SATS results consequences. What happens exactly if you fail SATs?

[Megan70]

I haven't done SATS, so I don't know exactly what it is. All I know is that there is a lot of pressure in the kids, but I read that some schools don't do them. Does that mean is not compulsory? Can anyone opt out?.

I have a child in year 6 and is already stressed out by the teachers saying he will not "pass SATs" as if it is something so dramatic. What happens if you fail SATs, do you have to pass it again? Does that mean that you cannot go to secondary? I have been told that it could affect which secondary school will accept you or not, but actually you get the confirmation of your secondary school in march and SATs are in May. I just don't get exactly what the consequences are. What happens if you fail SATs in year 6?

Theoretically we know when a child arrives in Year 7 what their gcse targets are

'Theoretically' being the key word. Being able to spell, remember grammatical terms and use lots of adjectives really doesn't translate into the ability to write a coherent essay about the causes of WWI, or analyse Shakespeare's use of rhetorical devices...

Nothing happens.
Yes, you can opt out, a few years ago schools were able to boycott the tests. We did that year.
Lots of staff don’t agree with them.
My daughter didn’t sit hers because we were away on holiday when a member of the family ( who we were visiting) died unexpectedly and I was next of kin. She already had a place at Secondary and I had trained with the Deputy Head so I asked if it would make any difference. No, they retested the pupils anyway.

They do use them to set targets - but it’s really not very accurate!! Dd’s Older brother was set targets for subjects that he really isn’t very good at ( like art) based on his good SATS results !! Also the one thing he’s amazing at he doesn’t have a really high target for because they can’t gauge that from English and Maths results at 10 or 11!! It’s all a bit of a farce . The school know he should get an 8 or a 9 ( for that particular subject) but the trarget setting software doesn’t allow for that !?! I have pointed it out and we are all ignoring the target
Dd doesn’t really need to worry but hates tests and so I worry that despite us trying to boost her confidence that it will be a really stressful week for her but the results really won’t matter as her high school restest them all anyway and mostly teach mixed ability groups all the way to 16 . At least we don’t have to do 11 plus here ....

You can effectively opt out of the tests by taking them out of school without permission for 2 weeks. So the poor child does all the work and then has you showing no faith in them compared with their peers.

You can't opt out of all the preparation without pulling them out of state provided year 6 altogether.

Multivac, I totally agree (I’m secondary). The targets are ridiculous. However, they’re set externally and until Progress 8 is not the main measure of secondary performance, we are powerless to ignore them.

Nothing happens. DS1 started secondary school in September so only did his sats 6 months ago amd they are already long forgotten. They may have helped decide sets in secondary school but after the first half term there has already been movement between sets.

My daughter is in yr 7 and they stream based on sats . We get lots of joiners from local indie schools (the secondary is amongst the best in the country) and at first the indie pupil go into bottom sets. They were mixed around the week before half term after cats and baseline assessments but at least initially sats results were used.

I have been told that it could affect which secondary school will accept you or not

This is complete bollocks and I really hope a teacher did not tell you that!

"Yes, you can opt out"no you can't. You can keep your child home for the week to avoid the tests but that's all and the school could fine.

"a few years ago schools were able to boycott the tests." This was industrial action and those schools who took part were penalised. It's the only year we had crying children in SATs week ...they were upset because they weren't taking the tests after working hard for six years.

Yes, you can opt out, a few years ago schools were able to boycott the tests.

As mrz says, schools can't. It happened once, in 2010. About a third of schools took part (up to 50% in inner city LEAs) and it resulted in the death of the writing test.

From this year, there are no reported reading or maths teacher assessments - probably since their only significance seemed to be for maladministration purposes. Wonder what they'll use instead?

The only reason for the teacher assessments seemed to be to beat you over the head when the assessments and test outcomes didn't match!
( The fact that some children can do better/worse in tests than in the classroom seems to have escapped some people!)

