SATs week is here

[paxillin]

Starting tomorrow with spag. Did you manage to stop yours fretting?

We've been trying to dial down the pressure here too, have told DD that it doesn't matter what scores she gets as long as she tries her hardest. School has taken a sensible line, IMO, balancing delivering the full curriculum with making sure the kids are well-prepared for the tests. It's no fun for them to be faced with a test paper they have no idea how to do, what do you suppose that does to a 10/11yo's confidence?

Yes of course for the most part (except where the secondary schools use for setting, which they don't round here AFAIK) it doesn't matter for the kids what SATs marks they get. BUT for people considering keeping their children at home on exam days - I really think this is such a slap in the face for the teachers who have spent seven years teaching the children. The child's score will still be included in the stats, it will just be zero and - rightly or wrongly - the school will still be judged by those results.

I don't like SATs and wish they didn't happen, but DD's school has been wonderful for her and I hope she does well, not to only show her that she can achieve something when she puts in the effort (which would boost her self-belief no end), but for their sake too.

Pandasarecute Ah poor thing, really sorry your DD is so upset. Hopefully with two tests under her belt and halfway there she'll be feeling better/more confident today

Hollow and that’s after spellcheck changed it to gobble and goblet...

In breaking news, first two texts today were really lovely - all my lower group managed well. 3rd was a great story, but a bit harder, as you’d expect.

Now off to practice finding areas of hopscotch squares in the playground.

I thought the third text today was tough. Lots of unfamiliar vocab and as usual nothing of any note ever actually happens would it really kill them to attempt to make it interesting?
I've heard that the first text was actually the same as the sample paper a few years ago

My DS said the reading was hard. He didn't finish - 3 left and missed one out. That's unheard of for him. Hope he's done ok.

@Popfan same from mine too, and that's not like him at all.

How does scoring work for sats?

Fingers crossed that pass mark goes back to 24 this year.

My twins came home very demoralised about the reading test today. They said that the third section was really hard. Dd has been getting 49 out of 50 on past SATs tests but she feels like she’s done really poorly on this one. I hate seeing the kids under this much pressure.

Sorry, not pass mark, age related expectations mark.

Its a scaled score, so may go up this year. I think the SPAG was fair and the Reading ok although no nonfiction is a bit crap! No poetry? It’s hardly a range of texts is it.

Sorry there was a non fiction xx

The second text was non fiction, surely?

I must say I wasn’t expecting a poem as we’d had one last year.

Yes sorry!

Makes me feel better that others thought the same. Thanks all.

Just seen this thread. My DD1 is Y6 and this is the first time I've experienced Y6 SATs as a parent rather than a teacher.

DD1 has seemed to coped fine so far. She has an excellent teacher. However, the school's results haven't been great in the last few years, so I hope for their sake that results improve this year.

How does scoring work for sats?

They decide what percentage they want to attain 100 or above then manipulate the threshold so that it is achieved. After all the papers have been marked.

So as a child, what is scoring system? I'm confused

We all thought that today's paper was easier than in the last two years, and even the 3 mark questions weren't that hard, so pass mark could go up.

Let's hope not @AllPizzasGreatAndSmall ! My DS got 41 / 50 on the 2018 reading paper in the last practice and thought it easy. Today's he didn't finish. Quite a difference. Many similar comments on Twitter too.

Thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter your lovely reply brought me to tears tonight. DD in complete hysterics tonight. School had them doing maths all afternoon and she found the reading hard (despite getting 47 on the 2018 paper last week). I don't know how to help her be calmer. I'm calm (to her), we had a relaxed evening but she's still so upset. In this state she will do nothing with the maths because she's too wound up. I feel a complete failure as a parent but this pressure hasn't come from me...

Expected (100 or more) or not expected.

I hate these bloody SATs. Dd is in her bedroom sobbing because she’s nervous and worried. Same last night. No amount of cuddles and reassurances will calm her down. The reading paper has totally tipped her over the edge.

She’s a very intelligent kid and should get greater depth but I feel like the nerves are going to affect her scores and then she will be distraught. I wish I had boycotted these tests and not caused her all this stress. Roll on Thursday dinner time.

This thread is so sad. When these young people are adults no one will know or care what SATS results they got. They don’t need to get certain grades to be accepted into a secondary school. They’re just a way for the government to measure results for that year group. They mean pretty much sod all of individual kids.
Hug your kids. Tell them if they are funny or kind or thoughtful or brilliant at drawing or playing football or doing gymnastics. Whatever it might be. Remind them you love them for being them. Not exam results.
And then learn mindfulness or develop a gin habit. For in a few years it’ll be GCSE time.