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Original poster

KS2 SATS How do teachers decide who to put in for L3 maths?

27 replies

oopsi · 23/05/2012 19:56

In the autumn term DD2s teacher said she should easily attain a L3 .She scored 26/30 on her level 2 paper but was not put in for level 3? Is this normal

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Sunscorch · 23/05/2012 19:58

Have you asked the teacher why she wasn't put in for L3?
We haven't even done our Numeracy papers yet.

mrz · 23/05/2012 20:01

Do you mean Y2 SATs?

ariadne1 · 23/05/2012 20:02

i would be interested to know the answer too.My DD scored 28 but wasn't put in for L3 as teh teacher said ahe is a perfectionist and it might dent her confidence.
It did wonder whetjher they are trying to suppress grades to get a higher value added in Y6???

Original poster
oopsi · 23/05/2012 20:03

Yes Year 2

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bigTillyMint · 23/05/2012 20:05

ariadne, that does sound suspiciously like it could be true. The bit about suppressing grades, I mean!

mrz · 23/05/2012 20:05

The school is only supposed to use one test either a level 2 or a level 3 not both so it doesn't really matter if your children had scored 30/30. However it doesn't mean the teacher can't assess your children as level 3 as the reported level.

DeWe · 23/05/2012 20:05

In dd2's class I believe they put those who scored 27 and above, and they thought were working at a level 3. They wouldn't be interested in value added, as they're an infant school.

Original poster
oopsi · 23/05/2012 20:07

Well our school is a primary (infants and juniors) so I would suspect they are interested in value added

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bigTillyMint · 23/05/2012 20:23

Oh Mrz, I didn't know that. Is it a fairly new rule that you can't put them in for a L3 if they did the L2. Is the L2 a proper test now. I am soooooo out of touchBlush

caffeinated · 23/05/2012 20:26

My dd did level 2 last week scored 27/30 about half the class did level3 at the same time on Monday her and a few others did level 3 on Monday. INfant school also, not sure of the reasoning.

mrz · 23/05/2012 20:29

It's not a case of you "can't" more a case of they "shouldn't" do more than one test and it's been around quite a long time. Level 2 has always been a proper test in KS1 although the teacher can use a reading task as an alternative.

Original poster
oopsi · 23/05/2012 20:30

Ok so some of the children in caffeinated's school did both L2 and L3 but in MrZ's school that isn't allowed.Have I understood correctly?

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mrz · 23/05/2012 20:39

No you haven't understood correctly the "rule" isn't my school's rule it is in the Assessment and Reporting Arrangements booklet which states the legal requirements for all schools in England.

caffeinated · 23/05/2012 20:48

Yes Mrz is right, as always, my dc's school is generally very by the book so a head scratching moment for me. But I have to admit I'm glad she's sat level 3 because she is capable and I was questioning the teachers assessment.

Original poster
oopsi · 23/05/2012 20:49

so i am wondering what the point of the test is.If they are put in for a level 2 then there is no way on gods green earth that they can get a 3. And what happens if they are put in for a 3 and fail to attain it, what level are they awarded? A 2? then why not put everyone in for that test?
I thought the purpose of SATS was to monitor a school's performance but this sounds very open to manipulation by the very people it is seeking to monitor.

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Original poster
oopsi · 23/05/2012 20:50

So Caffeinated I'm struggling to understand,your DD sat both level 2 and level 3 maths tests?

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mrz · 23/05/2012 20:52

oppsi the test is not to monitor a school's performance that is a commonly repeated myth.

Original poster
oopsi · 23/05/2012 20:53

I didn't make it clear in my OP I was talking about numeracy paper.

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caffeinated · 23/05/2012 20:53

The fact is teachers should have assessed what ability they are accurately, and who wouldn't pass the level 3 paper. I expect that's why the tests are only 1 piece of evidence of their actual level.

Original poster
oopsi · 23/05/2012 20:56

sorry another question- is there a time limit for completing a KS1 numeracy sats paper.the teacher said that DD2 was very distracted while doing her test and she wouldn't have had the time in class for her to sit the L3 paper.I can't understand why she is so insistent that by the end of the yr she will be up to L3 .That's only a few weeks away.

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caffeinated · 23/05/2012 20:58

Oopsi yes last week the whole class did the maths test pretty much half did level 3 and half did level 2. Dd sat level 2 and scored 27 the teacher got her to correct her mistakes and that was the end of it. Dd finished year 1 on 2c in maths so I figured she'd be a 3c at the end of year 2. She told me on Monday morning that a few of her class were taught about fractions and straight after did the level 3 paper. She said 1 question she didn't understand and she got 2 wrong.

mrz · 23/05/2012 21:07

I haven't actually done any tests yet but the Y2 tests can be administered at any point in the year so they don't necessarily have to be the same level as the teacher's final assessment.

caffeinated · 23/05/2012 21:14

Oopsi its not even til the end of the academic year, final levels have to be reported to the la in June.

Jubileap · 23/05/2012 21:31

DS1 got 29/30 on the L2 test, but he's in Y1, and I thought that was why he then didn't do L3 but I guess it's just as likely the fact they're not supposed to do both.

mrz · 23/05/2012 21:36

or he hasn't yet been taught enough of the concepts required for level 3 - decimals, positive and negative numbers, data handling ......

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