Hi There,
This year the SATs writing papers were assessed in a variety of ways! Some schools, like yours, did internal moderation. Some schools sent off their papers as per previous years for external marking. Some (like mine) internally assessed and then paid for an external marker to do a random sample.
In the internal moderation, a range of work should have been used to make the assessment. This would be a portfolio of work from Year 6, including the SAT task, but low performance on the SAT would not necessarily lower the final assessment, unless the teacher felt that their test performance was a true reflection of their independent writing...in other words, in theory, the class teacher is the final decider on the ability of the child, based on independent writing done throughout the year.
If the class teacher assessed her as a level 6, that is what she should be reported as. Unfortunately, I fear that some schools are under pressure to lower their assessments because it will look as if they are taking advantage of internal marking and 'up-levelling' their students.
You could ask to see the APP evidence from Year 6, of course, but it is worth remembering that the expectation for Year 6 is a level 4 and that most secondary schools reassess Year 7 during the first term anyway! Your daughter should be very proud that she has produced level 6 quality work this year, the rest is just a numbers game, most probably. She is obviously an excellent writer and that will shine through, no matter what. Her teacher has got faith in her, so have you, and her secondary teachers will spot her talents almost immediately.
Hope that helps...frustrating I know, but head teachers are walking a tightrope over this year's SATs and I know the reason for our expensive external moderator was to protect us from claims that we had cheated.