What percentage of kids get level 6 in KS2 SATS?

[Dodo76]

How common is it to score level 6 in SATs? Do many kids manage this or just a few?

All the kids I know with level 6's were naturally bright and pushed by the school - not the parents.

This was 15 years ago, but one child got it in English, one in Maths and several in Science (year group of 50; private school with good results). It doesn't sound like it's got much easier since. Level 8 (?) a few years later seemed much easier to get and about 20 got it in Maths.

I think the difference in percentages between reading and maths is because the reading is proper L6 and the maths is more like L5 with knobs on.

No. A higher level in maths is less dependent on maturity than one in English. That's why some 11 years olds have GCSE maths, or higher, but it's not something you really hear of in English. Also, maths is, by its very nature, less dependent on language. DS1 has ASD. He should hopefully meet the expected level 4 in English (though that partly depends on whether the wind was blowing the right way when he sat the reading paper) but is sitting the level 6 maths paper and has been thriving on the work, even though, until a year ago, his participation in maths lessons has been part time, at best, so he is largely self (and mum) taught and had a few gaps.

^^ this a level 6 answer for english would be looking for quite in depth answers, drawing parallels or contrasts to other texts / themes, reference to current issues etc. The sort of thing that goes beyond understanding the author's use of words.

I feel bad that I didn't even know it was SATs week , dd has been put in for the level 6 in reading/spag will be interesting to see what she gets. Think she is just glad that the whole pushy sats thing will be over at school, has done her head in.

dougierose - where did your friend's son do his level 6 SATs ?- I didn't think anyone did them in 2009 - they were abolished several years ago and only reintroduced in 2011/12

Just been looking at the stats for last year at the school I work at - 24% got Level 6 in Maths and 22% in SPaG, but only 2% in Writing and 0% in Reading

About 10 out of 30 in DD's class are sitting L6 maths, fewer for literacy - teacher told me the reading SAT was marked particularly hard last year and no one in the borough got an L6.

ourvye,

I agree with what you say about maturity, but underlying my point is that L6 maths really has very little L6 in it. Hence my L5 with knobs on comment. For example, if you look at 2014, how many questions do you see that require L6 knowledge?

It is another story with English reading.

DS2 was the only one in his year to get a Level 6 (Maths), in Year 6.

The school seemed to think it was a big deal, so I assumed it must be quite rare.

Wow, the odds aren't great for achieving level 6 are they?!
Dd has been put in for level 6's but we haven't pushed her or done any studying at home, she did a few of the practice papers school sent home over the easter hols but that is it.
8 children from her year group of 90 have been entered (not sure if theyve been entered for everything or one or two) and they've been told by school that it's just to see how far they can go.
Personally, I think it's about school results as dds senior school say they retest for their own grouping and measures, so I'm not interested in pushing dd for her schools gain.

I just hope no one gets their confidence dented by perceived 'failure' to achieve such high targets.

Maths - our school usually has 4 or 5 out of 60 get it.
English - dd got L6 for writing, but was first ever (and only one so far!), she was assessed as L6 for reading by teacher, but not by the test, but was L6 for SPAG, and again I think she was the only one.

Fwiw, the levels all change a bit in Y7 anyway, as they are re-assessed and settle into secondary. Ds1 definitely coasted along at that L5-6 range for a bit, he's Y9 and on mostly L7s, with the odd L6, the odd L8, and one E (beyond level 8, but that is a special case). Dd is Y7, and is on mostly L6s, and a few L7s, but her teachers maintain this is v unusual, so definitely not the average for Y7.

