Y6 SATs - what is the reading test?

[YvonneCalling]

I assume all eligible Y6's are doing this on Monday morning? DS will be out late at a music event (arranged way before we knew dates) on the Sunday, so will probably be quite tired on Monday morning.

So, my question is, is this just a reading test, or is it about comprehension and will involve writing too - ie how much concentration will it actually require!?

There's no way I am going to stop DS from going btw, I just wanted to know what he will have to face the morning after!

It's what you or I would call "comprehension" and involves quite a bit of writing. He will know what to expect, as they are bound to have done practice papers at school. Have a look at a website such as emaths (have literacy as well) or freepastpapers if you want to get an idea for yourself.

It is very much a comprehension exercise. The children have a booklet to read, about 10-12 pages, in 15 minutes ( last year's paper included an article from the Times Travel supplement!) and then roughly 25-30 questions to answer ranging from the straightforward retrieval to more complex inference and deduction questions. Not the best thing to do when tired!

Thanks for your quick replies. If DS is cream-crackered on Monday and doesn't perform to his usual standard, will his final SATs mark just be this test, or could teacher assessment bump it back up to reflect what he is capable of? DS is level 5/6 if that has any relevance.

As far as I am aware his final SATs results are his test results. This is why schools spend so long in year 6 teaching to the test!!

His school report should include teacher assessment but this will be along side his SATs results and not push his results up or down.

His Reading result will not have any teacher assessment in it - it will just be Monday morning's test.

However, his overall English result will be a best fit from both the Reading and Teacher Assessed Writing.

Ok, ta! I shall just tell DS to do his best.
So, at the end of year, we will get an individual reading test mark and a writing test mark, a teacher assessment reading mark and writing mark, plus a combined teacher assessed reading and writing mark? Phew!

I think my DC's school just give them an overall level for English from the tests ie. they don't separate the mark into reading and writing elements, so a child could get a level 5 on paper but have actually got 5b on the reading bit and 4a on the writing - which in my eyes is not a level 5 - but will be reported as a 5 (and in reality will be a 5c) Does that make sense?

Teacher assessment I guess can be as much info as your child's school want to give you, they may give an overall English TA level or separate it. Ask. I have.

Thanks Iamnotinterested. I was just musing really. I know that schools round here retest children on entry, so SATs levels aren't that important, and I am relaxed as expect DS will do enough to get level 5s. It has surprised me how some parents are getting so het up about it all though.

In previous years we have provided a test and teacher assessment for reading, writing, overall english and maths. This year however the writing level should just be teacher assessment, the test is just part of the assessment process but doesn't need to be reported seperately. Test results just come back as whole levels, so level 3,4,5 etc. It is the school that then sub levels these results.

I would be surprised if your ds didn't already know what will be involved and could tell you. DS has just brought home a previous paper which contained a story of the Emperor and the Nightingale, an interview with a conservationist, a newspaper article and some texts about different endangered species. I thought it was a LOT to read in 15 mins and then he had 45 mins to answer the booklet of questions. Some were straightforward, merely repeating bits from the texts but others were along the lines of how you thought the Emperor felt at certain times, which article you preferred and why (which was three marks so required three reasons) etc. He didn't seem fazed by it but it's a shame if you think your son is capable of doing well not to give him every chance?

Is he sitting the level 6 paper?

Because the level 6 paper is on a different day. But in order to get a level 6 he has to both pass the level 6 paper and get a 5 on the first paper.

However, sublevels are not reported. So it doesn't matter if he gets a 5a or a 5c......

annh - I think one late night before one test is not such a terrible thing! I would much rather he took the opportunity he had on Sunday night than spent it going to bed early and fretting about how important the next days test must be! As IndigoBell says, the sublevels of the test aren't reported, so whether DS does his best on the day or not, I expect he will still get a 5 (although if it were reported it might be a c rather than an a)

IndigoBell - DS is sitting the level 6 maths paper the following week, but the school aren't doing a level 6 reading or writing test. I haven't asked why, I just assume he wil get a 5 for english on the test and the the teacher assessment will be whatever it is...

Level 6 reading (and writing) is really hard. Far harder to get than a level 6 in maths. So that's probably why he isn't sitting it :)

I only know the school aren't doing the paper for anyone, but they reported that DS was 5a in reading and writing in the Oct parent's evening, so I am assuming he is level 5/6 now. I have no idea if they have been teaching level 6 in english, but they have been teaching DS and a few others separately for maths since Christmas to cover the level 6 curriculum.

IndigoBell, out of interest, what sort of stuff does level 6 english involve? I may ask DS tomorrow if he has been doing any or it

Here's the only sample L6 paper - satspapers.org/englishKS2SATS.htm

Ta, I will take a look when I get a moment