KS1 Sats 2016?

[Mummyzzz]

Slightly puzzled by SATS... Can anyone help? DD and a few others are going out of class to do level 3 reading comprehension practice. Presumably in preparation for a level 3 paper. Is the level 3 paper the same as the level 2 but with extra questions?? Is there also a level 3 paper for maths? I thought they'd got rid of 'levels' for 2016? Any SATs gurus out there....?

There isn't a level 2 or a level 3 paper
In May all children will take the new tests and will get a scale score which will indicate if they are meeting expectations or not.

It sounds as if they are using old papers to practise.

DS school had a meeting about this recently. We were told all the kids will take the same papers for everything , they're expecting that some won't finish it but encouraging them to have a shot.

And yes they've got rid of levels in the level 2/level 3 sense. Schools are allowed to track progress however they like; that could include using old levels, but they wouldn't directly match up to new NC targets for any particular school year.

When are the sats taken? Is it soon?

May

It's not a single date like the KS2 ones, they are doing it small groups at a time and the teachers can help with reading bits and stuff (except the reading papers of course).
DS is doing some in April as his school are part of the test group they're using to set the scaling, but yes mostly in May.
Have your school not sent out any information? Ours had a meeting about it and double checked at parents' evenings too.

I was just reflecting on my attitudes to SATS.

When dc1 was in Y2, I went to the parents' meeting, knew a little bit about the 'levels' and actually felt that the level given to my child made some sort of sense.

Two years later, I couldn't make the parents' meeting and couldn't care less, and have no understanding at all of how these tests will be assessed other than that it seems that an awful lot of children will think they've 'failed' or are 'not meeting expectations'.

I honestly can't understand the rationale for not letting them use number lines or squares. Being able to access appropriate help is an important life skill, and children learn to think abstractly at different rates. If we must 'test' them, it seems completely unfair not to account for this.

It makes no sense at all given the yr2 objectives for addition and subtraction are:

-solve problems with addition and subtraction using concrete objects and pictorial representations
-add and subtract numbers using concrete objects, pictorial representations, and mentally

You should have a clock in the classroom so they can pace themselves though

Copied and pasted from the KS2 guide, I thought.

Bloody lazy gets.

Could be, especially since they aren't timed.

Once you have 6 & 7 year olds manipulating separate reading and answer booklets you might as well get them used to pacing themselves.

Too busy spending all their time in that department trying to find sponsors for failed academies, allegedly. No wonder every single thing that comes out of it is riddled with errors.

Maybe the reading exemplification will be right when it comes out. They've had long enough.

Actually, I hope you are right Feenie.

Having read further, it looks suspiciously like whoever wrote it has forgotten that some of these children are only 6.

Hopefully teachers will have the common sense to administer the tests in a much more low key way than the ridiculous red tape would suggest.

Potentially 25%+ of teachers could have an external moderator watching them administer the tests ... How formal will they expect?

It's massive overkill for a test that is supposed to help inform teacher assessment.

So I'm guessing that doesn't mean what it used to or there's going to be a move towards test only assessment at KS1 at some point in the future.

Nick Gibb was reportedly considering introducing externally marked testing in KS1 and scrapping teacher assessment

It sounds like that's where it's heading. I can't see a reason for the strict exam conditions style tests that the administration guide is advocating otherwise.

If it's a single piece of evidence among a school year's worth of TA evidence, it shouldn't really matter that much.

It's ridiculous that for both maths and reading the interim framework and the test just don't match up.

Maths: they should be able to solve problems and do calculations using practical resources - so why test them without ?

Reading : they should be able to make inferences and answer questions about a text that is familiar to them and that they can read fluently. So why test them on a text they've never seen before ?

I think the comprehension is too hard for this age group.

Have heard there is an easier paper and a harder paper, but they all have to do both of them??

That's right.

I agree that the Interim framework is wildly different from the tests in the places, You mention, Mrskcastle.

Do the KS2 tests have the same disparities between the interim framework and tests?

The whole thing is a confused mess.

The DfE and STA produce information that contradicts other information they link to in the same document.
Reading exemplification is delayed yet again!

Ruler saga continues

Can I ask if the interim framework is the current one teachers are using? I am a ks1 teacher but have been out of teaching since having children and DD is in year 2 now. For my own interest I have been looking up the assessment criteria etc online. TIA

Yes, Y2 and Y6 teachers have to.use it for this year. Next year it might change again