Secondary end of year test. End of year targets set by the schools how many students reach them?

[SNoraWotzThat]

So end of year target for year 7, set as 6c and test result back today are 5c, which is the same as her English test results leaving primary last year, that was 5c.

What do you think? How do they set the target, and how has dd not moved forward 12 months. She has put the work in to her school course work and is a hard worker.

Any teachers out there, I would be thankful for your input. What would you do? What should I do. What should dd do, she is very disappointed.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along soon . A level 5 at primary (sats) is not the same as a level 5 in secondary.

That sounds normal

My DD was mortified when given level 5's in Yr7, and she ended up with amazing GCSE results.

If she is doing her homework & working hard you can't ask for anymore.

It is somewhat harder to get 5's at KS3 than KS4

sorry KS3 than KS2!

sorry I was with dd. I will read now.

english she got 5b x 3 (from each of the 3 pieces) and she says her final grade is 5c?

I've told her not to worry and that the 5 is harder at KS3, as you say, but she replied "so all those getting 6's are doing really well then"!

When I worked in a grammar school, their policy was to set the target one full level above their actual achievement, with the kicker that they were never allowed to regress.

Thanksfully, I am free from all that now.

The continuum from primary to secondary on the levels does not progress smoothly. Often children with L5 at the end of ks2 are really at L4 for secondary levels at the start of year 7 as secondary levels are harder to hit.

I wouldn't worry about it - I'd be more concerned about what her overall levels are from the continuous formative assessments during the year, rather than a test. The levels are only a rough measure of where a child is - and to a certain extent are fairly subjective. What I used to look at for my subject was the GLA (reading age), and if that is OK, then don't fret.

MB - am marking GCSEs at the moment - you may be right about KS3 being harder than KS4 judging by this mark scheme!

Thanks, I wonder why they set her target for English so high at 6c for the end of year?

She went to bed happier. She also has hay-fever and the meds are making her tired and fed up.

Maybe I should look at some alternative hay-fever medication for next years test time.

Sometimes teachers just pluck a target out of thin air (it happens), sometimes it is one whole level higher automatically, which is a bit meaningless since roughly speaking children go up a level in English about every 18m or so, or the target might have been generated for her by her CATs score.

I would personally ignore the target and focus on her attainment level for the entire year (teacher assessment) and give a nod to the end of year test. I would be interested to know what kind of test she sat.

To give perspective, my year 7s, who are bright, will nearly all attain within the level 5 range in their test, with one or two in level 6 (& maybe a couple dipping into level 4).

This whole thread so far shows why it is so darn difficult for us mere mortal parents to have any grasp at all of exactly how our DC's are doing, especially when at our school you just get a page full of figures at the end of each term - no actual written comments from teachers, and ONE parents evening, fairly early on in the year, at which not a lot of meaningful information is exchanged. Why can't the levels, which you think you have got a grasp of finally by the end of Y6, just continue into Y7 and onwards on the same basis so that everyone would have a vague idea of what they are dealing with. I take some comfort then, that whilst nearly every subject (certainly the core 3) was showing a full level down at the end of the Easter term for my Y7 ds, perhaps actually he is doing ok, and is still adapting to the fact he has been streamed artificially high based entirely on his KS2 SATS results, which were on average a full level above his teacher assessments at the end of Yr6??!! When you ask any of his Teachers or HOY, they start talking about the discrepancy between the SATS, CATS, and class assessments. aarrgghh!!

End of rant.
xxMFxx

They are meant to be the same. At least that is the idea. Start at level 1, highest level that can be reached is an 8. Any child can be anywhere on those levels regardless of age or school (in theory)

I don't teach a subject which has recorded levels from junior school, so didn't realise there was this "discrepancy" thing, although have herad colleagues talking about it. Why is it like that?

I have to say it seems a bit odd, isn't a level 4/5/6/7/ etc a level 4/5/6/7 at any age or in any school. I thought standardisation was the whole point abut the National Curriculum

ScienceTeacher - what was the purpose of setting a target that was unachievable? Wasn't that incredibly demotivating?

At my dd's school the targets they are set and the levels they are given are based on their work as a whole - the test papers are just one part of the assessment process.

Are you sure that the 6c wasn't her end of Key stage 3 target? (end of year 9) I don't understand the 5b on three papers, yet achieves a 5c thingy. Could yo explain to a (clearly stupid) English teacher?

You, not yo

They are meant to be the same!!! But I guess a lag happens when they move schools.

Level 8 is only available in some subjects, although I haven't got a clue why....

I also think it might be and end of keystage target
ds1 has had his grade moved up when passed a level etc
he is yr9 now highly gifted and target is 7a but it was def 6c in yr7 and he only really moved up higher mid yr 8 though.
so its not fixed in stone plenty of ds class mates are level 6 in yr9 thats average attainment I think?
so if your dd continues to try hard and work well she will make exc progress very quickly at times.
be proud she is avoid girl by sounds of it!

level 8 only at maths in ds school - grammar
he's been on it for 3 years. Seems a shame really bit of a glass ceiling for lots of kids.

long way from 7c to 7a teachers reckon?
herbietta your ds doing very well!!!

Piffle, thre is smething called Exceptoinal Performance but it is very very rare. Level 8 for 3 years is silly. Have you talked to the school? Although they are meant to progess across an entire level in KS3, he could I suppose go from an 8c to an 8a, but did he start Year 7 as an 8 or was that a target grade?

Avergae attainment at end of Year 9 is 5

fizzbuzz are you sure 5 is average for year 9? I thought a fifth of children reached that in year 6; surely more must be there 3 years later even allowing for it being a bit harder at secondary?

Just seen this, to clear it up....
dd was told a 5c by the teacher reading the results out in the in the class (much to dd's embarisment, as she could have chosen not to have them read out, some did, some didn't)
BUT it was an error by the teacher reading them and she got a 5a, based on the tests and her course work. So dd still didn't achieve her end of year (year 7) target set at 6c (which I think was too optimistic IMHO) but it all makes perfect sense now.

Two jumps up the table in the year is perfect (5c to 5a great). Anyway, she's happy, we're happy, 'tis happy in Snora world.

Teacher made a silly mistake, happens I guess. Good job she wasn't being tested on reading to the class.