Year 6 SATS results - still confused

[ytp747]

Can anyone explain the difference between Teacher's Assessment and Test Results on the SATS scores I've received for my DS?

He is given a 5 for Teacher's Assessment and got a 6 for Test Result, and on another subject has been given the reverse.
Why the difference and which is true SAT score?

[spanieleyes]

Neither is the "true" score as they are assessing different things! The teacher assessment shows what your DS is doing day in and day out on a regular basis, the test score shows you a snapshot of what they achieved on a 45/60 minute test one day in May! Which one you feel is more important depends on your point of view. Secondary schools use the test result to measure progress against from Year 6 to GCSE, teacher assessments are sometimes used for setting. Each one is perfectly valid but different!

[TheFrendo]

IMO, the Level 6 maths paper didn't have any clear level 6 questions on it. They were all more like level 5 with knobs on. Good questions, but required little or no knowledge of level 6 material. Children who passed this exam are really on top of the level 5 work, but are not necessarily working at L6.

[pointythings]

I'd be inclined to believe the teacher's assessment, because they see them every single day...