Sten Results

slig17

Hi,

My son in 2nd got a 6 in english and 5 in Maths - this has dropped from last year getting an 8 and 6 - should i be worried about the drop?

TIA

Redser87

Is he particularly young or old for his class? I ask because the scores may be calculated either as an age-based or class-based score. If it is class-based, it ranks the child in comparison to other children in second class. If it is age-based and he is one of the oldest in the class, this could affect the score because he could be the same age as many children in Third Class.
Do you remember him talking about the test? It could be something as simple as that he was not feeling well on the day.

slig17

Redser87 wrote: »

Is he particularly young or old for his class? I ask because the scores may be calculated either as an age-based or class-based score. If it is class-based, it ranks the child in comparison to other children in second class. If it is age-based and he is one of the oldest in the class, this could affect the score because he could be the same age as many children in Third Class.
Do you remember him talking about the test? It could be something as simple as that he was not feeling well on the day.

No he's 8 - no said it was no problem when it was finished seemed quite happy

Redser87

Standardised tests aren't the be all and end all, a lot of assessment goes on in class, from weekly spelling tests to self-assessment (e.g. the children picking their best work for their folder, or indicating with thumbs up/down whether they understand, etc.). That said, they are a piece of summative assessment that, along with all of the other forms of assessment, help to give a broad picture of how the child is doing. Did the results come along with a yearly report and was there anything on that that you found worrying?
Before school breaks up for summer it might not hurt to have a chat with the teacher. It would be best to send in a note saying that you would like to have a chat about the standardised test and indicate when you are available to meet. It is likely that formative assessment (i.e. the type I mentioned above, also called assessment for learning - ongoing during learning so that the teacher can adjust their explanations etc. if needs be) will be mentioned and don't discard this - it is very important too. It could also be mentioned (because some parents find this hard to understand) that the standardised tests are designed so that not everyone will get top marks.
The English would bother me more than the Maths I must say, because 8 is well above average and 6 is average.
This should give you a good idea of the types of assessment: http://www.ncca.biz/guidelines/assessment/assess_intro.htm

And honestly, even if you continue to worry, please please please do remember that our model of education is holistic and there is much more to your child's progress, learning and happiness than a score out of ten on one test, on one day.

byhookorbycrook

Great advice from Redser. Just to add that a child can be a low say Sten 6 and one question can drop them to a 5. Two sten obviously doesn't fit that .

I'd ask the teacher how your child did in the sub-tests in English (if it was the Drumcondra they did.) The sub-tests are vocab, comprehension and an optional word analysis test. If a child scores well on vocab and poorly on comprehension, they will need to focus more on reading for meaning, for example. You can work on this by encouraging your child to retell a story they have read in their own words and asking questions too.

In the maths, find out if your child actually did rough work and took their time. Sometimes children just mark an answer in the multiple choice qs or don't stop to do calculations in "sum" questions.