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Need advice on my son who is 14 and his education
25 Answers
Hello all,
I hope someone can make these scores make sense. I feel my son's school is failing my son. On reports they are report different things one minute he is average the next he has a learning difficultly. Plus i have had him assessed for ADHD and the school have totally under reported and just say he is a lovely pupil as they beleive ADHD is naughty behaviour which i know it isnt. He cannot concentrate, he is daydreamy, forgets everything and no focus doesnt finish his tasks etc......
The scores i need put in plain english please are
test completed at 14years 1 month
Reading Age 10.8 Reading SS 79
Spelling Age 8.7 Spelling SS 76
CAT year 7
Mean 84
Verbal 82
Quantitative 85
Non verbal 85
I do not understand these scores and i am sick of being told he tries hard and he is lovely. I know all that but my son is going into his 4th year of high school and he is under the impression he can go to college and uni to become a teacher he really trys hard. I just feel his school is failing him. They did a computer test where it came back moderate risk of dyslexia. I hope someone could tell me what i should expect from his school he has a support worker in some classes but i have found out via his adhd assessment he is making very little progress. Any advice very welcome
I hope someone can make these scores make sense. I feel my son's school is failing my son. On reports they are report different things one minute he is average the next he has a learning difficultly. Plus i have had him assessed for ADHD and the school have totally under reported and just say he is a lovely pupil as they beleive ADHD is naughty behaviour which i know it isnt. He cannot concentrate, he is daydreamy, forgets everything and no focus doesnt finish his tasks etc......
The scores i need put in plain english please are
test completed at 14years 1 month
Reading Age 10.8 Reading SS 79
Spelling Age 8.7 Spelling SS 76
CAT year 7
Mean 84
Verbal 82
Quantitative 85
Non verbal 85
I do not understand these scores and i am sick of being told he tries hard and he is lovely. I know all that but my son is going into his 4th year of high school and he is under the impression he can go to college and uni to become a teacher he really trys hard. I just feel his school is failing him. They did a computer test where it came back moderate risk of dyslexia. I hope someone could tell me what i should expect from his school he has a support worker in some classes but i have found out via his adhd assessment he is making very little progress. Any advice very welcome
Answers
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My first impressions of the OP were not of ADHD, I hate that "diagnosis/illness". However what popped up straight away, for me, was to have him tested for Dyspraxia and/or Aspergers. My oldest son, who is now 22, did not get tested until he was 14years old and the school said exactly the same things/tests came back very similar to your sons... Please do read up on these 2 illnesses and get him tested if you feel that your son has the "symptoms" if I can be of any assistance please shout.
The CAT scores show his scores on 3 tests at age 11.
This may help
http://
This link gives an indication of GCSE performance based on CAT scores
http://
The age 14 tests show he has a reading age of 10.8 and a spelling age of 8.7. These are well below average and suggest dyslexia may be an issue.
You also need to know what his levels (eg level 5) are for each subject, particularly in Maths and English. If you have that info I can give an idea of what the levels tell you
This may help
http://
This link gives an indication of GCSE performance based on CAT scores
http://
The age 14 tests show he has a reading age of 10.8 and a spelling age of 8.7. These are well below average and suggest dyslexia may be an issue.
You also need to know what his levels (eg level 5) are for each subject, particularly in Maths and English. If you have that info I can give an idea of what the levels tell you
english end key stage level 3
Mathematics end key stage 4
Science - level 4
I am just so concerned about his future and i feel the school is sliver coating it. he is no further than he was in last year of primary school and he has been at this high school for 3 years. I have been to parents evening and was blinded by he is lovely pupil he trys his best so i trusted he was doing ok.
Mathematics end key stage 4
Science - level 4
I am just so concerned about his future and i feel the school is sliver coating it. he is no further than he was in last year of primary school and he has been at this high school for 3 years. I have been to parents evening and was blinded by he is lovely pupil he trys his best so i trusted he was doing ok.
Maybe is he doing his best for his ability - if he is only capable of achieving a certain level, and he is working hard and achieving that level then the subject teachers are telling you the truth. Ask to speak to the SENCO ( the special educational co-ordinator), speak to your doctor and ask them to arrange for your son to be formally assessed. It takes ages though.
Those CAT scores suggest his most likely level for end of Key Stage 3 ( i.e. where he is now) is level 4. If he is indeed on level 4 now then I think he is making progress in line with what is expected. Obviously you want the best outcome possible so you need to speak to the Head. There may be some support he can be given but based on his CAT scores he is unlikely to be someone who is going to achieve grades higher than E on average in core subjects of Maths, English and Science in my experience
According to the directgov website;
"At the end of each key stage, you will get a report from the school telling you:
the results of your child's tests (for Key Stage 2 only)
the teacher assessment levels your child has achieved
the results for all the children in your child's age group in the school
the national results for the previous year"
If you haven't had this info you should ask for it so you can see how your child is progressing relative to the standard progress expected Good luck
"At the end of each key stage, you will get a report from the school telling you:
the results of your child's tests (for Key Stage 2 only)
the teacher assessment levels your child has achieved
the results for all the children in your child's age group in the school
the national results for the previous year"
If you haven't had this info you should ask for it so you can see how your child is progressing relative to the standard progress expected Good luck
hello Lisa
The report you have says CAT year 7 - so this data seems to come from when he entered secondary school aged 11.
