sats yr 2

[nicolakc]

are there going to be sats this year as have heard a couple people at school mention they thought they were being scrapped and also remember a while back, a teacher on here saying the government were thinking of scrapping them to. Have a son in yr 2 so am curious ? TIA x

I've not heard they are going to be scrapped. Ds is in yr2 so interested.

No the Y2 SATs have not been scrapped.

thanks mrz x

Sadly not scrapped but last year a few schools took a stand against them and opted out. Could it be that what you heard is that your school opted out?

I'm afraid that isn't true jayne.

Jayne, Y6 tests were boycotted by some schools (with union backing) two years ago in 2010 - but KS1 assessments were not affected.

OP, the end of Y2 assessments will give a teacher assessment drawn from lots of evidence, a small part of which is still the tests.

Mrz it certainly was true as I was working in a school at the time that chose not to do them.

Feenie I can't believe it but you are right ... It was two years ago when some schools decided not to do them. Had to check that by thinking of where I was working when!

A state school cannot 'choose' not to do them - they are a legal requirement. Heads and governors have a statutory duty to ensure they are carried out and all data is set from them - data is held centrally and the school is held accountable by Ofsted and the DfE is ensuring children make two levels progress from y2 to y6.

To suggest that this process may be in anyway 'optional' in a state school - and this from a 'teacher', too - is quite frankly utter lunacy.

From the Key Stage 1 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements (sets out annual legal requirements for heads):

*Headteachers should:
? ensure their teachers fully comply with all aspects of the Key Stage 1 assessment,
moderation and reporting arrangements;
? identify the children to be assessed at the end of Key Stage 1;
? ensure all task and test materials are stored responsibly and that children do not
have access to the materials before they are used;
? ensure Key Stage 1 tasks and tests are administered;
? ensure children?s responses to the tasks and tests are marked accurately and
consistently;
? ensure teacher assessment levels for reading, writing, speaking and listening,
mathematics and science are submitted to the local authority or other recognised
body for all children;
? ensure teacher assessment levels for reading, writing, speaking and listening,
mathematics and science are recorded for all children at the end of Key Stage 1;
? ensure teacher judgements are monitored;
? provide teacher assessment results to their school?s governing body to enable it to
comply with national data submission requirements and report to parents;
? provide parents with written reports on their child?s progress free of charge, and
provide the opportunity for discussion at least once in each school year;
? ensure the statutory requirements for the transfer of records between schools are
fulfilled, including the completion of the common transfer file;

Academies are also legally required to carry out the assessment.

I know that most schools make this as low key as possible for these young children - after all, it's run of the mill teacher assessment as in any other year, except that a small part of the process is a test (for those working at level 2 or above) and the results are reported to parents, the LEA and the DfE, but you would think that another teacher might have noticed

Joking aside, I think it's pretty irresponsible for a teacher to suggest on a public forum that this is in any way optional, Jayne, and that a school may 'choose', especially since the OP asked specifically.

Feenie surely when schools chose to boycott SATs they were opting out and choosing not to do them? In my post I was trying to see if that was what the OP had heard of with her school and could be why she was querying if SATs were not going to happen. It feels like you are looking for opportunities to point score.

Resorting to terms such as lunacy is making things personal and frankly below the belt.

Regarding Y2 assessments, you answered the OP by saying:

last year a few schools took a stand against them and opted out.

When another poster quite rightly told you this wasn't at all true, you then said:

Mrz it certainly was true as I was working in a school at the time that chose not to do them.

I find it very strange that an experienced teacher thinks that Y2 SATs are 'optional' - given that all data is driven by the progress that is made from them. They are about as far from optional as it is possible to get.

I would repeat that I find it irresponsible to give information that duff on a public forum.

Picking you up on this point of legality where an OP has asked for a clear picture of Y2 assessment this year is not point scoring - it's just fact.

I am sorry that making the statutory situation clear hurts your feelings - but I think accurate information probably takes precedence here.

Just to be ultra clear - Y2 assessments have never been boycotted (since about 1993 when they first came out.

Well I am terribly sorry for muddling ks1 and ks2 SATs in my response. However I think by saying that some schools made a stand by opting out I am in no way saying they were actually optional, but don't let that stand in the way of your point scoring.

My original point still stands, that it is possible the OP was confusing stories of some schools boycotting SATs in the past with the future existence of SATs.

Possibly.

Jayne, I'd be grateful if you stop answering any post which contradicts your own as 'point scoring'. It isn't the first time you've said this.

You seem to be confusing the importance of making the facts clear with some kind of a schoolgirls' squabble.

People may disagree with you on MN - particularly if you post inaccuracies. Making sure the statutory situation is clear isn't anything to do with scoring points, and makes you sound petulant.

Jayne it has never been true. Schools did not decide to opt out, because that would be breaking the law and the head could be prosecuted. Two years ago the NAHT and NUT took industrial action which resulted in many schools not administering the Year 6 tests (it did not effect any pupils in Y2 ).