Bloody SATS

[Ledkr]

I know they are important to schools but its madness at dds school. They've gone on and on at them a out it for months, extra homework, extra lessons and generally created a great deal of expectation and stress.
Poor dd gets migraines and they are currently rife due to her worry over sats. She thinks they will impact on her going to her already allocated secondary school.
Then yesterday she came out with a list her teacher had given them. Apparently it's bed early a d a good breakfast (preferably cooked) which obviously all children need everyday.
It seems ott to me but hey.
Anyone got any comparisons?

Well DS2 survived the day. Level 5 paper in the morning, Level 6 one last lesson. He says it was 'ok'.

From my own school and college experience "pressure" didn't help at all, my best work was always when I was relaxed and free to think about what I was doing.

There are those who say they thrive on pressure, perhaps it's a question of how much, we are all different and that's precisely why good teachers need the freedom to do what they know is best.

When working as a specialist teacher, individually adjusting the approach to each individual gave a 70% success rate, when the tick boxes arrived this dropped to 43%.

DS1 loved the SATS reading comprehension today. He is a mad keen Jungle Book fan and has read it so many times so it really boosted his confidence to have it in the test today.

All in all it was an interesting paper for him and he thinks he has done really well. Mostly he was just happy because the year 6 kids are allowed to take chocolate in to school for break time this week!

I wish it had been about Minecraft/FIFA13/Top Gear.

haha yes they would have all loved that. At least it was vaguely interesting for them though. I've heard some years have been dreadfully boring.

I just wowed dd with my magic powers of knowing what the paper was about. She was shocked for all of ten seconds then glanced at my I phone and said "mumsnet" and rolled her eyes.

I did that too Ledkr. he was all 'how did you know?'

The verdict in this house was that the L5 paper (wolves, Jungle Book) was 'easy' and the L6 (sporting endeavors from what I could gather) was 'really hard' with no multiple choice answers.

DS3 found the level 6 paper really hard as well. TBH, I only found out last Friday he was doing it. Bit of a surprise as while he is good at maths, I didn't think his English was up there. After doing this paper I guess I was right!

Last years L5 paper was extremely hard, to the point that DS's teacher said he was convinced it should have been a L6 paper! I'm glad they got an easier ride of it this year!

DS is still sneezing and groaning, but wants to be there earlier tomorrow so he's first in the queue for breakfast

DS2 says the 'Going the Distance' Level 6 paper was ok, but the very first question was a 3 point one. i don't know why this bothered him but he seems very obsessed with how many points a question carries.

Same here Ellen. I knew ages ago ds was doing maths L6, but the teacher decided to put him in for everything recently.

He's good at maths, but the rest? Distinctly average imo!

I feel a bit sorry for him sitting both papers all week.

My dd is glad today is over. It was the test she likes least. She thought the level 5 this morning was fine but the level 6 this afternoon was difficult, as others have said.

BTW according to my DS's timetable the morning paper was a level 3/4/5 paper and not just a 5 ! The so called "expected" level is still a 4.
I think it's a bit daft to have an "expected" level though. Clearly some children will get a 3 and some a 5 and for many either of those will be good for them - representing their own best work and effort.
Just like they don't come with a manual they don't come in a standard format either
Pet hate is when the politicians say "every child should pass ...."
Oh really, and what about the many with special needs and individual differences ?

D1 said he preferred the topic on the Level 3-5 reading, but that the L6 reading was OK too - he said it was more straightforward than some of the practice papers they have been doing.

He isn't looking forward to tomorrows though. Thankfully he is not doing the L6 GAPS.

Question please for teachers/TA. Do you check the papers while you are helping with invigilating.
Reason being my dd was told off by the Ht for not finishing her test. She didn't give her the opportunity to say a word. Came home in tears.

Yes, level 4 used to be the average. To turn an average into a target seems a bit, hmm, ignorant? My DS3 could teach them a thing or two about statistics!

Midas poor dd how dare the ht do that. Dd missed out four questions she not I could care less she just wants her hair on bendy rollers

We're not allowed to check them - but you couldn't help but notice a child not finishing. Not much point telling them off though, unless they were sat doing nothing?

Dd thought this morning's paper was confusing as it jumped around and was asking about the pictures when it's supposed to be reading

She thought this afternoon was easy

She often does this and thinks the harder papers are easier -strange child

Was told by TA to leave 3 marks questions and didn't get the chance to finish. Left about 8 marks undone.

DS2 had a mini-wobble just before bed last night, because reading comprehension is his weakest subject. He has very little confidence in his ability to infer things (reading 'between the lines') in reading comprehension, due to his ASD. What he infers is not always what the author was trying to imply!

He felt the reading went OK though. He is hoping for a strong level 5.

Tomorrow (SPAG) is a long day for him as he has three papers. I have tried to give him a pep talk about keeping his handwriting legible.

To be honest, he was more thrown about having to have a bottle of water and a mid-morning snack (both outside his usual routine) than anything else.

We are still wading our way through SPAG homework here. He's done the Maths past paper and now we are on 'superlatives'. Bedtime looms....