DS YR5 scoring low on assessments

[Konmariconvert]

He's doing fine in class, meeting expectations in Maths and exceeding in English, the problem seems to be the end of term assessments.

He scored only 13/20 in his latest one and it's becoming a theme, CT aren't concerned as his work in class shows his capability

My concern however is that when we get to SATs he's going to perform below that of which he is capable and this would be a shame since he is a very conscientious student, works hard and always give 00%.

What can I do to help him, we've talked about this and he says his mind just goes blank.

Clearly that should read he give 100%! Just to add I don't want to make a big deal out of this and when he came home and told me I made it a non issue and he forgot about it.

Personally I wouldn't worry too much if teacher is happy with how he is doing. Quite a lot of test/exam technique comes with maturity. SATS results are not important for a child but they are important to schools.

Agree with helpmum, mostly. He is capable, and teacher is not concerned.
Personally, if possible, I would ask the teacher if I can have a look at the paper to figure out why the performance is so different from class work.
Is it careless mistakes? Is he reading the question properly ? Spending too much time on each questions? That sort of things.

Yes, that's what I said to CT but she then said it wouldn't be beneficial to ds if he scored below his norm because secondary would use this information. So now I feel I ought to be doing something to help him

I did ask and we believe it's a combination of...

nerves, he's definitely panicking
not reading the questions properly probably due to the above
certainly in English he's answering with way too much info so ran out of time

I really don't want to add any pressure.

The school have said he is progressing so it’s difficult for a parent to go against that.

I think his test technique does need some attention though. It will worry him in the end if he continually under performs. He also will not want to score below friends he sees as equivalent next year so I think a little help is needed.

Can you work with him going over similar questions? Go over what is a good answer and how you use your time effectively in the test. He clearly needs confidence about how to organise his answers and you can help give him this.

Don’t buy this Sats is for schools line. Children can be disappointed in themselves if they score well below their capabilities. Most children know who is bright in class and children naturally want to do as well as their peers so give him the skills to calm down and work accurately and methodically and then he will be confident.