Can't spell escaped!

No one ever took any notice of them except for that reason! At least now they're not even pretending to

The Science TA still exists and truly baffles me, since the Dfe use English and Maths tests to set GCSE targets anyway. What earthly use does it serve, then? Mad.

The results are used by the government to set GCSE targets regardless of how individual secondary schools operate. So they can't simply ignore them.

This. SAT results come back massively at GCSE level. Forecast grades based on SAT results are sent to year 10s and 11s every few months, these do not change based on current work (though we get current work grades too). DD is behind where she "should" be because of time out of school so they are focusing on getting her back up to expected level because otherwise it looks bad for the school. If she had mediocre SAT results they may be less bothered and left her to get mediocre GCSE results. You could argue this both ways about whether this is a good or bad thing! We think it's helpful but for other kids it might be too much or too little pressure.

Yes prep school, however the poster who said my contribution wasn’t relevant, the OP asked if you fail them does it mean you can’t go to secondary school? So my contribution was relevant.

The only problem we encountered was that the primary school applied for and got extra time for DS to sit maths paper because of his special needs. Once at secondary he was then put in a highish maths set, couldn't cope with it and disengaged. All sorted now thanks to helpful secondary school (extra lessons, moved down a set) but it wasn't helpful, we thought.

Nothing. Secondary schools do their own assessments of your child's ability in year 7, and many secondary teachers are not fans of the way their new students come in crammed to the gills with useless academic shite but unable to turn a page over without putting their hands up and asking permission. No childhood curiosity about the world left, they are institutionalised beyond belief, and visibly droop if given a passage or poem to read because they've never been allowed to simply enjoy one.

In relates to above conversation, we are in need to go India this month end to support family health issues. And I might be there in India with year6 and year4 kids for couple of months. And my older kid got place in Tiffins grammar school. Does it effect to the school place he got in the grammar school if we go a longer period without approval? Mostly we will be back in August before school starts. But this thing is worrying me so much. Please pour your thoughts and experience!!🙏

@JyoCva you might be better to start your own thread, as this one is four years old.

Anyway, KS2 (Y6) SATs are next week, so if you're not going to India until the end of the month, your Y6 child will still have taken their SATs - for the most part. The only doubt would be the element, which I believe is based on assessment of independent written work throughout Y6. Hopefully someone else will be able to clarify that part.

I don't believe your Y6 child's SATs attendance should affect their place at Tiffin, which was offered based on their mark in the 11 plus. My daughter is also in Y6 and has a place at a grammar school (in a different area of the country), and although we have no plans to be absent at all this year, I don't believe her place at grammar would be in question if, for example, she were unable to take her SATs for some reason.

I would be more concerned as to whether your Y4 child might lose their place in their current school if they miss the last two months of Y4. Are your children at a state or a private primary? Have you spoken to the school about your planned trip?

@LetItGoToRuin - Thanks much for your response, I haven't informed to school because Im confused and worried to inform about unplanned situation to school. If i inform them before, do you think my younger kid might immediately loose his place because of waiting list? For the worst case situation, Im preparing my mind , incase If my year4 kid loose his place he might be in the waiting list for another school which i think should not be a problem because of no choice. But I was concerned about Grammar school place. As per your message i feel like my kid will not loose his place in grammar school as they selected based on the exam score. But I will try to be positive and wanted to inform school...

@JyoCva I do think it would be better for you to start your own thread. Your situation is a bit complex, and it is currently hiding at the bottom of a lengthy 'zombie' thread, which is why you're not getting many responses.

well if your child doesnt pass the sats they wouldnt be able to go to secondary school thats what i know.

I’m a Year 6 teacher. The SATs are a measure of progress from KS1 and they are also used to predict GCSE grades. The secondary schools tend to do their own assessment of the children early in Year 7. If your child does not get expected standard they will still attend secondary school.

Don’t be so ridiculous. What utter horseshit!