Year 6 teachers - anyone else horrified by Writing Sats results?

[minxthemanx]

The thresholds come out tomorrow, I know, but we got our papers back last week - on intial inspection, if the thresholds are similar to last year, we have only 4 level 5s (and were expecting 20+). Virtually every child has scored much lower than we predicted/have assessed them at. STACKS of input into writing over the last 3 years - 1 to 1 tuition, ingtevention groups, you name it we've done it. We're gutted. Anyone else experienced similar?

Ok, here it is: Reading Lev 5 38% Maths Lev 5 47% Writing Lev 5 10%.

Sorry to be a bore, but writing has had a MASSIVE focus in our school for several years, and this was a fairly good cohort. I cannot believe the kids who have missed a level 5 by 2 or 3 points - kids who have consistently written at a very high standard all year. Rosar, it is the children I'm upset for, as much as the staff who have taught them with passion. Those 'able' writers who we have encouraged and praised, are left with a very average sense of achievement - plus, of course, Ofsted will be straight on our backs. I really can't work out what's happened.

You've had a shite marker, that's what's happened.

it's gutting for the children and it's really bad news for the school, rosar, not for anyone's egos!
having said that, that's precisely why I would cheer if sats were banned - why should children be starting their secondary school feeling like they 'failed' at something, quite possibly just due to bad marking

If you think their writing/reading/English level should go up, then apply for a review. I have had to do this most years, and I would say around 4 out of, say, every 7 go up (they seldom concede I am right about them all). It's worth doing just to get a fair outcome.

They don't give you much time though - the closing date is a week Friday.

Feenie do they charge per script for reviewing? Or am I making that up?

Yes, Feenie - I'm going to go through the papers with of those I think were secure 5s, and if I feel the marking was too harsh, I'll appeal. Glad it's not just us in this position.

Yes, but they don't charge you if the level changes. Used to be £6 in 2009, bet it's gone up, now.

We even had to apply for a review of the review, one year. We were vindicated in the end, but they had wanted another £100 for that. It's quite a racket.

Go for it, minx. I haven't checked our borderline 5s yet.

As a head of English in a secondary school I'm relieved by the lower results. We are under horrific pressure to produce at least 3 levels of progress - so all those kids that you manage to just squeak over the boundary into Level 5 are expected to achieve a B at GCSE, even the ones that wouldn't have got the level 5 in a million years if they hadn't been intensely primed and coached before the test. We often face the situation of students who squeak a level 5 in May relaxing somewhat between May and September, meaning they actually come to us working at level 4c, or even lower, but no allowance is made for this in our target setting. It's unbelievably stressful. A few years ago, a level 5 was considered the average for a Year 9, now it's de rigeur for Year 6 students. Madness.

I'm a KS2 English marker. Marked 330 sets of papers this year. I'm sorry to say that the standard of the writing responses was pretty low this year. Out of all those I marked, I had only a handful that I would call 'very good', the majority were below average. I kept expecting to come across some decent ones, but it ddn't really happen.
Hope that helps.

this>> www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14028041

Armi we are under exactly the same pressure at KS2, with having to show 2 levels of progress from KS1. Who are under pressure to show progress from Foundation. The whole system stinks.

Can I just say, in defence of markers, we do have very in depth training. We also have to pass a standardisation test before we're permited to begin marking. We then have to pass two sets of benchmarking tests throughout the marking process. If you don't pass, you are stopped - simple.

But Armi, we aren't talking about 4a kids just squeaking past the boundary on a test. We are talking about children who work consistently at level 5 whose papers may not have been fairly marked. That's a different issue.

Whilst it's good to have a marker's perception, mintymelllons, I can't accept that there are no level 5s in this year's papers when they have been consistently worked at a level 5 all year, and some markers just aren't up to scratch. Sorry if you are one of the decent ones - but I haven't met many in our experience.

I am looking forward to spelling, grammar and punctuation tests only, and teacher assessment of creative writing next year (crosses fingers).

I understand that, mintymellons, but some terrible markers slip through - crossings out, scribbles, wrong adding up, and misapplications of reading mark schemes and writing ones which see our marks changed by as much as 20% is my experience most years. That's a lot to a one form entry primary school.

I can understand your frustration, Feenie.

I've marked for the past 6 years and always been graded as 'excellent'. This is the first year I've felt that I haven't been able to dish out many higher band marks though. It really has been a poor year.

Blimey.. you lot have my full admiration. I have long since been outside LEA control having jumped ship and defected to the independents soon after the NC was brought in. It must be awful for the teachers and your classes to be under such pressure. I know how children are drilled as my DD spent the bulk of year 6 preparing for SATS. She loathed school ,although to be fair this was a combination of the cramming and a generally uninspiring curriculum. Has anything moved on towards their abolition since last years's boycott?

It's interesting, isn't it, Feenie, because I often find that teacher assessments vary hugely between primary and secondary - what we consider to be a level 5 is often different from what primary schools identify as being a level 5. Add in the subjective nature of English marking and the desperation felt by all with regards to targets and you end up with a rickety, unreliable system that, as Clam so rightly says, stinks.

As a marker, it's depressing when you come across the same set piece responses with children shoe-horning unnecessary punctuation in to show that they know what a semi colon is or using strange adjectives in strange places.

The NAHT stood down from action this year pending Lord Bew's review. Hopefully, things will change on his recommendation.

That's your experience of 330 sets of papers - we have plenty of justified level 5s this year and three I would like to look at more closely. So able writers are in existence, sorry you didn't see many.

We don't drill, Bronte - test are as low key as we can manage, given the system. It's a shame your dd had to experience her Y6 in a school where constant practice was the norm.

If they have to shoe horn them in, then they aren't secure. But they will be in time - just not for these assessments.

I know that able writers are in existence, Feenie and I've seen plenty of them in past years, but very few this time.

My 330 papers covered nine schools from across the country - a fairly decent cross section I would say.

It is, Armi - plenty of staff moderation helps. We moderate as a staff at least 5 times a year to try to achieve consistency. Y2 is often subjected to LEA moderation in most schools.

Last year we teacher assessed only, because of the boycott, so we swapped a selection of papers with a local school. They marked most of our 4as as level 5s - they will have been very unhappy with ours, since I marked lots of their 5s as level 4s.

I don't think that's a decent cross section - depends on the kinds of schools you marked, surely, and their catchment.

I really don't think you can dismiss a whole year group across the country as not very able, imo that's quite a strange conclusion to draw from just nine schools.

It will be interesting to see the national picture when the results are collated though.

Oh dear, I wasn't intending to get into a slanging match.

All I was saying was that in my opinion, as an experienced marker, the overall standard of writing reponses this year was lower then it has been in previous years. It doesn't please me to say that.

With regard to drawing a strange conclusion from the schools that I marked, I don't know what else I could base my opinion on. I had the standard number of papers/schools (from small village ones to large inner city ones).

I will indeed be interesting to see what the national picture is.