Y7 report - should I be concerned?

[DataColour]

Got my DS's end of term report yesterday and I was a bit concerned to find that he had below average progress in 3 subjects (science, history and art). They grade below average as 1, average at 2 and above average at 3. He got mainly 2's with one 3 for maths and those 3 1's.

I don't know if I should be concerned about his below average grades. Can they even meaningfully assess this in the few weeks that he's been there? The effort for science and history is "Outstanding" so he is trying his best and for Art is "Good" because the teacher has commented that he doesn't always follow instructions (true).

The report says that these grades are an indicator of GCSE grades and that he's on a "flight path", with a 3 being on target for A/A*, 2 for A/B and a 1 B/C. None of these sound like below average grades to me so I'm confused.
Does he only need to be a 3 at the end of Y7, and having a 1 now, is actually where he should be?
Any teachers or parents here have any knowledge of this grading system?

Seems bizzare that he is working at a below average level at any subject, with him putting a good level of effort in, when he's been at an "exceeding expectations" level at primary since reception with no effort whatsoever.

Incidentally my DH is a secondary science teacher and he says it's a load of rubbish, not to worry about it and that they never should have given out these numbers so early on in the year.
He is right?! Or should I be having a chat with DS's teachers?

I would agree with your DH, it’s too early in the year to worry about these things. The kids are still settling back - wait and see what the next report is like.

If the 1, 2 and 3 are GCSE grades then they normally go up 1 per 12 months so a 1 would go to 5/6 border, 2 6/7 border and 3 7/8 border.

DD did a year at grammar the grading there was very accurate, in line with sats, primary and grades she's predicted now at GCSE. When she moved to comp in y8 they refused to use any back data including SATS and kept putting her down as predicted 4 at GCSE in everything presumably as that's what the average child gets. Now she's in y10 and predicted almost all 9s and lowest prediction is at a 7+ and only one of those. So think the grading before was very inaccurate. It seems to be worse for practical subjects.

It may still be worth checking with the teacher but its unlikely there's a real issue with your DS, much more likely its a data issue. Think they default to average until they have lots of data. Also in our school there seems to be massive pressure to add data but no quality control and I think some of it is just made up when they don't know. Ours was also volatile in y7/8.

It sounds like 1,2 and 3 are all grades considered within the ‘acceptable’ range of progress in Year 7. Below a 1 would be a concern.

This is the first term, so being on a 1 now is ok, but tells you to keep an eye on these subjects and support where necessary to ensure that your child is on a 2 by the end of the academic year. A 2 would be considered average attainment for the end of Year 7. It very loosely predicts that if your child continues on this curve of progress, they would be on track for good or very good gcse grades.

(A 3 at the end of year 7 is excellent. It suggests a 4 by the end of year 8. Therefore a 5 by the end of year 9. Grade 6 in year 10 and so on...)

Of course, these are numbers. They don’t take into account all the other factors that influence a child’s attitude to learning and attainment in their teenage years!

hmmm, ok I guess we have to keep an eye on his work a bit more then. Gallingly me and DH are both science graduates and seeing DS get below average in Science was

1 is not below average for this time of year 7. However, it would be if he still has a 1 in the summer term.

Hope that helps!

This is a grammar school btw

That's good to know @goodthingscome I was hoping that would be the case!

It maybe worth double checking what that's based on. My DS was given a predicted end 5/6 in science in y7, now predicted 9/9 in year 9, it was just bad data in our case, think they are very cautious at the start. Maybe ask your DS if he has any idea - my DD often knows ad also at her school students have more data than parents so can see exact test marks.

Our school issued reports without grades. They graded effort in class and effort for homework tasks. They said it was too early to give grades. That was for years 7-9.

If it's a grammar, then presumably all the pupils will have been "exceeding expectations" in primary, and you need to see "below average" in that context. If his effort is fine in those subjects, I would guess he just didn't do so well on the latest piece of assessed work.

Our grammar school data was very accurate so may not be the data in that case. The grammar DD was at taught at a very high level which was great for those who understood it and followed it and meant grades went up but it was tough if you didn't understand (and maybe as all the kids are bright children don't want to admit they don't understand something when they've previously been top). I would e-mail the teacher and see and ask your DS. It'll probably be very solvable but needs a eye on it and maybe a bit of help.

DD2's school aren't assessing progress yet. They put something like "secure" or "working towards" in terms of attainment and said that for most things they would be "working towards" at this stage and hopefully "secure" by the end of the year. DD2 only got "secure" for PE, which she is very good at. I said to DD2 that all I really care about is the effort grade, and she got all fives and fours for that (five being the highest).

