totally confused by parents evening. what does level 1c mean? and what is non verbal reasoning?

(13 Posts)
littleredsquirrel Thu 11-Nov-10 22:01:23

I think I need to go back to school!

mumbar Thu 11-Nov-10 22:18:51

Once children are in year 1 and above they work through mational curriculum levels they go 1c, 1b, 1a, 2c ,2b etc etc.

The average child will be level 1 in year 1 and level 2 in year 2, average being a 2B by the end of year 2.

AFAIK verbal reasoning is just that, being able to verbally give a reason for something.


littleredsquirrel Thu 11-Nov-10 22:23:26

Thanks mumbar - So if I've just been told that the school want DS to be at 1a by the end of year 1 then that is aiming to be average, i.e. where he should be?

Thats fine of course but they were talking as though that was something really good to have achieved. its very confusing!

Goingspare Thu 11-Nov-10 22:53:42

Non-verbal reasoning is to do with spatial awareness and being able to work with shapes and solve problems using visual, rather than linguistic information, such as diagrams, maps, and so on.

Our primary school tends not to talk about NC levels, except at the end of KS1 & KS2,when they have to. I think it's a good thing, on the whole, and leads to less jargon-filled parents' evenings. People ask about them on here quite a lot - is it the norm for teachers to keep parents informed about their children's levels all the time?

mychatnickname Thu 11-Nov-10 22:54:28

Also do parents/ children normally get given targets at this age? Not heard mention of any for ds.

lovecheese Fri 12-Nov-10 09:32:23

mychatnickname - I think it depends on what year your DC is in, for example at parent's evening recently we were told current levels for DD1 in YR5 but not her targets for the end of this year;confused

With DD2 in YR2 we were not told anything. She finished YR1 on a 1a for maths, so bang on average, so I guess her target is a 2a/2b for SATS? YR1 level for writing was 2B, and reading 2a, so presumably they are aiming for a solid 3 for her?. We forgot to ask at parents evening (Doh)and when I wrote a note to the teacher she replied that she "was on target". What does this mean? On target for the expected ks1 levels, or on target for her? Don't want to pester but feel we have a right to know so that we can support her at home. May ask again.

Goingspare Fri 12-Nov-10 10:09:37

I think this is why I'm glad we've never had this discussion at school. Both my DDs were at the end of KS1 before we heard anything about their levels and I've recently been told DD2's levels at the start of year 6, which are the first numbers I've been given since year 2.

The targets have always been about working on particular skills (which I know are linked to levels anyway) - improving on areas of weakness and building on strengths. Did the teacher mention those at all, lovecheese?

'On target' probably means the level that should be expected for her, based on her previous levels, though there's no reason why you shouldn't ask for clarification.

With your year 5 DD, you can probably assume that the target for year 6 is two sub-levels above what she was on at the end of year 5. But if you're supporting them both at home with homework, reading and so on, do the actual numerical levels matter that much? I don't see why you shouldn't know if you want to, but I'm not sure how important it is as far as helping them progress is concerned.

littleredsquirrel Fri 12-Nov-10 12:04:01

I'm flummoxed by the whole thing. We were told DS1 was 7 for reading, 128 for non verbal reasoning and is therefore aiming for 1a at the end of the year but is 1c at the moment. Its all jargon which means nothing to me and surely most parents woudln't be familiar with this stuff from school because of course we didn't have it in our day. We only had ten minutes and so I didn't really feel I could ask for further explanation. Might have to ask again.confused

Goingspare Fri 12-Nov-10 12:11:16

That's bonkers (the jargon I mean). You need to ask the teacher to explain. There are often threads on here asking about these sorts of grades and assessments and I've managed to get almost all the way through the primary stage quite happily without ever hearing of most of them. I've only ever heard of non-verbal reasoning grades in relation to the 11+.

Goingspare Fri 12-Nov-10 12:19:20

Having said that, littlered, in an 11+ context, 128 for NVR would be a jolly good mark; 100 being average for the cohort after standardisation confused, but I don't know whether the system is the same.

DukesOfTripHazard Fri 12-Nov-10 14:32:25

Our school is obsessed by these ladders and sends them to us termly.

Goingspare Fri 12-Nov-10 14:44:54

I'm starting to feel like a Martian at a cricket match. Ladders?

abouteve Fri 12-Nov-10 14:50:24

128 for non verbal reasoning sound well good to me grin. Surprised they are measuring this at such a young age.

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