Year 6 SATs

[jhg5]

Hoping for some advice/opinion here please.

Daughter is in a class where around a third are expected to attain reasonable SATs grades, and she is amongst those.

During the run up to the exams currently taking place, the teacher has developed a practice of tapping on their tables (during mock exams) after reading their unfinished papers to indicate they have an answer wrong, and must look at it again.

During the actual exams this week, same teacher has continued this practice, and has also given out correct spellings of words to improve marks with some students.

After leaving Monday's tests, daughter told a school-friend what had happened, and the friend replied that this was cheating. This came to the ears of the (same) teacher who then called them back into the classroom and informed them that she could get sacked for this, and was merely trying to "help" them.

Daughter states she wishes to pass exams under her own steam (without this kind of help).

Seems to me that the teacher is more interested in boosting the overall grades of her class artificially, and avoiding difficult questions/inspections - and is certainly not helping anybody other than the school and herself.

I am aware there is a procedure for reporting cheating, but my question is - am I being over zealous? Or right to be outraged at a) the foul play and b) the fact that the teacher has made the children complicit in her cheating?

I think they ought to do the same as they do with the 11+ tests in this area, where the schools swap invigilators with other schools - so every paper has two invigilators from two different schools. For the SATS, the Head at my son's school has insisted that a governor be present at every paper so that there's independent corroboration that the tests are administered fairly. Makes my blood boil to read about other schools cheating.

Please REPORT! My daughter is taking her SATS this week too and she has worked so hard all year as I'm sure your daughter has. She also attends a church school and they have had outside invigilators in. Whilst I don't agree with SATS if we have them lets make them fair for all so they are all judged by the same set of standards. I would be horrified if any of our Teachers behaved in this manner.

You must report. There should have been a governor overseeing all the SATs. We had one in each room, to check we administered them properly. Heads have to sign to say a governor was overseeing when they sign the declaration form.

Having a governor/ local community member/ secondary teacher in is a strong recommendation, but not mandatory.

Heads have to sign to say a governor was overseeing when they sign the declaration form.

Nearly true - they have to sign to say an 'invited observer' was there 'for at least some of the tests '.