In DS's school it's not like that, but it might be in yours.

Blanket At our school getting a grade 4/5 in Year 9 - would be the grade they'd expect for GCSE, they only examine n the topics covered. Knowing more topics to be examined in Year 11 doesn't help, it just means more topics are examined and the increased quantity of information required will not make getting a higher grade more likely.

But as well as learning 'information' there is still two whole years to go to get better at answering techniques which can make a massive difference.

Maybe teen but if you are scoring middling grade 5 in Year 9 - you think that will just change in some organic way without intervention, just normal teaching, normal effort and score a grade 6/7? Does that really happen very often?

Well, for my DD, who is the only one I can speak for:
At end y9 she knew no Spanish at all, but got a B overall.
At end y10 she couldn't answer the Science 6 mark questions well but could by end y11, and these make a big difference and she got BB for double science.
At y11 mocks she couldn't do the P2 calculation questions but ended up with an A for that particular paper (though you could say that was because I intervened)
And her ability to 'point evidence explain' improved (from a low starting point) during y10&y11 through general practice and feedback

So I guess it is back to the OP asking the school what the hell those grades actually mean.

Well done to your dd Teen, you must be really proud of her.

Hi again! I will speak to the school and ask what system they are using. It is a question of maturity though, I think. From the ages of 14 to 16 kids change a lot and learn exam technique too, so I hope that will help. Maths is without doubt her worst subject so we'll probably get a tutor.

Blanketdog. ...in year 9 they haven't been taught any of the gcse curriculum! To say that what they get at the end of year 9 is what they will get at the end of year 11 is bonkers!

That's not necessarily true therootoftheroot - Our school finished KS3 in Year 8! Our Year 9s are being taught GCSE curriculum in Maths, Science, Languages, RE and Geography, not sure about the other subjects though and the questions that they have been given at the end of year tests were lifted from previous GCSE papers....