A couple of common sense points elude educational strategists. One is that most people do not develop a reading age beyond 10-11. This reading age gives you enough skill to function fine in society. You may not read Dostoevsky but you'll be able to pay bills, work out what's being explained, and interpret some degrees of inferred meaning ie 'reading between the lines'.
Strange as it seems, schools are tasked by the government with trying to make people read better by keeping testing them. 'Go figure'.
You seem concerned about your son's behaviour - daydreaming and boredom with school are the default positions of pubescent boys. If he is not being aggressive and unpleasant, then you have a fine boy. If he is not keeping bad company, you have a good result.
As it stands, your son can hope to teach eg in an academy as a teaching qualification is no longer mandatory - this will extend to the free schools in a few years, and we'll be back to the pre-1944 position of anybody being able to step into a classroom and mind the kids. No disrespect to your son or anyone else, this is just a fact of history and of future politics. So what I'm suggesting is, given he isn't being awfully badly behaved, to me he sounds quite normal.
If he is somewhere on the autistic spectrum he can join a huge swathe of us. Just the way we are. Moderately dyslexic - OK so if he is diagnosed, he may be allowed extra time in exams. May.
ADHD - lots of controversy about the role of this as a diagnosis especially if it is suggested he have daily medication.
It might be that as his hormones settle down he is able to achieve better under traditional classroom expectations. Sadly, it's clear that he simply doesn't enjoy being cooped up all day with a pen shoved in his hand. His instinct, his body and his brain is telling him he should be out chasing down wild animals for the family cave.
With the support he has he is likely to get passes in the main subjects and I suggest it's better to love him, be there for him and not expect him to suddenly transform into a bookworm. The school have said he's lovely - try to accept that for now.
The report you have says CAT year 7 - so this data seems to come from when he entered secondary school aged 11.
A couple of common sense points elude educational strategists. One is that most people do not develop a reading age beyond 10-11. This reading age gives you enough skill to function fine in society. You may not read Dostoevsky but you'll be able to pay bills, work out what's being explained, and interpret some degrees of inferred meaning ie 'reading between the lines'.
Strange as it seems, schools are tasked by the government with trying to make people read better by keeping testing them. 'Go figure'.
You seem concerned about your son's behaviour - daydreaming and boredom with school are the default positions of pubescent boys. If he is not being aggressive and unpleasant, then you have a fine boy. If he is not keeping bad company, you have a good result.
As it stands, your son can hope to teach eg in an academy as a teaching qualification is no longer mandatory - this will extend to the free schools in a few years, and we'll be back to the pre-1944 position of anybody being able to step into a classroom and mind the kids. No disrespect to your son or anyone else, this is just a fact of history and of future politics. So what I'm suggesting is, given he isn't being awfully badly behaved, to me he sounds quite normal.
If he is somewhere on the autistic spectrum he can join a huge swathe of us. Just the way we are. Moderately dyslexic - OK so if he is diagnosed, he may be allowed extra time in exams. May.
ADHD - lots of controversy about the role of this as a diagnosis especially if it is suggested he have daily medication.
It might be that as his hormones settle down he is able to achieve better under traditional classroom expectations. Sadly, it's clear that he simply doesn't enjoy being cooped up all day with a pen shoved in his hand. His instinct, his body and his brain is telling him he should be out chasing down wild animals for the family cave.
With the support he has he is likely to get passes in the main subjects and I suggest it's better to love him, be there for him and not expect him to suddenly transform into a bookworm. The school have said he's lovely - try to accept that for now.
Just like to explain my experience of my daughter who was 14 before being diagnosed with ADD.She went to a private school and was in the top 10% in her entrance exam at 11.They could not explain,probably because they had little knowledge or experience of this 'condition',how she was a genius at some subjects and appalling at others.Basically she was unable to focus easily unless extremely interested in what she was being taught and although very intelligent (amazing scores in verbal reasoning when tested,and very slow in certain mathematical skills and memory).Looking back on it,although she is now at Uni,she had a really rough time at this school during the GCSE period when she was doing so many subjects and she maybe should have gone to a less traditional and academic environment.She later suffered with depression because she couldn't cope with it.
My advice is to take very little notice of medical and educational assessments.Read up as much as you can on 'learning with ADD' and if convinced he has it then educate your teachers into how he can achieve his potential.In my daughter's case they let her reduce the number of subjects from 12 to 9,let her give up foreign languages and very memory based subjects like history,and gave her the customary 25% extra time in exams.She ended up doing very well in GCSEs,then A levels,and is now going for a degree.It hasn't been easy but all I can say is YOU know your child better than all these people (I have little time for Ed.Pschys and SENCos)and if you can't get help from this school then perhaps find another that will be more sympathetic.
My advice is to take very little notice of medical and educational assessments.Read up as much as you can on 'learning with ADD' and if convinced he has it then educate your teachers into how he can achieve his potential.In my daughter's case they let her reduce the number of subjects from 12 to 9,let her give up foreign languages and very memory based subjects like history,and gave her the customary 25% extra time in exams.She ended up doing very well in GCSEs,then A levels,and is now going for a degree.It hasn't been easy but all I can say is YOU know your child better than all these people (I have little time for Ed.Pschys and SENCos)and if you can't get help from this school then perhaps find another that will be more sympathetic.
As an ex teacher I agree that lots kids get labels like ADHD when really they are just attention seeking, spoilt brats. Also, some children are just not very bright. (Not saying this is the case for the OP's child). One of mine could easily be labelled with some sort of disorder but she is just plain naughty.
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