S3 Ep12: On target grades and school reports with David Didau

The end of term reports are in. In many households, this can hold more sway over Christmas harmony than Santa’s naughty and nice lists. But are we right to put so much store in them? By which I mean the predicted grades not Santa's lists, obviously.

This week's guest is David Didau. David is Senior Lead Practitioner for English at Ormiston Academies Trust. As well as running his blog – The Learning Spy – which is widely recognised as one of the most influential education blogs in the UK, he turns his hand to training and consulting. But that’s not all! He’s also the author of a number of education and cognitive science books including, “Making Kids Cleverer”. 

In the episode, David talks us through how target grades are determined at the end of key stage two. He explains why this is an imperfect system and lacks real meaning in terms of goal setting to students and parents. We also talk through the information that parents really do want when it comes to their students and how to find it out.

For those of us outside the world of education, this could be quite an eye-opener.

In this third season of the podcast, Nathan - founder of The Study Buddy - will be talking to parents, students and teachers about GCSE and A Level exams in 2022. Sharing these real-life experiences will confirm we're not alone and should also provide plenty of advice and tips when it comes to supporting our own teens.

If you would like to take part in a future episode please drop us a line: [email protected]

The Study Buddy is an innovative method for managing GCSE and A-Level revision in the run-up to exams. For more information about The Study Buddy's approach to organising study, time management and revision skills visit thestudybuddy.com 

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