Goblinocat I don't teach in an area with selective schools. I teach in an area with social (and indeed academic) deprivation. The majority of my pupils go to the local secondary school. There's no discussion of further options. One of my pupils is considering a graduate profession,...and he'll get the L6 without even trying.
Our pupils enter school with abilities very much below national expectations. They finish KS1 mostly on 2c/2b (about three of them got a three). I teach them for the entirety of UKS2 and my class are currently on track to leave with 90+% level 4 and 50+% level 5. That's great, but quite frankly, there's no need to put pressure on them to get to the six. The few, who won't get to the four, also don't need to be constantly told that it's a life-defining moment. It isn't. I want my class to do their best. I want them to show off all the hard work they have done. However, if they do have a bad day, their brains don't work that time or they just don't get it and don't get their target level in their SATs, then the world won't end, either. Believe it or not, I actually have piles and piles of evidence, backing up my teacher assessment for each child. So if their secondary school merely decided based on a poor SATs result, there's still a lot of paperwork I could dump at their front door to prove the test wrong. Most of them don't. My assessments reach them much earlier than SATs results,...and they do their internal ones anyway.
I've spoken to colleagues at other schools, where the year 6s were in tears during the papers. That's just madness.

My dd is doing L6 across the board. We have studied at home as the school has sent work home and we have spent time working on her maths. When it comes to education, we are lucky with dd. If she doesn't understand something she wants to figure it out. I will often find her and dh going through maths so he can explain in a different way so she grasps it.

This is down to her, its just how she is. If she doesn't get it right, she is eager to find out why and better understand it. It makes school a lot easier as, at the moment, she doesn't have to be pushed to learn. She is actually loving the SATs work and enjoyed her first exam yesterday. They went in early and had breakfast together and did the reading one. DD seems quite nonchalant about the L6, she sees it as a bonus extra. Not stressed at all. I didn't realise it was such a big deal. Her best friend is doing it too and she is the same. Completely unstressed by it all.

Their teacher is very good and has been very careful not to stress them out about either, so that helps.

Dd has been put in for her level 6s with 6 other classmates. One of the teachers were congratulating her and said she was in the top 5% of the country. Not sure if thats true.

But OP how can your friend be bragging about levels when they haven't been marked yet? I thought the results came back in July?

Only 2 children in our entire LEA got L6 last year. None in our school. The percentage for maths looks very different.

Our school are optimistic this year with a good cohort. ds and several others are entered across the board. we'll see. ds is fine about it and enjoys them.

Sorry that should say L6 reading for the 2 children.

Less than 10%, DS did get it at the end of year 6 and of course we were pleased, but it is not genius level. Just well-read, bright normal.

L6 maths often has to be "undone" at secondary -

they cannot teach the full level 6 curriculum at primary school, so hothouse and cherry pick to the test - leaving a lot of kids thinking they are bright L6ers when they really have huge gaps that they need to fill in

also often leads to a backwards step - "but he was L6 when he arrived, why is he only a 5A now? this school is shit" when tests are done internally across the whole curriculum.

Not always - dd1 was level 6 in English - now in year 7 she was given a gcse paper as she was bored and was three marks off a c. She is at level 7a for core subjects

Dd2 is siting l6 as well - I am the most Unpushy mum and the school is small varied and not super performing or super academic

My DSs go to a selective independent which is very highly rated and has won independent prep school of the year recently. Its a very academic school.

Last year's sats results are published on the website

Level 6 maths - 38 % of year group achieved
Level 6 Grammar and punctuation 32% of year group achieved
Level 6 Reading 0% achieved.

FWIW

Level 5 Reading 91%
Level 5 Grammar and Punctuation 94%
Level 5 Maths 89%

That wasn't a stealth boast post btw it was just showing that even at a very academic independent school level 6 is not easy to achieve.

One child from dd's primary got a level 6 last year.

Mumsnet has a high number of clever children.

As a precious poster said secondary school spend a lot of time unpicking the level 6 work done at primary.
I teach English and there were only three level sixes out of the 200 in the year that came through. They were less able creatively than some level fives, yet very good technically. To get an A* (or whatever it will be!) the key word is flair - the level 6s seem to lack this and it's a skill that can't be taught

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