SATS

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

Last year the KS2 SATS were changed and were harder due to the new curriculum and the level of knowledge needed by the pupils. As a result many children didn't "pass" and this looked bad for the government. Do you think they will be slightly easier this year?

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/government-makes-sats-an-easier-ride-after-fiasco-last-year/ whether the actual content of the tests will be easier or just the format is anyone's guess

That's interesting reading. The maths reasoning paper we've had over the holidays is so wordy that my DS gets confused. He is lower/middle ability so if the real paper is as hard as last year he'll be very demoralised.

The Y6 children at my DS primary have had assemblies on stress and how to handle it.

Governor hear, no I don't think they will. They're here to stay.

The reasons they are harder are complex. It's not just the level of difficulty as our school found out. It's also the amount of content, and the style of questioning.

All the maths questions are tough comprehension questions, very wordy so a child may be able to do the maths but not be able to decipher the question.

The marking is harsh, e.g. if the answer is correct, but spelt wrong then no mark given. Our school got caught out big time with this.

If your child is sitting the SATs, please try not to worry as the results will have little affect on their long term education. They are mainly a test of the school.

I hope this is true as DD has been stressing about them. That said, her school has sat so many practice tests that she's not as bothered as she was.

Sorry cross post

https://consult.education.gov.uk/assessment-policy-and-development/primary-assessment/ you could always express your views on assessment in the government consultation here ...

The unions are talking about taking industrial action in the form of a boycott.

But not until 2019.

'Governor hear'? [grin*

No mark given ...but lots of misinformation

The marking is harsh, e.g. if the answer is correct, but spelt wrong then no mark given. Our school got caught out big time with this.

I'm afraid that's incorrect and didn't happen. There were examples of strict marking for other reasons - e.g. commas faciing the right direction in a question re placing commas.

^ depends on the question, there's a fair few questions in the SPAG which must be spelt write to get the mark e.g. writing a contraction, writing an adjective derived from create etc. Not in the maths though.

Hahahahah hilarious that I've used the incorrect 'right'. I'm tired.

No skeleton marks weren't deducted for spelling mistakes except in the actual spelling test.

Sorry mrz, but they were. I'm a y6 teacher who has marked this paper. See attached SPaG mark scheme pic for two examples (35 and 36 on the SPaG)

Sorry yes it was possible to drop one mark on question 36 if they didn't accurately make the adjective from the given noun. I'd forgot all about that question.

There were a few marks sadly, they're not the only examples. A few lost the mark for 'threw' as they went for 'through' or misspelt caught.

Or knowing irregular verb tenses

My poor dyslexic child is majorly disadvantaged by the SATS tests which make him look as though ""he is stupid" (his words) because of they are marked where' as actually his ed psychologist assessment showed he is top 80% of children intelligence wise.
His self esteem is rock bottom after weeks and weeks of practice tests in school when he scores very low and has to read his scores out in front of everyone.
I am so glad they have dropped the resits. He will never be able to pass SATS and if resits had happened he would have to endlessly go over SATS coursework while his peers moved ahead with the curriculum.
I hate what SATS are doing to him. I try and combat the effects but Year 6 has been all about SATS since Feb half term.

I'm afraid secondary won't be any better tests tests and more tests

Agreed. DS2 did the new SATS last year. They're not just a measure of the school though. Many secondaries use them to 'set' for entry into year seven. Although DS says they've been re-tested (numerous times) there's been virtually no movement.

My DD did them last year so now in secondary. However in her school there is movement in the maths sets. They are not streamed for anything else until year 8.
There are loads of assessments though but at least it is different topics and just SPAG, maths and comprehension. Year 7 is a breath of fresh air after year 6 so far at least. I might think differently for my DS.

I read that the reading test texts will be ordered easiest first to hardest, meaning that most children will at least start it all happy that they can answer something. Last year's was horrible in that respect, I'll not surprised it left children on tears.

I hope that's true twoleftsocks . I'm going through the practice papers with my son (set by school for homework) and he needs a lot of support. Thankfully, he has an amazing attitude and his teachers are really pleased with his progress from year 3 to year 6. We'll focus on that.

We didn't have any tears but a few children ran out of time because they spent too long on the first questions rather than moving on as taught.

Had to look but here's where I read it.
schoolsweek.co.uk/government-makes-sats-an-easier-ride-after-fiasco-last-year/?utm_content=buffer923a6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer