Teacher been told she shouldn't award a certain level to a G&T pupil for 'political reasons'

[itchyandscratchy]

Year 2 pupil, very able in Literacy. Primary school is average according to Ofsted and results at KS1 & 2 are OK but value-added is not as it should be given the catchment.

Pupil's class teacher thinks pupil is outstanding and has plenty of evidence that the pupil should be on a certain level. Head has now told teacher not to award the level and has given her a 'ceiling' level not to go above, because if the pupil's attainment levels out in the next few years the school's value-added will be even worse. Teacher is upset and adamant the higher level should be awarded.

what are your opinions?

[snorkle]

I don't think it matters at all. The head is right that it will adversly affect the school's VA figures (though only one child so not by much) even if pupil doesn't level out the KS2 SAT ceiling will give school a lower VA score.

But that's by the bye. As long as your child is learning well & being supported by the school in that they are giving him/her appropriately challenging work that's all that is important. What the childs KS1 SAT score actually is will have no relevence at all in later life and won't even be looked at by senior school (who even treat KS2 results with a pinch of salt & do their own evaluations)

[cory]

it sounds awful when you say it, but as snorkle points out the score is completely irrelevant to your child: it's not something they will ever use; not like a GCSE or something that is their score; this is all about the school's figures

[juuule]

It does sound awful. And dishonest.

[gagarin]

The league tables screw so many schools so I'd say let the school do what they want to do.

It's irrelevant for your dd.

[itchyandscratchy]

Yes, I know the whole thing is irrelevant for the pupil, but I think it stinks that this is getting in the way of the class teacher being able to make a accurate assessment - not in a numbers sense but in the way that the figures and the school's obsession with them mean that the teacher is having to spend valuable time proving or disproving why a level should or shouldn't be awarded.

Dd1 (for it is she!) is being taken out of class for a number of interviews with the teacher, the Head and other literacy teachers in the coming weeks to determine whether the assessment has been correct. Ridiculous. What about the other pupils whilst all this is going on?

But, yes, I shouldn;t let it wind me up. It doesn't matter. Am just pissed off with the school itself at the moment anyway because of other issues (not to do with dd's class). I thought it was a dceent school and I think they are focusing on the wrong things at the detriment of many of the pupils.

[gagarin]

Sadly to expect a school to do the "right" thing when league tables are endlessly discussed by parents and gov ministers and Ofsted is unlikely.

Once we have our dcs into a school we have chosen (in part) by checking out the league tables we shouldn't be too surprised to find those league tables taking up quite a bit of time for the senoir management team in a school.

[flamingtoaster]

The Headteacher is trying to protect future Ofstead reports. There are lies, damned lies, and statistics!

In terms of Every Child Matters it is outrageous - but if the school continues to challenge your DD1 then it will not harm her. Sadly it will harm the teacher, and her relationship with the Head, more.

[fembear]

The pupil's mother could always tell the Headteacher that the child

• is upset that she has been denied her correct grading
• is upset that her efforts were for nothing
• has come to the conclusion that there is no point bothering for Y6 SATs
• is plotting to purposely bomb the tests and ruin the HT's precious statistics.

[mummyrex]

What is the ceiling level? I think that the highest a Y2 child can be tested for is level 3 (I mean withinn the SATs system).

The same is true at Y6. My DS got high Level 5s for Eng/Maths/Science in Y5 so I was rather surprised when his Y6 results came back as ....Level 5. I queried this and they explained they wern't allowed to test beyond that.

It is important to bear in mind that the SATs system is designed to test whether children have attained certain minimum standards for their age.

The school will have lots of other test and assessements such as reading age and spelling age tests or perhaps verbal/non-verbal reasoning etc.

Personally I'd forget about it, it's a non-issue and I don't think it is about value-added or anything else. Suffice that the TEACHER recognises the child's ability and will hopefully manage that well.

[itchyandscratchy]

Yes, tis all shite.
Thanks for some perspective