If you got any L6s in reading, please tell me how!

[CatKisser]

This is the most able cohort I've ever taught. A few got level six in both Maths and SPaG...but yet again none in reading! If you got any, please could you tell me how?!
Our kids are bright but "unworldly." we're very rural and I do genuinely wonder if this lack of experience stops them scoring highly on the L6 paper.
Thanks!

[annie987]

Nope we didn't get any! 12 in writing but none in reading!

[Izzy82]

We got none. Brightest year group I've taught. 14 level 6's in maths, 13 in SPAG and none in reading. Don't think I'll bother next year.

[mollymawk]

I'm not a teacher but my DS's year 6 teacher told us yesterday that none of their class got a L6 reading, and nor did any of the pupils in any of the classes belonging to any of his teacher friends. Maybe it's impossible! (As in your classes, there seemed to be a fair few getting L6 in writing and Maths and grammar/spelling though.) Without having a lot of knowledge of the education system, it seems to me as if that exam isn't really a test of "reading", or even "comprehension", more a test of how good the child is at decoding what the examiner thinks they ought to write...

[CatKisser]

Wow, some high numbers of level sixes!
mollymawk I think you're absolutely right about second guessing the examiner!
Can I ask fellow year six teachers, when you do identify potential level sixers and do you differentiate appropriately all through KS2? I have issues with our school in that some teachers limit the children by not allowing them access to higher level material when they're quite capable.
Any comments or thoughts welcome.

[feetheart]

I'm not a teacher either but DD's very experienced Yr6 teacher has never come across anyone getting L6 for reading out of all the children she has taught, in all schools she has taught or all the children that friends and colleagues have taught. Beginning to think that it just don't happen :)

[feetheart]

doesn't doesn't doesn't happen.
Poor DD, no wonder she didn't get it :)

[CatKisser]

Interesting, feet heart, same here. Don't know anyone who's taught a level six reader!

[UniS]

Is it because to get a level 6 the child needs to he reading with the emotional maturity and responses of a 14 yr old. Many 11 year olds can read very well but they have less life experience than a 14 yr old.

[Pooka]

We had four in dd's cohort who missed by 2/3/4 marks.

[GretchenWiener]

GASP

my son did. It seems he is the only person in the world
I dont give a shit about SATS but he seemingly did really well. He has no coaching and spends all day on his bike and watching shitty videos on youtube

[Finola1step]

Absolutely Uni. The Level 6 for Reading requires an emotional maturity but this is simply not the case in Maths or SPAG. So very bright, hardworking, well taught 11 year olds are perfectly capable if getting it in Maths and SPAG but nowhere near for Reading.

At our school, really strong cohort. Close to 20% for Maths and SPAG at Level 6. Nothing for Reading. Again. 4 children very close.

One school in our local area has got one Level 6 for Reading. It's so rare that we all want to look at the child's paper to see the level of sophistication in the answers.

The Level 6 Reading test is not fit for purpose. It is not helping schools to identify the very strongest readers. For so few children to be achieving a 6 on the paper, something just isn't right. The whole test and mark scheme needs to be rewritten. Or abandoned completely.

[Pooka]

For example, ds1 should by the progression of 2 full levels from ks1-ks2 get level 6 and a good one. But I would be amazed if he did. For all he is exceptionally good at reading comprehension, as a future 11 year old I would seriously doubt he would have the maturity to respond to inference/deduction/authorial intent to such an extent as to pass the level 6 papers I've seen.

Is a shame, because the school would then not hit their target with him despite teaching him well and providing excellent differentiation and so on. Simply because he as an otherwise ordinary 11 year old is likely to lack the emotional maturity of a 14 year old.

[Chocotrekkie]

My yr 5 dd is on the g&t for literacy. I've had a chat with her teacher about next years sats.
The outcome was that teacher feels she should be reading "adult" themed novels to get to her level 6 - I've said that my sensitive slightly naive 10 year old doesn't need to read about slavery, sex, betrayal, war etc yet.

She is 10. I will continue to monitor her books until she is emotionally mature enough to deal with these topics.

She has just finished the hunger games series which I was dubious about but a lot of the girls in her class have read - and was up crying with a nightmare again last night.

She probably isn't going to get level 6 - I don't care.
Level 6 sats achievement should require a 10/11 year old to be reading "adult" books.

[GretchenWiener]

mine doesnt read adult novels.
He is the youngest of the family though - maybe that makes a difference.
He watches loads of weirdo americans talking endlessly about Minecraft.
He barely reads atm to be honest.

[Goblinchild]

One of the schools I supply at got 4 level 6 readers.
They came from very academic homes, read a wide range of books for pleasure and discuss them with their parents in depth as a perfectly normal activity.
School focuses on 7 of them as a support group for a month before the SATS, but it was more teaching them the examination skills and decoding questions. I agree that the emotional maturity is a huge component.

[Badvoc2]

Ds1 (11) got a level 5.
He reads mostly non fiction and things like he how to train your dragon series.
I think he could have scored higher if he tried the classics and more challenging texts but he just doesn't want to.
Could that be it?
I think to get a level 6 you would need a very broad spectrum of genres.

[GretchenWiener]

I'm no expert at stats. But how if 4 at one school got a 6 the national results say none did. Or as near as dammit rounded up. 4 at one school suggests it's not so rare. Surely it should register 1% did?

[Hassled]

My DC4 got a 6 in Reading last year - but 5s in Maths and SPAG. Again, youngest child but not one of life's natural readers - kicking a ball against the side of the house is what he does best.

[GretchenWiener]

I never knew what "reading " was till we got the results. Apparently it's comprehension. Who knew

[Goblinchild]

Don't know, just that the children in question were able but also interested in complicated reading at an adult level of their own accord.
Perhaps I got it wrong and the teachers were going on their own assessments, but I definitely thought that they were claiming 4 of their cohort got L6 this year in SATS.

[2kidsintow]

My DD got a level 6 in maths and in reading 2 years ago. But in Wales, it's all down to teacher assessment (or it was then, before the national tests were introduced last year) so I'm not sure how it compares to a level 6 in SATs.

[JellyBabiesSaveLives]

There were about 2,000 level 6s for reading last year. Dd got one.. Her preferred reading choice at home is Mallory Towers ... And that's only when I insist she gets off Instagram.

[GretchenWiener]

Did that show up on the nationally produced results? This year it's saying no one (or less than 1% ) got 6s

[Pooka]

Less than 1% of about 540000 children (approx, going on previous years) though! I don't know how many schools there are.

Still possible of being a fair number, and it may be that certain schools are more practised at getting level 6 passes.

[GretchenWiener]

24 thousand, apparently