Have just received a report for DS...from a school he no longer attends . Apparently at least 8 teachers haven't noticed he hasn't been there since September... Despite not actually being there he's allegedly doing really well in Art, but needs to work harder in History! Based on that, I would tend to agree with your DH.

@rainexpectedsoon

Have just received a report for DS...from a school he no longer attends . Apparently at least 8 teachers haven't noticed he hasn't been there since September... Despite not actually being there he's allegedly doing really well in Art, but needs to work harder in History! Based on that, I would tend to agree with your DH.

Art: haven't noticed him, must be okay. History: no marks in my markbook, obviously not doing much.

I'd forgive the art teacher, who probably teaches hundreds of pupils - ditto music, RE, etc. But wouldn't you think that someone relevant (HoY/form teacher) ought to have read the reports before they went out, and realised that this one shouldn't have been there?

As a teacher my view is that most KS3 flightpaths are a pile of bollocks.

I'd be concerned if DC wasn't putting the effort in, or if their report suggested they were substabtially underperforming, but otherwise I'd not be concerned as long as I had faith that the school was doing its bit. If I had concerns that teachers in certain subjects weren't doing enough for them, and/or I'd had no communication to raise concerns about DC attitude then I'd be calling up with concerns.

That's funny Rainexpectedsoon

We also have data in for times the children weren't at school, DD has some y7 data and joined school in y8 and didn't start the subject until y8, she was apparently developing but not handing in homework.

DS recently got 3 reward points for his "Fantstaic engagement and conduct during the PSHE sessions" which he was very amused about both the spelling and as he wasn't there.

The y10 data does seem better and I think lockdown and cancelled GCSEs last year may have helped the focus on good KS4 data.

I assumed from your OP that it is a grammar school. As a PP said, 'average' is now compared to all the other very able children.

My DS is also in Year 7 at a Grammar School. We haven't had reports yet but he has had several assessment scores. There are two subjects (art and DT) that he has never really had a natural talent for that seem likely he would get a 1 for, if graded like that, but it is in the context of a very strong cohort.

Also, your DS might not even do 2 of those 3 for GCSE

If the school has called these “progress” grades, then they are looking at how much he has improved this term, which influences but is a separate measure from predicted outcomes. A child could be working at a high level but coasting so their progress score is low. They may still be on target for higher grades, but not as high as they could potentially reach.

If there are no extenuating circumstances to explain the lower progress grades in some subjects (absence, frequent changes of teacher, not covering the usual breadth of topics due to being on a post-Lockdown Recovery Curriculum), then the teachers are giving you and him an early warning of a potential lack of effort on DS's part in some subjects and what the effect, if it continued, could be on his final grades.

You know DS and whether you need to act on this, and the tone required for any resulting conversation with him, or if you just need to undertake some watchful waiting to see whether things improve.

Slightly different grading in wales but year 9 ds got a very high grade for creative arts, which quite frankly was a surprise. When I asked him how he managed it he said “ mum, all you have to do is learn a few lines and tap a bit on a keyboard and then they think you are great”! Not going to take this report as that accurate!

Thing is those are subjective.

What you really need to know is the spread in the form.

If you find 95% get 2s, then it sounds like he's doing okay, very well in maths, and not so well in the 3x 1 subjects.
If it's 75% get 3s, 20% get 2s, 5% get 1s, then he's struggling.

What the best thing might be is ask (email's often best) the 1s subjects why he got a 1.

It could be something silly like I can remember dd1 getting indignant over a grade in one subject. Turned out the teacher had only been there a week when they did the reports so gave everyone the same.

Oh no are schools still using these?

He's in Y7 and just suffered massive disruption to his education. He didn't sit his SATs which normally are used to generate GCSE targets. Any estimates of how he will perform in 5 years time based on any sort of assessment right now will be a big steaming pile of made-upness of unprecedented proportions. I just made up a bunch of GCSE targets for my Y7s, I hope the parents didn't pay them too much attention.

If they're saying he's working hard, be happy with that for now.

My DD2 goes to a grammar school and the grading system there also doesn’t cater for children getting less than a 5(C). My DD gets a ‘low’ mark for a lot of subjects but actually she’s on track to 5s and 6s for those subjects if she was to continue them. She’s in Year 9 and will be picking options after Christmas.

I expect next years reports to look much better once she drops all the subjects she is not that good at.

It's interesting to read these comments. I feel a bit annoyed that they have sent out these grades so early in the year, after the disruption the Y6's have had this year. As if they are are "judging" them before getting to really know these kids and giving them grades that seem to indicate they are already falling behind.
I might email his for tutor and ask if the low grades are "normal" at this stage or whether he is only a handful of students to get them.