Year 8 Maths Grade Plummeted

[BeFairSloth]

DD is 13yo and in year 8. She has always been a capable student. She got 119 in maths in year 6 SATs and got a "gold" (the top mark) in all assessments and her report at the end of year 7.

She reported a "disappointingly low" (to her, not us) mark in her first Y8 maths assessment and we've just received her first Y8 report and her maths grade has gone from the highest to the lowest. Her effort grade remains high. I decided to go over her test with her and there were large gaps in her understanding, so I do think that the grade is fair, what I can't fathom is how she's dropped so considerably since starting year 8.

DD reports that she finds her teacher hard to follow.

When I called her teacher, he said that she seems to understand the concept in the lesson, but does not retain it. Looking at the concepts, they don't seem any more difficult that any that she's covered before.

From now, I will support DD while she does her homework, which is something that I've never had to do before, but what on earth can be going on? Is there something else I should do at this stage?

She is clearly very capable of maths so if she is saying that she is finding the teacher hard to follow but she is getting good grades for effort, it seems like the question that needs to be asked is 'what do you do when you don't understand something?'. Is she asking the teacher for help?

If she asks the teacher and still doesn't understand:

Corbettmaths videos and worksheets cover the whole syllabus https://corbettmaths.com/contents/

as do https://www.mathsgenie.co.uk/gcse.php

So she can easily do some extra work outside of lessons that would enhance her understanding.

It's possible that the teacher isn't very good at explaining things, unfortunately we are in a beggars can't be choosers situation in maths teaching.

Could it be a specific learning problem? For example, DS is dyspraxic and struggled with the geometry element of y8. Also, the introduction of algebra means that the maths becomes much more abstract, and many children struggle with this. Might be worth hiring a maths tutor ,(i.e. an A level student) who can help her catch up.

Honestly I think that, as maths gets more complex in KS3 and onwards, most children who are able but not maths geniuses really benefit from plenty of practice. Grasping a concept but not retaining it sounds like with more practice it might well stick.

My Y8 DS does these CGP weekly workouts. Just ten minutes a week, but they keep bringing back techniques and question styles for constant and regular consolidation. It’s made a big difference to him this school year.

https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/secondary-books/ks3/maths/m8xw31-ks3-year-8-maths-10-minute-weekly