Any Secondary Avhool Teachers Out There?

[rockyracoon]

My daughter who just started year 7 has always done well at school, she seems to be doing very well in her subjects but has a little critic in her head telling her it's not good enough when she doesn't get an anticipated grade.

She left year 6 with a 5a in English but recent exams gained her a 4a, she is quite dustraught, out of all the subjects this is one that she usually excels at, apparently the reading was excellent but the written let her down.

The class did the exam before my dughter as they took it on the day we had snow here and she couldn't get into school so she had to sit it at a later date on her own, I think this may have factored in a bit.

I've told her to go and see her English teacher to ask exactly where she went wrong and where she can improve but she is really reluctant to do so, she feels she'll be an aggravation or worse get told off.

I hate seeing her like this, she's far too serious and should be worrying a bit less, do you think I should write into the teacher to ask her to have a word?

[rockyracoon]

God! Can't believe the typo in the title, I'm sure you've worked it out as school. :)

[albaqwerty]

I know what you meant Rocky :-) x

Is year 7 the same as primary 7 and going up to high/secondary school?
(I get confuddled these days about these things)

Is she 12 going on 13?

[excelsior-1]

the better option would be for you and your daughter to go and see the teacher together in person

[Baldric]

^^^ What he said! ^^^

[MASS1961]

Year 7 is 1st year High School in old money.

[excelsior-1]

(thanks baldric)

any teacher worth his salt will happily sit down with you both and talk about how to put your concerns to rest

[DaisyNonna]

Do go together. Important that your daughter knows that she has the support of you and her teacher.

[sherrardk]

RR - don't worry about it, it's just one assessment. If they were really worried about her they would be in touch with you. The assessments done by the primary school can be a bit hit and miss but the secondary targets are usually based on the grades achieved nationally by students with the same level of achievement in certain tests (they use CAT tests in some areas so all of the students who achieve x mark will be given the same target grade at a GCSE). Also, I believe secondary school teachers are more cautious about giving high grades as they are held to account if the student doesn't achieve this grade at GCSE. (I have a son in year 8 who is below some of his predicted grades but he has high grades to achieve, I am also an ex secondary teacher). Tell her she is doing brilliantly and to keep up the hard work.

[albaqwerty]

Thanks Mass.

Rocky in High School there should be a Guidance Teacher with whom you can (along with or without your child) that you can discuss lots of concerns .

[jno]

goodness, if I'd got my mum to go see the teacher every time I did worse than expected in an exam...

In your own opinion, how serious is this? Will it actually affect future marks, or is she genuinely falling behind? Or could it just be a one-off?

My own instinct would be to reasure her it doesn't really matter - if it doesn't - and not to worry; there will be other exams. Otherwise you might just be reinforcing her inner critic and make her stress about exams even more.

But if you think she'll get more reassurance by you taking her concerns seriously, then best do as excel suggests.

[ELVIS68]

My son's in year 7 and does exactly the same, we mentioned it to his teacher during open evening and was told not to worry and that it's a good thing that he wants to do better.
All you can do is reassure them they are doing their best

[seadogg]

It takes time to adjust from being a big fish in a small pool to a smaller fish in a big pool. One of my nieces had the same problem but has now got into her true stride. The conditions under which she did the test must have influenced her too.

It must be hard for a youngster to accept that it is only a small hurdle in a long race and a sympathetic chat with her teacher should help. Teachers are influenced by caring parents who are prepared to get involved, according to my son, who is teacher.

[rockyracoon]

Thank for all your replies, Alba, she's just turned 12. I'm not worried about the grades at all, I just think she's putting too much pressure on herself, I thought if she speaks to the teacher she'll hopefully get a bit of reassurance, she thrives on praise. My son who's 2 years older than her is completely different, he couldn't give a carrot! I don't know which way is worse. Thanks Sherr, the crux of the matter I think, is in the fact that her target was 5a and she dropped a level, to her thats a mortal sin.

I'll speak to her again when she's calmed down and see what she wants to do.

Once again, thank you all xx

[rockyracoon]

I think my bigger concern is her attitude towards a bit of what she sees as failure, I love that she's conscientious but I think it's going too far, she'll end up a wreck.

[ELVIS68]

I don't know where my son gets his enthusiasm from.

My school reports from 1st year seniors read something like "If he spent as much time concentrating on his work as he does trying to act the class clown then he'd be top of the class"

[sherrardk]

My son couldn't give a stuff that he isn't meeting some of his targets, can't win either way. Let it go for now, have a lovely Christmas and have a chat before she goes back to school. x

[rockyracoon]

Elvis, when the say 'the apple on't fall too far from the tree' they couldn't be more wrong sometimes, mind you, he hasn't got that healthy Enfield schooling that you had ;)

Sherr, that's what I'll do. Thank you xx

[factor-fiction]

I am a secondary school teacher. If you are worried you should ask the teacher for a meeting or telephone call.

I know it's easy for me to say but I wouldn't be too concerned about the result for several reasons:

- you may find that many other students scored below their Year 6 score. I found that year 6 SATs levels tended to overstate the true level. In my experience primary schools spend weeks or months preparing children for the SATs and use every opportunity to maximise the levels as there is so much pressure to do so. Assessments in Year 7 may be set with little notice and preparation and probably give a better snapshot of the student's true level.

-The system of levels and sublevels is not as scientific as some may think. I have had many students in Y7, for example, whose scores on different tests can vary from say 4a to 5a on different tests. Boundaries are often set using the teacher's judgement of where the boundaries lie.

- Some Y7 teachers may err on the low side when setting levels as they may be set targets for improvements- e.g. raise all students by 2 sub levels by end of Year 7.

-The scores are just likely to be used as an indicator or may be used to place students in sets. There is plenty of time for them to find the correct levels and be placed in the right sets.

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

[rockyracoon]

Thanks factor, I'll definitely let you know how it goes. When I went my son's first parent evening the teacher said they believed most primary school levels where over inflated. Fortunately they don't stream for English as there'd be hell to pay in racoonland if she didn't make the top set, they do for maths, thank god she's in the top set for that.

[karenmac60]

I would worry more about her taking this so seriously at her age. She sounds just like my sister who was burned out by the end of secondary and had a breakdown at uni - and all because of the pressure she put on herself. Maybe she'd be better sitting down with you and the 2 of you having a wee chat about that than going to the teacher. It's all well and good being concientious, but good marks aren't everything. (ps this is in no way a criticism of you - you have already stated you are worried about her pressurising herself) good luck x