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I know League Tables are not the be-all, etc, but...

18 replies

DecorHate · 28/01/2010 12:22

... I have to admit I am a bit perturbed that last years SATs results at dcs school have shown a huge drop.

In spite of various challenges over the years I have always been consoled that SATs scores were fairly consistent and well above average. This year they dropped from 280 to 241. They have hovered around the low 280s for several years and have been higher in the past.

Anyone got any theories as to why that would happen? I'm not aware of any skewing in the abilities of the Yr 6 pupils that could have caused this. They did have a new teacher half-way through the year but parents seemed happy with her and the previous Yr6 teacher had only been there for 18 months anyway so was only at the helm for one set of SATs.

School have kept very quiet about this - normally we get informed of the results directly by the school but not this year

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sprat1 · 28/01/2010 13:31

All sorts could affect it. From credit crunched parents who are not paying for so much private tutoring!!! to a couple of kids with low level special needs or just not that bright who didnt quite get a level 4 dispite the schools best efforts, to not such a good year 6 teacher or a fantastic year 6 teacher who wasn't obsessed with SATs results but taught them well with a broad curriculum. Schools do have bright years and less bright years. what were their level 5 figures like. Was there any W's. these are kids which no matter how fantastic the teaching they just arent going to get anywhere near a level 4 this year (or next!).
There certainly are schools that seem great on paper (in my neck of the woods) but arent what they are cracked up to be and are very reliant on the fact that as soon as the DC fall marginally or even arent the very best the parents fork out for Kumon or whatever. Making the schools look great.This can also happen if a large % go private after year6 If you have concerns about the school go and talk to them

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sprat1 · 28/01/2010 13:32

Forgot to add. What was there value add this year compared to previous years

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DecorHate · 28/01/2010 13:47

Had to delve around a bit to find this:

Level 5 figures - English 27%, Maths 40%, Science 37%.

Not sure what W means??

CVA was 99.3% - can't find out what it was previous years but think it's never been fantatsic...

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DecorHate · 28/01/2010 13:50

Just found CVa for previous year - 100.2

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CantSupinate · 28/01/2010 14:27

The error margin on CVA is at least +/- 0.5, so the old/new results overlay (old range was 98.8-99.8, new range is 98.7-100.7). So you can't confidently say that CVA has dropped at all.

It sounds like a rather high achieving school.
I suppose main thing is how is your child doing? Are you satisfied that they are being given appropriate work for them?

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CantSupinate · 28/01/2010 14:29

ps: where do you get results published that tell you the % of level 5s achieved?

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CantSupinate · 28/01/2010 14:30

overlap I meant in post before last (sigh, sob).

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sprat1 · 28/01/2010 14:37

Dept children schools and families website for level 5's

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CantSupinate · 28/01/2010 14:40

I would be ever so grateful if you could provide a direct link. .

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janinlondon · 28/01/2010 14:50

Can'tSupinate - search by local authority here

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DecorHate · 28/01/2010 15:14

Cantsupinate - why do you say it is a high-achieving school? The current SAT scores are below national average and well below the average for the LA.

I suppose I am just curious as to why there would be a dramatic drop - I agree there will always be some fluctuation due to differing abilities in different year groups but I wouldn't have expected it to be so noticeable. It is a single-form entry school so perhaps even if there are a couple of more less-bright kids than usual it could affect the figures much more than in a 3-form entry school, say.

I would say that that particular Year 6 had more children moving to private (selective) secondary schools than any year before that I can remember.

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janinlondon · 28/01/2010 15:17

Decorhate are you sure you are talking about national averages at level 5? Or at level 4? There is a big difference...

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janinlondon · 28/01/2010 15:18

National averages at level 5
English 29%
Maths 35%
Science 43%

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DecorHate · 28/01/2010 15:25

I was talking about the aggregate score of 241 (which i guess is for Level 4?)

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BigTillyMint · 28/01/2010 15:36

I think it's all the points, regardless off what level IYSWIM - different levels get different scores.

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janinlondon · 28/01/2010 15:52

I'm pretty sure the AGG score is the AGG of level 4 results. If you do your own calculation across the school results it appears to be level 4 only. (This is for state schools)

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BigTillyMint · 28/01/2010 17:28

You could be right Jane!

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CantSupinate · 28/01/2010 18:10

oops, my mistake, sounded like a lot of level 5s.
(More than I'd expect at my children's dinky primary, anyway)

Maybe you could make an appt. to ask the Head about the drop, DecorHate.

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