To think the Yr 6 Reading Comprehension Test today was far too difficult?

[Lottielo]

Ds just home from school and very upset because he found the reading comprehension paper much harder than previous sample papers he has done in school. He didn't even finish the paper (missed out 5 questions).

Was this paper harder than expected or was my Ds not properly prepared by his school? I know it shouldn't matter too much, but I'm worried it could knock his confidence.

DD says that she missed the last four questions and that it was harder than the sample papers that they have done, some bits were hard and some were easy.
DD's friend came out of school and told her Mum that they asked a lot of questions where the answers weren't in the text - DD says there were a lot of questions which needed inference.

In a way I'm in two minds about the whole thing. On the one hand, it seems really unfair to set a test that most children will never be able to complete. On the other hand, perhaps it isn't a bad thing for kids to have a challenge.

Ds is still quite flat about the whole thing (and exhausted, which is unusual). He expects everything to be easy and when things get tough, he just gives up. He hasn't ever failed at anything because I don't believe he has ever really been challenged.

This isn't about testing the kids, it's utterly political and the kids are being set up to fail. Then the government will turn the schools into academies and lower the difficulty level of the ensuing tests.....and lo, won't the results dramatically improve then

I suspect you're bang on the money there, although our school has already been forced into academisation after a witch hunt from Ofsted saw off the previous SMT.

shouldwe - DD had a cold the weekend before last and I'm sorely tempted to say that she's not 100% over it and can't do PE tbh.

I don't generally indulge that kind of thing and I appreciate it's a great thing for lots of the kids but it seems really unfair that there's no choice for the others.

They have cricket, football & swimming lined up for them in addition to their usual PE lesson.

My ds was sobbing for at least an hour after I picked him up this afternoon, such a shame that this is what we are subjecting our kids to, when as far as I can see there is no evidence that it is in the best interest of the child or that without extra funding it will improve education for them or future years.
My ds really struggles with literacy due to dyslexia and just prior to the big change of secondary it seems really unfair to knock his confidence.

DD has a disability which means she can't run; when I got to school to collect her all of the year 6s were running round on the playground and letting off steam but DD was standing by the teacher looking totally miserable :( They do need to have something planned for the children who don't like/can't do sports.

Ds said about a quarter of the year got extra time for the test (he thinks about half an hour) and the rest of them spent the time watching a film whilst waiting for them to finish. Then they spent the rest of the day outside doing sport, which is perhaps why he is so tired. They never normally spend time outside for PE.

what would happen if you told us what the test papers contained e.g vocabulary and questions?

I haven't RTT but what is expected of 16 year olds is minimal compared to primary. Many seen to be of the view that they learnt the skills tested at KS2 for the sake of the test and stop applying them as soon as they hit secondary. There is almost no skills transfer (ex English teacher).

Seems pointless putting 11yos through this when the whole process could be undertaken over 11 years.

what would happen if you told us what the test papers contained e.g vocabulary and questions?
Surely nobody would be so stupid?

I was surprised how little spelling and grammar seemed to matter in secondary, but perhaps that will change too.

DS said he found it easier than the practice papers he'd been doing so I'd thought maybe all the 'it's harder than usual' hype leading up to the tests was just bollocks. Obviously not. Maybe he's done really badly. But he's not overly concerned and is pretty relaxed. Though tired.

Sorry to hear other DC are upset or struggled. It's not a nice way to feel at the end of the school day.

PeaceLove, some children have not yet taken the test. Details should not be shared until they all have (about 5 days).

Yep, another one who had been hearing it was much harder than all the practice papers they have been doing. How annoying.

Dd said they had lots of free, outside playtime today. They needed it by the sounds of it.

Have reported my post so it goes!

Spoke to a teacher earlier who said she'd had children in tears over it and said she thought it was closer to age 15, way too difficult.

I asked what would happen if the info was shared?

Extra time is 15 minutes. It may have appeared more as the 'clock can be stopped" for rest breaks

Those who are saying SATS don't matter - are they not being used to predict GCSE grades any more?

Has anyone seen the key stage one reading? Wondering if that is also hard?

Poor children.

DD said it was fine, she finished it, and completed all answers. She is very dyslexic, and will have done poorly, bless her, but at least she's not stressed. The test seemed to be the least important bit of her school day. The fact that she found woodlice and scared her friend with them while they were learning outside this pm was far more important to her.

Although she would have understood about what Reveal mentioned, if only it were verbal .

I really feel for all the DC who are taking SATs to heart. They are too young to have such pressure.

Hi folks. It sounds like there are still some children to take this test so just to be on the safe side, could we ask everyone not to publish too many details of what's on the papers for now? Thank you!