SATs - aibu to opt out, withdraw child from testing?

[MrsOprah]

I did my SATs 20 years ago. Think they were a fairly new concept in the 90s(?) They were fine, scored well, no pressure really was bright child and did extended papers too.
Was described as a way to know where to level kids, results were used by secondary school to decided if you'd be in top-mid-low set for maths, sci, eng.
Obv longer term it has no affect on earnings potential, not put on cv or uni application, so minor benefits had as the test taker.

Nowadays, they seem to be a HUGE deal. Masses of pressure, painted as important! All for schools benefit. Not for kids well being. On that basis, WIBU to ask/decline for my child to sit the tests?

And fucking hell OP don't depress me with how long ago SATs started - we were the first year to do the KS3 Maths and English ones with the brand new shiny full 10 ringbinder National Curriculum and I'm already feeling horrifically old at a Big Number Birthday looming next month!

@rainbow ikr
..cant believe iv got a kid doing SATs, i only did my own yesterday lol, age gets to us all ;)

@waffles80 - thanks for the link

Some blogs on SATS:

debrakiddmum.wordpress.com/2018/05/15/sats-boycott-2018-the-story-so-far/

debrakidd.wordpress.com/2018/05/16/wake-up-were-doing-this/

can'tkeep By formal testing, I meant government imposed testing.

Y6 DGD has enjoyed her week. The testing has been part of it, but there have been treats at school too. Y2 DGD at a different school hasn't worried about hers either.

How different schools approach SATS seems to be key to how the children feel about them. Also parents not making a big deal of them takes pressure off.

Then you will need to remove your child for all of Y6 (because of the chance that your child, on any given day) might do examples from 'government imposed testing' under 'formal test conditions'.

And probably much of Y2.

And, in many schools, a few days at the end of every term, when tests of a somewhat similar style are taken as part of the school's normal assessment cycle.

The SATs themselves are not 'uniquely harmful' to a child. Withdrawing them just for the 10 days necesasary to avoid taking them in y6 would be, in fact, to take away a very tiny part of the issue you are worried about. IME it is the PREPARATION that is harmful, and, again IME, if you want a child to avoid all the 'formal testing that looks like government mandated formal testing' you would need to miss all of Y6.

As a teacher, reading these comments, I find many of the arguments for withdrawing hypocritical as I wonder how many come from parents who carefully studied oftsed gradings and league tables and ensured they bought houses with outstanding schools near by. How do you think schools get those ratings - SATs results! For what it’s worth, league tables and ofsted gradings are a load of crap and are far from a good way of really judging the merits of a school. There’s also a lot of blaming the teachers and schools but the majority of teachers and heads detest the SATs system and the rigidity of the curriculum. The blame lays at the hands of the DFE and the government and the ridiculously high acccoubtability measures placed on schools. The system is highly flawed but direct your anger at the right door.