Bad SATs Results

[Dramatic]

Our local school just released their SATs results, my friend has a child in year 6 and she shared a photo of her son's results and on the bottom it had the schools results with the pass rates for each subject in percentages.

Maths 32%
Reading 41%
Grammar 40%

Now I'm not one to think that test results are the be all and end all but these seem to be incredibly low. DH thinks I should just disregard them but AIBU to think about not sending our daughter there? It's just a Junior school so we have options to send her elsewhere in Year 3.

This is the percentage of kids who got the expected level, or the percentage of above expected?

There’s no “pass rate” as such

What do you mean by “pass rate”?

There is. The ‘pass rate’ is children who achieve Expected (age related) or above. National Average for reading, writing, grammar & maths combined last year was 61% and I think it was around 70% approx for separate subjects (I’d have to check), so yes - 30-40% of children in a school getting age related or above is exceptionally low. Are you a very deprived area? My school is in one of the most deprived boroughs of the country and our ‘pass rate’ for each subject tends to be between 60 & 70%, so even if you are then I’d still be worried. Results aren’t the be all no, but such a low pass rate tends to be indicative of other problems (poor teaching being one)

Sorry I should have been more clear. So this is the amount of kids who got expected (including greater depth) so any score 100 or above.

Yes, a very deprived area. I did a bit more digging about the school and 79% are in receipt of free school meals.

A score of 100 is the pass rate as such as it's the expected standard.

Yes, I would be concerned about these results as they are far below national levels.

However there may be some context for instance if the school in a deprived area, has a high intake of children from other countries or has a a lot of pupil movement. I know a brilliant school that always has low SATs results because it essentially meets all the criteria above. But the school and staff are brilliant and it is a much happier and supportive school than another one that has a much more white middle class intake with very high SATS results.

That's is very low.

Obviously there are other things people look at when deciding ons schools.

Of the school was just below the national average I wouldn't be bothered. I know I could do extra work at home.with my kid. And lots of reading.

The other thing to consider would be if there could be other reasons for the low scores. Do they have a large population of kids that come from abroad. Or a high SEN intake.

But that is very very low. If it was around the 50% mark I puldnt be too bothered.

But those scores are very low unless there is a specific reason.

I definitely wouldn't send my child there, no.

It's in a very white British area, very low numbers of EAL children. And movement is low too.

That particular class could have a high level of children with a learning disability such as dyslexia etc.
Next years class could have a completely different amount and the results may be completely different.
You don't know the details of the class.

If you live in a deprived area, you may find that other nearby schools aren't much different which is the case for schools in my area which is also deprived.

It won't harm to have a look at other schools but results really aren't everything and context is important.

We are in a very deprived area and our school got

Reading- 88%
Writing- 84%
Maths-95%

Combined- 80%

It was one of the better results in the area. But the area is very deprived. High non-attendance. Lots of kids going abroad during term time. But despite this they work hard to try and do their best for the kids.

As multiple PP and you have said, these percentages reflect a very deprived area, with possibly high levels of SEND/EAL children as well.

I've worked in schools with not dissimilar results and intakes and they can be happy, successful places. It totally depends on the ethos and staff. I don't think percentages alone are ever a reason to discount somewhere, though you may be wary. What's the vibe?

I think it depends what you're looking for in a school.
Some people look for high academic success, some for good SEN provision etc.
The school should be open about their results, the background behind them and be prepared to discuss them. Any defensiveness to do this would be more of a red flag to me.

I work in a school, if honestly depends on the cohort. If you have a lot of children in that year group with EHCPs and learning difficulties then they may be amazing results for that cohort. Look at the last few years to gauge a better idea

It does seem very low. Is it possible there’s a high level of SEN children or others who haven’t taken SATS but have been included when working out percentages of how many have achieved expected or greater depth?

Depends if your dd is likely to be in the top third of the class or not.

Have you checked the results for the last few years? Remember that in small schools, one child can represent a big percentage and skew the results.

How big is the year. In a very small school every child makes a big difference which means the year on year variation can be big. In a small class with one or 2 not taking it for whatever reason you are already at a best case scenario of a maximum of 85% or 90% passing

No I wouldn't send a child to this school. Obviously it reduces their chances of doing well academically.

Even if I had the brightest child in the world, it would be a no. I would see that and think - distraction, disinterest, disruption.

She's in Reception so it's hard to tell but she's done well this year. I can't seem to see the results for previous years, any idea how to get hold of them?

For those asking it is quite a small school, one class per year so a max of 30 kids.

Which would be a valid point if the scores were around , or just below (even by 10%)national average.

However in this class, more than half the children did not meet ARE . That is concerning, regardless of the cohort and pupil numbers.

Our school has a high number of children with SEN, those with EAL and those getting free school meals compared to the national average. The SATs results are still in line with the national average (or above). Yes the school's intake has an impact but those results are very low. I would want to understand why.