SATS in Scotland primaries?

[MummyOfSunbeam]

Hi all! New to uk education system - does Scotland have SATs in year 2 and 6 primary like England?

And do they mean anything? Eg relevant to DCs getting into schools or something? I read on another thread that some parents who 'know the system' actually tutor their DCs for these and I wondered why....especially year 2 - how would that be useful? Forgive the naive query!

[MummyOfSunbeam]

Also wondering what a SAT actually is.

[mummytime]

It is an English (maybe Welsh) thing. SAT stands for Standard Assessment Test, they are tests to measure how much progress pupils have made against the national curriculum in English and Maths. It is supposed to be a measure of how well a student is taught.

They are totally irrelevant for school entry, but some secondaries do use them for setting purposes. In grammar school areas there is a totally seperate 11+ exam, which would have been taken last September.

The Scottish system is totally different. If you are moving to Scotland I would post a general request for information on the Scottish system.

[jennybeadle]

No SATs, no tests of any kind as far as I've experienced, till secondary. Even then, they're almost confidential, eg I was as far as I know the only parent in my daughter's S1 year to request the results of her tests!

At the end of each year, you'll get a report with a list of "experiences and outcomes". Depending on the teacher, this is either a brilliant assessment of how your child is doing in school, or not worth the paper it is written on.

It is a completely different system of education, a whole different mindset, and moving further from the English system with every pronouncement from Michael Gove.

[MummyOfSunbeam]

Thanks very much Mummytime and Jennybeadle. vERY interesting to hear the Scotland is spared the Gove reforms, though I am unfamiliar with those too. What is Gove doing in English schools?