SATS do you give a shit or do you not?!

[MidnightVelvetthe5th]

I do not. I have a Year 6 & a Year 2 so both are doing SATS this year. The Year 6 has had special class meetings about them & is worried about his potential scores, my Year 2 has come home with workbooks in English & Maths that were given to him 'as a present' by the teachers & he says we have to do them over the half term.

The school have put on special evening meetings for both year groups for parents to talk about how to improve their childrens scores' (I was working so had a good excuse for not attending) & I've had pages & pages of stuff come home in bookbags for my DC to do in their spare time.

My 10 year old was getting far too worried about them so basically I've taken the line that the results the children get are not important for the children themselves, they are for the school to show how good the teaching is and the new Head that has something to prove So I expect my DC to do their best certainly but I don't expect to be deluged with the bloody things or to have them encroach on holiday time.

Where does everyone else stand on them, are there parents who frantically work their way through the extra workbooks & I'm being weird by not doing so?

ProggyMat sorry I mis read your post as saying you Can't understand the value in that. I've asked for my post to be removed.

Actually I have read the thread, mum and responded as to why, for me, SATs as an assessment were of benefit to my DD.

"Luckily most aren't as you seem to believe"

I'm not sure you have the faintest idea of what I believe, to be honest; your responses don't make it clear that you've understood a word I'm saying. As I say, though, I'm more than happy to disagree with you, given the range of evidence with which I'm working.

Actually mum my DD has a scholarship at a S Indie-we aren't in a grammar area.
I sent her into the entrance exam 'cold' even though past papers were freely available.i did that as 'getting your foot over the door' , in my opinion , is only the start and I wanted to make sure the grounding she had been given at her primary school would enable her to flourish.
Now then, after her offer letter did she think she could put her feet up as SATs were of no value to her- nope! She wanted to sit her SATs and passed L6 Maths, SPaG and the reading paper.
As I've stated on another thread- full credit, in my opinion, goes to every member of the teaching team in her Primary school who throughout her time at school nurtured a love of learning.

I've just seen your post, mum- tinternet running slow!
Given the education my DD received at her Primary I get sloshed off when SATs are collapsed down to being for the schools' benefit and as such may come across as argumentative which wasn't my intention during our conversation.

That really doesn't explain, Proggy, how the SATs were 'of value to' your daughter. She wanted to do them - good. She performed well - good. She's academically capable - hurrah. But unless you are suggesting that without the SATs your daughter would have been incapable of motivating herself after getting a place at a selective private school... I fail to see what point you are making?

I used to think SATS were a big deal but since then have read on MN about (mainly?) London dc being traipsed around for 11+ and also various selective independent entrance test. OF course what is being tested is how good dc are at taking exams at age 11 rather than intelligence. It may weed out dc who are not good under pressure but do we want the country to be run by that type of person???

I was basically against SATS however dc is now surprised that I expect them to work for yr 8 exams...

Government response to Heads:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-assessments-letter-from-nick-gibb-to-the-naht

I can understand why you would, multivac
The Yr6 SATs as an assessment were of value to my daughter as, in her words 'they demonstrated what she had learned in school and gave her confidence moving forward to Secondary.
Incidentally, the information I gave about my DD was purely to highlight that Primary schools can and do provide an excellent education without the need for pressure around or inflation of Yr6 SATs.

Oh, I know that primary schools can and do provide an excellent education. I don't need SATs scores to tell me that.

So you are saying that SATs were useful to your daughter because she did well in them? Bit circular, as an argument, no? Do you think she would have been lacking confidence without them as she moved onwards with her academic scholarship?

I think perhaps you are concerned that by dismissing SATs as 'for the school' and not for the child, people are someone devaluing/belittling your daughter's efforts and achievement - and the teaching that helped her reach that point.

We're not, though.

Feenie - what do you think about the govt response?

ProggyMat Actually mum my DD has a scholarship at a S Indie

Why did your DD have to sit entrance exams for the indie if her yr6 SATs results identify what she had learned, the quality of teaching she had recieved and how your DD would perform academically in the future? Why did the Indie not just use your DDs SATs results to rank her?

No idea what a S Indie is btw unless you are referring to the likes of Eton etc. and I don't think many children just turn up on the day to sit those exams.

mum she sat the entrance exam for a selective Independent school before the end of Yr6 SATs

selective for academic ability not super selective.

ProggyMat mum she sat the entrance exam for a selective Independent school before the end of Yr6 SATs

Fair enough, I have no knowledge of the timings etc. for indie/private schools as my DCs are being educated in state schools.

I didn't realise that the "S" you put in "S Indie" meant selective as all indies are selective.

So what will the indie use your DDs SATs results for?

ProggyMat selective for academic ability not super selective.

I think, if your DD was up against more than 2,000 other children trying for a scholorship, the school must be a super selective surely?

I posted about DD's scholarship in response to your withdrawn post' mum.
There aren't any state grammar schools where we live- DD attended a State Primary and we live in a 'deprived' area.
I've no idea what her SAT results will be used for, if at all, in her current school.