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Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Secondary education

Year 8 science

15 replies

lem73 · 15/07/2013 16:56

My year 8 has just come home with an end of year report that shows he has stayed at the same level (5c) all year, below his target of 5a. He received a 1 for effort in autumn and 2s in the next two terms. His science teacher was full of praise for his attitude in the parents meeting in January so I cannot assume he just wasn't working hard enough. To be honest, he rarely gets homework and very few tests so I'm not sure how they even generate these grades. I have contacted the teacher but I'm not optimistic for a meeting before the end of term. His grades in the rest of the 'core' subjects (maths, geography, languages etc) were on target and all of his effort grades were fine. He's really upset and I want to help him.Any suggestions?

OP posts:

Report

lljkk · 15/07/2013 18:41

Not as bad as my y8 DS, he apparently dropped 2 sublevels between March & May reports this year. What a hoot. I don't believe any word of it.
Oh, and his science teacher hasn't been in touch with me either.

TheFallenMadonna · 15/07/2013 18:46

You need to know how they assess. It could be a number of ways, as Science KS3 assessment is a bit of a mixed bag, and in fact, it could be different at differed.t assessment points (hence the drop in level) Next year we are changing the way we do it in order to get students used to the idea of o.e big end of course exam.

Whathaveiforgottentoday · 15/07/2013 19:40

In science grades can fluctuate quite a bit over a year depending on what topics they've been doing. Also if like us they give q big end of year test then perhaps he had an off day. Does your son know what they based the test results on?

kritur · 15/07/2013 20:24

I agree you need to find out what his grades are based on, it could be teacher assessment of class or homework based on APP or on tests. It's not unusual to plateau at the start of secondary science due to the sheer number of topics. At the very least the teacher should be able to give you 2 or 3 subject specific targets (I.e. Not about his behaviour)

lem73 · 15/07/2013 20:26

They've had maybe three tests this year and they have not had a test on every topic. The class had been taught by two teachers but in March one went AWOL and was replaced by a supply teacher. The second went off in May to help in GCSE revision so the supply took over completely. As the summer term went on my son kept asking when they would next have a test, she would say she didn't know and then announced a test with 48 hours notice. It's all a bit chaotic.
Regardless of how he has been assessed, he hasn't progressed at all. I think it's absolutely shocking to send out reports so late in the term because chances are, we won't get to discuss this and we'll go into year 9 not knowing what's going on. Last year the reports were issued at the beginning of July. Maybe the teachers want to discouraged parents from coming in.
Does anyone have any advice of how we can support him? Where is a good place to find a science tutor?

OP posts:

TheFallenMadonna · 15/07/2013 20:27

It can be really misleading to report end of topic levels at different points in the year. I can completely see how it is confusing for parents. And some schools use APP, and some use levelled questions, and some use both. It's a mess really.

TheFallenMadonna · 15/07/2013 20:30

X post. He may have made progress, but this has been inadequately assessed. I agree that asking for qualitative descriptors of what he can do and what he needs to target would be the most useful thing for you to ask for.

lem73 · 15/07/2013 20:38

Should I be worried?

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TheFallenMadonna · 15/07/2013 20:47

Not necessarily. I would email the teacher and ask what progress he has made this year. Say you are concerned about the static levels, but ask for a proper qualitative report rather than talk of sublevels.

NoComet · 16/07/2013 01:11

Yes, unfortunately Y7/Y8 levels bear more resemblance to lottery numbers than anything else.

Our school seems to just scribble down the last test result regardless of whether the pupils got higher or lower grades on other topics.

We also have the added mystery of target grades.
DD2 can't fathom why her science target is a level higher than anything else (even history where she's put her target up twice)

Oh and we have the amazingly informative combined MFL grade. Helpful when DD loves French and did it in juniors and loathes German and hasn't done any work all year.

englishteacher78 · 16/07/2013 05:22

We actually give reports on the last day of term. However, the students End of Year exam marks went home before the end of June and I have seen a couple of parents since (one from subject/one from form).
I don't think it's too late to ask to see a teacher - I saw a set of parents yesterday and it proved very helpful. If the teacher says they're not available you could still ask to meet next year's teacher in September to discuss how to improve the situation.

vess · 16/07/2013 10:36

Don't they send the test home, once it's done? DS, Y8, usually has a booklet of questions - some open-ended, some multiple choice. I can't say I've seen all of his tests, but definitely some.
A lot of it is down to how you word your answer and how much explanation you provide in it. Perfectly possible to understand the subject well but to write down the bare minimum you think will be sufficient to answer the question, and to get marked down for that.

lem73 · 16/07/2013 17:01

vess I suspect that is exactly what my son is doing in tests. The school doesn't send home test papers in any subject. I think that is wrong. I remember it was often useful when I would bring test papers home and my dad would go through it with me. The teacher did reply to my email this morning, saying getting a 2 for effort (explained in the report as meeting teacher expectations) does not mean he was 'applying himself fully'. Huh? If he was not applying himself fully, then he should get a 3 (below teacher expectations). She said she would confer with the supply teacher before commenting fully. Yet she said she wrote the report, so why the need to confer?

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vess · 16/07/2013 22:53

Can you not ask to see the test? Then you'll see exactly what went wrong.
Also, for next year, you can get him to revise till he knows everything in detail, so there's no room for mistakes.
I'm hoping to do something like that with DS next year - he will no doubt resist and say he knows everything already.

kritur · 16/07/2013 23:03

In terms of a science tutor, another high school is a good place to start. Or personal recommendations.

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