Yr 2 SATs tests whole class invalidated?

[yanbu123456]

We have just been told today that the whole of our yr2 class SATs tests have been invalidated because one child had done one of the tests before out of school.

Why would the whole class' tests then be invalidated not just that child's? Would it be the school's decision?

I know teacher assessments are more important and we will get those and that's what their levels are based on but it seems a shame the children did all these tests for no reason (although you could argue all year 2 children do them for no reason).

Namechanged for this in case any other mum's from our class/ school are reading.

Anyone had this happen? The tests are all out there for 2007 and 2009 so it can't be that unusual a situation.

I think the head teacher is making a point to parents about using the actual tests outside of school for practise.

Could the head be trying to game the system? Maybe the test results weren't indicative of the teacher's assessment (either better or worse) so the head decided to invalidate the test due to what one child said.

If my child did a test, I'd want to know the results, I have to say. It sounds like you won't be getting them from your subsequent posts and that would annoy me.

It does sound strange reaction of the Head teacher. You are always going to get parents hothousing their children with papers. As someone said upthread- some schools give SATS papers as homework to year 2s- poor things.

You never get the test results, you get their SATs level which is derived from teacher assessment over the whole year.

You can't invalidate the results because they're not used for anything.

OP - I think the HT was just trying to stop parents from doing the tests at home. Sounds like a very pressurised school, and a very odd message from the HT.

Indigo that's not the case - parents are not given the results but they can ask for them. I'm 100% aware that teacher assessements are more important but
I don't buy this idea that the test results are not used at all. Surely the teacher looks at the tests and uses them as part of their teacher assessment in a way - they are further evidence and of course if the teacher thinks the test result is different to their ongoing assessment the latter overrides the test.

Yes girlsinwhite - that sounds possible. If the head didn't want parents questionning why their child's level was x in the tests and y in the teacher assessment.

Is there some sort of policy for such occurences - i.e. when a child declares they have done a paper before? Is it the LEA or head's decision about what to do with the tests for that child/ the whole class.

If teacher assessment and task and test results differ, the teacher assessment results should be reported, provided the judgement is based on an appropriate range of evidence from work completed in class.
from the statutory document yanbu

As a Y2 I will look at the test results but in the grand scheme of things they are pretty meaningless and won't make any difference to the levels I report.

Is there some sort of policy for such occurences - i.e. when a child declares they have done a paper before?
basically it's so unimportant nobody cares.

It's such a tiny piece of the picture that it doesn't matter. Y2 teachers have a wealth of evidence and know exactly what their children can and cannot do. I've had moderation conversations with the LEA where they actually refuse to look at the test results as evidence - weaker/inexperienced teachers sometimes use test results as the be all and end all, because it's easier, but the moderators wanted to see a much more thorough and rounded picture of what a child could do on a day to day basis. And rightly so.

In my moderation the tests aren't looked at only the childs regular day to day independent work.

I don't think people mean to be giving you grief, OP - but are exasperated with parents who tutor for KS1 SATS tests.

And schools which still make a huge deal out of Y2 tests, despite their downgraded status as assessment tools in 2005!

OP - I can understand your confusion. I didn't know much about SATS before, but have just read the thread and am none the wiser.

If these tests 'don't mean a thing' and it therefore doesn't matter if they are 'invalidated' why do they do them?

Because politicians can't quite bring themselves to trust teacher assessment 100%. A lack of understanding means that they prefer to rely on tests, even if it's just a tiny bit.

Ditto Joe Public.

Hang on this doesn't make sense. All the past SATs papers are easily available on the Internet. Were these optional SATs, where the school was reusing a past paper? For real SATs there is a new paper every year, with the usual exam security surrounding the release of the paper. How did this happen?

No, there are not new SATs every year for Y2 - teachers may use 2007 or 2009 papers. No new papers have been issued since 2009. Security is not the same as KS2 papers (or the Y1 phonics check papers).

There are only 2 KS1 Sats tests used in schools, the 2007 and the 2009 papers. The ones freely available ( and the new ones produced each year) are for KS2.

Thanks Feenie. Are the tests not very good at showing what they are supposed to?

No test shows a complete picture - only a narrow snapshot. In the bad old days, pre 2005, when test results were the only result given, we often sent children up as a grade we knew was not at all representative of their day to day working level.

I have no idea and can see it must be frustrating that your child has, in effect, 'wasted time' doing these tests which are now invalid when they could have been doing something more constructive. However at this age I don't think there's much you can do or that it's really worth worrying about.

I would be a bit more concerned about the school telling them about the tests at that age. My DD is also in Y2 - I know they have done/are doing the test this summer, but have no idea when and they certainly don't let on to the children about it.

your child has, in effect, 'wasted time' doing these tests
yes a whole hour out of the school year

There is nothing to say the OPs child knew they were doing a test at the time (although being given a test booklet is a bit of a clue however low key the school keep it) but obviously the child who had been working with a tutor knew and spilt the beans

Is that how long it takes mrz? I got the impression from my DD's teacher that they did them in dribs and drabs over the whole summer term - I have no idea of the details.

The OP did state upthread that our children all spent a fair bit of time doing these tests in school and being told about them in the run up to them.

Think overall 'booklets' took more than an hour- Reading comp/ maths/ writing tasks. Spread over a week for my year 2 ds.

I had no idea they reused the tests. I downloaded the previous tests for my son as he was getting anxious and crying in class when doing practice tests and didn't know how to approach them when a question was hard. I thought doing some practice at home would make him less anxious about this. He hasn't mentioned doing the same tests at school but how was I to know they reuse the tests?

Yes, but they aren't anything different to normal classroom activities.