Are there any test papers I can buy to see what level DC are at in Maths & English?

[JOJOHNSON23]

They are year 3 & 4 and have been assessed at three different ind' prep schools and have received three different results. We are in the process of changing schools as we are moving area but I'm getting a bit fed up with being told they are above average, then scholarship material then bang on average... We use Bond papers for home practice but is there an actual test they could sit at home which would provide me with a clear answer; 3A, 3B, 4A etc... I'm considering home schooling them as nobody seems to agree on their progress and everyone has differing opinions on their levels. I don't want to move schools and have them drop a level as it will dishearten them but nor do I want them suddenly being 2 levels above where we thought they were as then I'll doubt the accuracy of these, apparently standard, tests...

[Bonsoir]

I would love to know this too!

I was having a conversation with an American friend yesterday about English SATS and levels. Americans think that the English system is too vague and unreliable to be useful.

[JOJOHNSON23]

From my experience at the moment it definitely is vague and unreliable! Fingers crossed someone can help us both.

[mrz]

As are most educational initiatives we import from the US Bonsoir sadly

[mrz]

There are optional SAT tests for Y3. 4 & 5 but they are vague and unreliable

[noblegiraffe]

emaths.co.uk/index.php/4-students

SATs papers here.

[JOJOHNSON23]

MRZ if they are vague and unreliable how do schools know what level the children are at? :(

[JOJOHNSON23]

noblegiraffe, that link is just maths and they ask for a 'donation' before you can see the papers which I'm wary of doing...

[TheBuskersDog]

When teachers level children they don't just look at one test done on one day, they consider whether they are consistently working at a level and meeting the criteria for that level.

Are your children currently at a state or private school? Are the different schools comparing them to their pupils rather than the national average, so they could be above average at one school but average at another.

I actually don't think you should be letting your children worry about what level they are at when they are year 3 and 4, as long as you can see they are making progress and not struggling at school.

[JOJOHNSON23]

Hi Buskerdog, they are at private and all three schools were private and the tests were apparently against national average. Their current school sets targets which are given to the children with their current level and target level on so there is no getting around the children knowing and worrying about levels unfortunately. I'm considering home schooling to get out of all this to be honest.

[mrz]

Schools don't use tests to level children JoJohnson they assess using the work the child has produced day on day in class. Tests by necessity can only assess a very small part of the curriculum and provide a snapshot of what the child can do on that day which may or may not reflect their actual ability.

[noblegiraffe]

No, it has maths, English and science, and you don't need to donate to see them. Not sure why the direct link isn't working but if you click '4students' at the top you can definitely get to them.

I'm a teacher, the site is definitely not dodgy!

[mrz]

National Curriculum levels will cease to exist in September

[rollonthesummer]

I would imagine that moving them around three schools has caused their fluctuating levels; they are probably very unsettled.

[JOJOHNSON23]

rollonthesummer, they haven't moved around three schools. They have been at one school only since Reception but we are moving so we have looked around three schools and during their visits they sat assessments at all three. They actually enjoyed the visits and the assessments as they thought they were just joining in lessons. They wanted to stay and do more so unlikely they were stressed...

[JOJOHNSON23]

Thanks noblegiraffe, I'll have another look.

[JOJOHNSON23]

MRZ, if schools don't use tests to assess levels is there somewhere I can look to see what they should know to be at each level? Some of the stuff they are doing seems basic (multiplying by ten) but then some seems ridiculously hard (simultaneous equations). Both these examples are from my Y4 child's maths homework.

[ravenAK]

Student-friendly (ie. in layperson's terms) descriptors reading & writing levels here. KS3 but goes from level 2 - this should cover your KS2 dc; my year 3 dd1 is a level 3a.

APP

All being scrapped apparently mind you...

[mrz]

old.n-somerset.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/ECFA538D-E4FB-48A4-B275-100416DCB1A4/0/Mathematicsassessmentguidelines_Level54321.doc

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

Old Primary Strategy. Has objectives year (look at pg 69 onwards for maths). Was never statutory but commonly used.

www.niched.org/docs/the%20primary%20framework.pdf

New National curriculum
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239129/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Mathematics.pdf

Level descriptors for maths
www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary/b00199044/mathematics/attainment

[JOJOHNSON23]

Thanks MRZ, that's really helpful. You haven't got one for English too have you?!

[mrz]

www.essex.gov.uk/Business-Partners/Partners/Schools/One-to-one-tuition/Documents/A3%20APP%20assessment%20criteria%20%E2%80%93%20Reading%20and%20Writing.pdf

www.teachfind.com/national-strategies/assessing-pupils-progress-app-assessment-guidelines

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

Has objectives year

It's been a very long day. I have no idea what that was supposed to say.

[JOJOHNSON23]

Thanks Rafa, that's fantastic. Very much appreciated.

[JOJOHNSON23]

Brilliant, thanks MRZ, so useful - will have a long look through. They are definitely all over the place (some level 2, some level 5!) looking at these.