Speaking and Listening Sats result

[sittinginthesun]

Just had DS1's report - very pleased with it as he is a lovely boy, and the report is a very fair snapshot of his personality etc.

Our school does not give out sats scores like many other schools seem to, and it the first time that we have been given any. I was surprised that Speaking and Listening is shown as a separate score. Is this usual? How do they measure it - is it from speaking out in class?

Not worried, just curious.

Also, although we had a slip of paper setting out differences between 2A, 2B and 2C, the Speaking and listening score is just shown as 2.

Don't know exactly how it is assessed but speaking and listening is reported separately from other parts of literacy.

And speaking and listening (and science I think) are both given as levels without the sub level letters.

It's a teacher assessment like the others, but with no test supporting the evidence. It is only required to be reported as a broad level judgement, like Science.

It's measured by listening to children in class, watching them in drama situations, or working as a group, etc.

Ah, I see. Thanks for the quick replies. Thank goodness for MN. I don't have a problem with the school not giving out regular "scores", but as DS1 is my eldest, I haven't got a clue really:)

Speaking & Listening covers lots of types of oral work - contribution in class, speaking formally and informally, paired and group work, drama and role play, etc. It's not officially assessed by the SATs but included in teacher assessment. It's good practice as it acrries on being assessed through KS3 and KS4 and is part of the assessment for English GCSE

Thank goodness they didn't do this when I was at school - I was terrified of speaking in class, hated drama and still dry up if I have to do any public speaking. I am going to give DS1 a big hug now for his Level 2:)

Does it penalise a quieter child in a group of extroverts? Or is it about the relative quality of any contribution to a discussion etc?

No it doesn't penalise - or it shoudn't do. It should give opportunities for children who don't stick their hand up every time and dominate discussions to develop their skills in speaking for different purposes and improve their listening skills.

It's very rarely about standing in front of a large group and speaking: there's loads more to it than that. A good teacher will make sure everyone is involved in a way that builds confidence and the more extrovert kids will learn that there are a variety of ways to achieve, including listening and supporting their peers.