This is the recent KS2 English reading test that staff and pupils thought was hard

[cakeorwine]

Key stage 2 tests: 2023 English reading test materials - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Only had a quick look - but I thought people might find it interesting

Some of the questions were ambiguous or at least not clear cut. Which word is closer to 'eat' - feeding or consume?

Consume.

Feeding was used at as different part of speech in the text, and would have been the correct answer if the question had been 'Which word is closer to "eating"?'

Personally I think that the only sensible, correct answer here is “consume”. My 11 year old also said the same. However, apparently “feeding” is an acceptable answer, which seems a bit ridiculous!

My point was aimed more at those who questioned why children were getting upset because they should be told it isn't assessing them. I don't think this approach works because children will tend to understand what a test means.

It's an odd one as giving the mark for something else hasn't happened in previous reading papers. The cynic in me says that the STA have recognised the response to the reading papers and eased the mark scheme.

What is the expected score on the reading test to get a 4 or a 5?

It looks like there are 50 marks available - so what raw score would normally be expected to get a 4 or a 5?

It is hard - there are pupils with a range of reading speeds, reading abilities and they all get given a "1 test fits all" to assess their reading and comprehension skills.

How do you design a test that challenges pupils and allows the bright ones to shine whilst also making it accessible to weaker pupils rather than reinforcing something they know they struggle with.

In secondary school, they do get streamed and (in some subjects) get Foundation and Higher papers.

From the media reporting I was expecting it to be worse. I’m tempted to try my y2 child with it out of curiosity and see what her reading speed would be. The paper is obviously much harder than the ks1 tests but the gap isn’t as big as I’d have guessed (suspect the ks1 reading paper would be impossible for a child who struggles with reading).

For me it’s the timed elements of the tests that I can see would add stress for the children and potentially made some of them upset. Why couldn’t they do something similar to the y2 sats that aren’t under timed conditions? You’d still be assessing comprehension but would give those with a slower reading speed a fairer chance to access the material, consider it etc without adding the pressure of time.