Question about Sats levels Y6 (already!)

[Vicky13]

Hi all

DD went back to school on Tuesday and went into Y6. She told me that evening that they had done a writing assessment that day, and that she hadn't written very much.

Today she came home a bit upset and said that the teacher had spoken to her for about 10 mins at the front of the class and said that she'd marked the assessment at 4b and that she wanted her to be working towards a 5a by the end of the year. She also sent home a photocopied exercise, which is about how to improve your writing from level 4 to 5+. On the last page it makes reference to being in KS3.

Firstly - I thought 4b was the expected level by the end of Y6. Am I wrong about this?

Secondly - this was one piece of writing done on the first morning back after 6 weeks off. Is it really worth panicking about?

Thirdly - Is it reasonable to single out one child in a new class and make them feel like they've failed for getting a 4b on the first morning of y6?

I plan to go in and speak to the teacher about it. I'm just venting! Should I be asking questions about what her targets have been set at? Presumably not all the other kids in the class produced a piece of writing at level 5 this week? (it's a fairly low achieving state primary, so she's not out of her depth in the class)

Thanks for any advice!

Sorry - should have added in her report at the end of last year she got a 5c for writing, which I thought at the time was artificially high, because her writing has never really been exceptional and it was a massive jump up from 3 something the year before. I suspect they've set her some unrealistic target and that's why she's getting a hard time now.

I'd definitely have a word - it's fine that they want her to reach her potential, but singling her out in front of the class is not supportive, it's demoralising. For the first day back, it's downright bonkers - everyone needs a little time to get back into 'school mode' after 6 weeks off, it's normal.

And of course the school will be under massive pressure to get as many L5s as possible, but that doesn't mean they are allowed to pass that pressure on to your DD.

Totally off. I would be in talking to teacher and I am currently teaching a year 6 class myself!!

4b very respectable level especially after 6 weeks off. It might also be worth pointing out that the new year 6 English sat is changing and is not based on a piece of writing as before, so she needs to calm down and shut up!

Sorry for your DD. tell her she is already where she should be for the end of year 6 and so is wonderful!

Thanks for advice. I've made an appointment for next week so will see what comes of that.

Laura - that's interesting about the Sats for next year. I'm finding it really hard to care if she meets targets that are only for teacher's benefit. Not sure if I'm being a bit shortsighted. Does it matter to DD if she gets a 5?

Could I jump into this thread and ask your advice; my dd has just started yr6 and was assessed asbeing at level 5b for literacy and reading, and was told that she could get level 6 for both. From reading old MN threads, it seems that this means sitting a different SATs paper - is that right? If so, is it a good thing to do? Or is it all about to change anyway? Thanks!

Holofernes the level 6 is a separate and additional paper. I don't know when it is all going to change, but I do know that it is - couldn't tell you whether there will be levels next year, even!

My DD did the L6 paper for reading and maths this year and passed both, but they were a lot tougher than the standard paper. She was invited by her teachers and chose to take up the challenge, had 2-3 sessions of training for the literacy and nothing additional for maths. She enjoyed it, but she wasn't pressured into it and if I were you I'd make sure that your DD wasn't being pressured either.

And well done, she's seriously clever!

Thanks for the info Eepies! She's said today that she's been asked to join an advanced readers' lunchtime club, and seems very keen to do it. I would have been too, at her age. Thanks again!

What's the new English sat test?

I had a meeting with new teacher yesterday as ds2 started year 5 at 4c in Maths and finished at that level.

We were chatting about how to move on ... Less distraction seems to be key area and stretching himself.

Eve the problem is that no-one knows what the new test is going to be. I suspect that includes Michael Gove - he has just more or less said that the current system of levels will go. There is a new framework of competencies for primaries which spells out in ridiculously excessive great detail what each child is supposed to be able to do at each age, but beyond that nothing concrete, only that there will be a grammar test. (I'm actually broadly in favour of that)

But with one DD going into Yr5 now and one into Yr7 I can't help but feel that both my children are going to be the guineapigs that Michael Gove is going to experiment on, and that they will get nothing better out of it than lipstick in their eyes.

Oh great... Some work all year towards a test that no-one has a clue what it into be!

Thankfully the secondary school run their own tests when they get there then stream on that and move up & down stream every term if wrong.

Eve but that is also frustrating me... DD1 was worked so hard from January until May for the bloody SATs, but next week she will be sitting CATs because the schools (rightly, IMO) don't believe the SAT scores!