Y7 report - should I be concerned?

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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 feel really sorry for Y7's. The disruption. Starting school is such a big deal. Covid mucked up the Y6 SAT's, celebrations , trip away, and then the whole starting school, which IS a big deal!

We're finding ourselves in a similar situation (at comp though not grammar but also Y7). DD devastated to be assessed as 'off target' in Science in Q1 given that it is/was her favourite subject and she thought she was doing well, raising her hand to answer questions in class at every lesson. We've sat down with her to go over why her Q1 exam didn't go as well as she had thought - a lot of it had to do with answers not being complete and precise enough and her not wanting to state the obvious due to 'repetition'. In one case she said she knew the correct answer but was second-guessing herself so didn't write anything down which was a mistake. So we've reviewed some test-taking skills and also tried to quiz her more as she's revising for Q2. Even if her next result only improves marginally, we're just trying to keep her motivated to not give up so early on Science now! (If anything, I was hoping the experience would give her more of a 'fighting spirit' to prove what she actually can do - let's see.)

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Its typical to report 3 times a year and that is usually once a term. By leaving it until the back of the autumn term they've probably already altered the calendar.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

@BoudiccaAnn we had similar with Science. I went through DS's papers and went over the bits where he'd lost marks (quite a lot of marks!). Like you said, sometimes he wasn't precise enough/not giving full enough answers and I feel that either he hadn't understood the lessons or the teaching hasn't been that great. I'm a scientist myself, so I went through a topic with him (plant and animal cells) and he claims that he understands much better now. Another topic was about setting up and running experimenst and they've had no lab time at all because of Covid, so his understanding is limited, only a theorical knowledge which wasn't enough to answer the questions in the assessment test.

Looks like we will have to keep an eye on things...making sure he understands what he is learning. I didn't realise that Y7's needed this much input into their work. I have another DC going into Y7 next year....at least I've got a more of a clue now!
I've not had much time to be on top of DS's work this term, naively thinking that he's doing Ok. I've had to prepare DD for her 11 plus this year (no tutor)and it was delayed till mid Oct, then she had a piano exam in Dec and our online piano lessons weren't that great so I had to top up both DC's piano lessons myself(I'm music educated) so I've had a lot on my plate this term!

The Ofqual study said that learning loss has been worst among year 7s I believe . I think what you are doing is great.

The most frustrating thing with DS's school work is that he doesn't understand the need to revise and go over bits that he didn't understand, and it's tough getting him to sit down to do it. It's a completely different way of working than at Primary school and he's still yet to "get" it. He is pretty bright I'd say, but not used to working hard, as he has always been high achieving with not putting a lot of effort in.

Great point about experiments! Maybe use the break to watch lots of lovely and fun science videos together and do a couple of simple experiments at home to make up for lost lab time...? Only revising definitions and facts can be boring and hopefully by going back and forth a bit it starts to gel in a more meaningful way. (You've inspired me, anyway...) I found myself buying the KS3 Science study guides from CGP to help with revision but the practical application also seems really important.

I've just bought lots of KS3 study guides....I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier! It's much better than trying to find the relevant stuff online. They will be handy for DD too from next year, so it's a good investment!

I wouldn't worry too much about being below average in a couple of subjects at this stage. At this stage in his education he is covering a whole range of subjects, some he may excel at, others not so much. Fwiw it sounds like a great report, he is doing well in the majority of subjects, working hard and well behaved. I'd be very happy with that report for my kids...

I always concentrate on effort and knowledge rather than 'grade'.

Are they putting in enough effort, are they retaining what they have been taught. What do they need to do to improve?

Grades at this stage are subjective and are more likely to be a reflection of the fact they are learning brand new concepts.