To be worried about my daughter's SATs results

[Satsblues]

We've had DDS SATs results through. She's got below expected for all of them. I knew her maths would be well below but was so hoping she would scrape through on expected for English as she's worked so hard with it and made so much progress. (I'm so proud of her for this).

We've deliberately played it really cool on the SATs as no need to stress her out. But must confess I am worried for her going into secondary - I've heard sats are used to predict GCSE grades etc and low marks indicate she's likely to not do well with these. I don't plan on telling her the results as I don't think its helpful, but I'm not sure what I'll do if she asks me as I guess some kids are bound to discuss it at school tomorrow.

Can anyone reassure me/give me more info on how they are used. Or if your child got similar results how did you/did you discuss it with them?

My dd was just under average, she's struggled in the last few years but works exceptionally hard. Had a tutor and picked the next steps based on her just not being academic. But.. she's thriving, expected a distinction in one subject, has a job, sixth form place confirmed doing btecs. Use her strengths rather than focus on tbe negatives and in 5 years support her daily. Treats, Weekend treats and lots of praise has got us through, if it's mostly 3s it is not without trying in her part and she knows I'm proud of her and don't pin everything on some government memory tests, there are other routes

Hi, My son got his results today! He worked really hard at SPAG and writing so achieved expected in that but low on the reading/ maths!

My son has ADHD and has worked really hard in other areas that will benefit him in secondary school I.e focusing/ organisation and independence! I’ve told him I’m very proud of him and if he puts the work in at secondary school he will definitely improve in the other areas!

They will likely use the grades as a starting base for secondary school but that can change as they go along. All kids learn differently and I’m sure she will get there 😊

Is she Year Six? Don't the results normally get published end of May?

They take them in May. Results came to schools last week.

SATs data is used to set GCSE target data for children at Secondary. As a teacher, I find it can be really damaging as I’ve seen pupils with ridiculously high target grades who feel they are failing as they go through school and I’ve often thought when my own do SATs I’d be happy for them not to do too well as a result!

The worst that can happen is she might start in some lower sets in Y7 if the school streams pupils as that’s the data they go from, but that can usually change after the first term if she works hard.

She’ll probably have relatively low target grades for GCSE which means the pressure is reduced and she can just do her best. No bad thing IMHO.

What were her standardised scores? How close to 100 was she?

When talking to her, try and find the positives and talk about what she needs to do next. ‘The test told us you’ve cracked (fractions/finding quotations) and next we need to work on (using commas/times tables)’

good luck! Never easy.

Reenskar this has happened to a child I know, predicted 7s and 8s from Sat's data, lucky if she gets 4 4s now and sadly it has been seen as a natural disappointment for the parents and teenager.

She’ll have lower target grades based on her SATs results, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she will only ever achieve low marks. It’s mostly just to provide a starting point so schools can show that they are successful at supporting children to progress. I wouldn’t worry about it. If anything, it might highlight a few areas she needs help with and she might get the benefit of a bit of extra support.

Mine didn't take his National Curriculum assessments (we were on holiday as the date of the tests changed after we had booked) and his grades were predicted on teacher assessment, which was wobbly because he changed schools halfway through the first term of year 6 due to bullying. The secondary used that plus their own assessments to predict grades. And don't forget predictions are just that. They don't mean your child will be destined to do poorly. These results could however help her next school to set appropriate work to help her reach the levels - if it was just the test pressure (not from you but from actually sitting them) then that will be picked up in year 7.

In terms of discussing it with her, just say that she did well, you know she tried her best and you’re so proud of her. Keep it simple and uncomplicated.

@cheninblanc thanks for that - it is great to hear your dad is thriving having found things she enjoys. I really hope this happens for my dd.

@Reenskar your take on it is really interesting re the grades and not having undue pressure. She has had some anxiety/mental health issues so definitely a lower pressure environment would be better. I just don't want her to be 'written off' at age 11!

@Scarydinosaurs her English scaled scores were around 95/6 so not sure how close that is in 'real terms'. Maths 84 so low - but expected - sadly.

@cheninblanc it’s one of my biggest gripes. Some children I teach work exceptionally hard to attain say a Grade 5 in my subject (that they did not study at primary!) and are rightly proud if they do, but according to their targets they have failed and so have I!
A pupil once asked a colleague- “why do I have such high target grades?”

She explained about SATs and the pupil replied-

“oooh- that must be when we sat in the hall and the teachers told us what to write”

Not suggesting at all this is common practice but there is a lot of pressure on Primaries for good SATs results......

