SATS CRAPPED FOR 14 YEAR OLDS HURRAH!!

[forevercleaning]

at both title and topic

PMSL at the typo!!!

How very, very apt!

I had a parent/teacher meeting for my Year 2 son today ad was told that they were not doing SATS for Year 2's anymore??? Have only heard about 14 year olds on news though???Anyone know?

I have been skipping round the house for the last 15 mins. This really is unbelievably fantastic (especially for English).

Great news

But why are they scrapping these ones first? I don't agree with any of them, but of al the ages I suppose these are the easiest to justify (older children, preparation for GCSE etc etc etc) Surely it's the KS2 ones that really need to go?

Excellent news although a long way off for my DSs. KS3 exams were pointless given how close they were to GCSE's. Surely GSCE results are enough of a measure of a school?

According to our Headteacher, they are planning to make KS2 teacher assessed like KS1 and fitted in around normal school work so the pressure will be greatly reduced. No mention of that development in the links though.

I don't think they will ever get rid of kS2 entirely. They have had exams at 11 for decades (11+ for example). I didn't do 11+ but I remember taking tests in the last year of juniors and that was 30 odd years ago.

Fabulous!! Now let's try to make them get rid of the Yr 2 ones next, and then the Yr 6 ones. Anyone up for a petition!

Actually, I really, really hope the KS1 ones are on the way out - they had Jim Knight on the radio yesterday defending the KS2 ones (which actually I think are the only ones with a whisker of a chance of defence, although I think they should be done differently) but making no mention of the KS1 ones at all. So please, please, please, let's hope he gets rid of those ones next (and before DD1 has to do them next year ).

lol!

Ed Balls was on Today. Insisting that they can't scrap the yr6 SATS because there has to be an objective assessment of childrens' abilities at that stage. Which is sad really. He employs the teachers and he is telling us we can't trust them .

FWIW, DS's SATS results were late. So we got the school report with his forecast results before we got the real results. The teachers has given him one mark lower on 2 of them, and were spot on with the third. So I reckon they assessed him pretty well. I'd hate to be a teacher when the govt regards them with such little respect!

Most children here get reassessed in their secondary school anyway.

I heard him too, OrmIrion, and didn't you hate the way he was so sceptical that schools would actually be teaching to the tests, it was like he couldn't believe that would be the case, when he and his ilk have pressurised schools to do just that.

I've had 4 dcs through primary school (youngest facing the yr 6 sats now) and believe me, Mr Balls, they do.

Yep. As if every impartial observer doesn't say exactly that! And quite a few partial ones too .

DS#1 did nothing but SATs practice for at least a term. I don't blame the school, it was in special measures and had to get the very best results it could. But exactly how is that educationally productive? Yes DS is very good at filling in SATs papers. Big deal

Jim Knight was on yesterday, and it made me realise how much they are OBSESSED with league tables and parental choice Basically saying they have to have Yr 6 SATs because otherwise how would parents know if a school was any good (err, by visiting it?!) He studiously didn't mention Yr 2 SATs, but if his argument was going to be that Infant Schools (where they exist separetely as opposed to Primary schools) also need to be put into a neat and tidy order in a league table by exam results, I was preparing to spit my tea at the radio!!

All sats have been scrapped in Wales. the seven year olds were scrapped about 8 years ago and the 11 and 14 year olds were stopped a couple of years ago.

it says here you should write to your MP about scrapping KS1 SATs.