My daughters maths was dreadful and we've had a tutor, a uni student, that's supported her this year. When the time comes get flash cards off amazon, past papers. Confidence is half the issue so build her up over 5 years to be proud whatever. It's a prediction and come that day in August it is what it is and I can assure it doesn't close options, just gives different ones

Some secondaries do CAT4s as well, as they can pick up skills and difficulties without the limitations of SATs, as there's no extended writing with sodding fronted adverbials and the like. It also removes some of the effect of teaching to the test or over optimistic schools wanting to show improvement from KS2.

@Satsblues she definitely won’t be “written off”. SATs data only a starting point. Am sure she will be fine. Any issues I would ask the school (squeaky wheel gets the grease).

@NeverDropYourMooncup don't get me started on things like fronted adverbials! 🤣 I still don't properly get them and I have a master's in English! I've really tried to foster a love of reading and stories with dd as I guess it's what I can be enthusiastic with and she's really grown to love reading and creative writing. (Doesn't help much with the nitty gritty of grammar and punctuation tests though!)

V few secondary schs use SATs data as they vary so much from primary to primary on how well prepared they are etc etc Most sec schs do CAT tests & reading tests either during y6 transition week or start of y7.

To reach the expected standard, children need a scaled score of 100 or higher, so the English ones aren't miles away. Maths was hit hardest in many schools due to lockdowns, and you say the low score was expected anyway. As a teacher, I think setting SATs this year as though Covid never happened was ridiculous. Please don't worry too much - secondary teachers will do their best to fill gaps and move her learning along.

Secondary will usually do their own tests to set her.
Yes her predicted grades will be low. It’s a double edged sword as if she’s predicted low grades she might not be a pushed eg a 3 will be seen as exceeding whereas in 5 years she might actually be capable of more.
Do you know what her issues are. Would she be willing to work with you a little or a tutor. Not worksheets but things like library reading challenge or some online maths may boost her confidence.
I’d also want to know what secondary have in place re interventions.

Hello! Primary assessment expert here...
Reading test...if she got 95 as scaled score then that is around 22 marks out of 50. Not great but not very far off the expected score. Does she read at home? Does she read for pleasure? If not, she needs to be!

Maths test...a scaled score of 84 converts to 8 out of 110 marks. Are you sure this was her scaled score? To only get 8 marks out of 3 tests sounds outrageously low for a child who doesn't have serious SEN.

You can download the 2022 scaled score conversion tables online to double check.

Next steps: the school can download a PDFs of your child's marked papers. I would be asking the HT to do this so you can check the tests and see what she needs to work on. Then I'd be contacting her secondary school and asking about summer school opportunities or enrolling her in with a tutor/intense extra lessons eg Kumon if funds allow.

OP, don’t worry. 11 is so young. I didn’t do exceptionally well at 11, except for in English which I loved. Started thriving from year 9 and beyond when I could pick some of my subjects. I got perfect GCSEs and A Levels, a 1st Class degree and a Masters. So your kid has loads of time to find her way and do well.
And who knows- maybe she won’t be a big exam buff, and that doesn’t matter either. Loads of my friends have done just fine without being high academic fliers. Pressure off and enjoy the summer.

@MonsteraMother thanks for your comments. Re English she reads a lot independently at home for pleasure. Not so much to an adult - so I will aim to do more of this over the summer.

Maths that is definitely her score. She has no Sen identified for her maths. Though as mentioned has had issues with anxiety. She's had a maths tutor that we have found - but progress has been very slow as she gets very stressed about maths.

I wouldn’t worry about it to be honest. Not every kid is going to be top of the class. My lad wasn’t very academic and only just scraped a few GCSE’s but he is a grafter and had done well for himself. It’s not the end of the world. As long as they are brought up to be nice people and have the work hard ethos, they will be ok.

@Mariposista thank you 😊. What a nice reassuring post - I agree 11 is very young to make all these judgements. Absolutely she doesn't have to be an academic high flier. I'd just love her to find 'her thing' and enjoy and thrive whatever that might be.

And don’t worry - she absolutely will. Primary doesn’t always allow kids to shine - it’s all very much everyone doing the same thing. But when she goes to secondary (which in itself will be a massive challenge at first) she will study a much wider variety of subjects (separate sciences for example) and get some choice later on. If I look at some of my more ‘successful’ friends and think of how they were at 11, you wouldn’t guess they would be where they are now. 11 is a very young child still - I still played with toys at that age. Don’t worry, she will do just fine! As ling as she enjoys school, is well behaved and has some nice friends, she’s doing well.