Any Schools still doing SATs this year

[espresso14]

I'm very interested to hear if our primary is unique in continuing with KS1 SATs, (despite national cancellation) or have many schools decided to continue with this mode of assessment?

Do you mean tests? Even normal end of KS1 assessment is teacher assessment only - the tests are a very small part and aren't even reported.

If the school is using tests only, particularly this year, then they don't understand KS1 assessment.

They are doing past paper tests and calling them "special work", and that is the bulk of assessment. E.g. if not finished in allotted time, playtime is missed to complete the paper. I have no experience with year 2, so I don't understand what is usual practice.

@espresso14

They are doing past paper tests and calling them "special work", and that is the bulk of assessment. E.g. if not finished in allotted time, playtime is missed to complete the paper. I have no experience with year 2, so I don't understand what is usual practice.

Missing play time to finish isn't normal. What's the point of timing then? Unless it's one or two minutes.

Doing past papers is pretty normal and even useful to spot gaps and get the children used to the types of questions, how to answer them etc.

The only "test" requirement we do is no talking/helping each other. Sometimes we go through the tests as a class.

It's not necessarily a bad thing.

Thank you, I appreciate the replies.

There is no timing in the Y2 tests - keeping children in is incredibly poor practice. Even the bloody Dfe think there shouldn't be a time limit fgs.

Doing past papers is pretty normal and even useful to spot gaps and get the children used to the types of questions, how to answer them etc.

It's far from normal in Y2 - except where there is a fundamental misunderstanding of KS1 assessment.

I've been told to do a past paper with my Year 2 class. I can't see the point. We know they are not where a standard Year 2 class would be. A targeted assessment in preparation for Year 3 would be much more helpful. I'll be doing it informally in small groups, which just means it will take up time that would be better spent teaching them some of the things they have missed!

We are doing them but not in the fully formal manner. We are using them to add to our assessment portfolios to send to year three. We will however be also giving the children their SATs superstars wristbands and pencils!!!

our state school doesn't, but the one next door will be doing them informally to give something to work towards and some focus. I think it's important to know where the kids are, and obviously the materials are available as well as being tried and tested. I wish our school would do them. we have no visibility as to what they are doing or how.

Of you could just use the TAFs, which is what they are there for. Past papers will only provide a tiny fraction of the evidence needs to make any kind of meaningful assessment - especially poorly used ones, which can only distress children.

If even the DfE refuse to distress Y2 children in this manner in a normal year, you know it's far from a reasonable thing to do.

*needed

Please do not insinuate I am distressing children. You have no idea how I am using the papers or how the children will be doing them. I have over 15 years experience just in year 2 so credit me with some knowledge of primary assessment and an understanding of how it can be adapted to provide evidence of the standards for year 2.

The very fact that you’re doing them at all tells me all I need to know.

If even the DfE wouldn’t be that draconian - who are, in fact, are actually getting rid of the whole shebang next year - then you need to sit and think why you’re doing it. You’re actually taking Y2 assessment back about 16 years. There was a reason that it changed to teacher assessment only.

As I said, use the TAFs, that’s what they are there for.

Please do not insinuate I am distressing children.

I didn’t, actually - unless you are also adding a fake time to the papers and keeping children in at playtime.

I'm a year 2 teacher and moderator. The tests in year 2 are completely pointless which is why they're being scrapped. Even if assessment was going on as normal, year 2 teachers have to submit their teacher assessment which is based on the teacher assessment framework. They do not have to submit test results. They have to have administered the tests (no time limit for tests!) and have them at moderation but I do many moderations when the test papers are never looked at. I would never get out the test papers for a moderator myself when I've got so much more to say about each child looking through their books!

There's a reason why the DfE are scrapping ks1 tests and even more of a reason this year. It makes me so cross when heads insist on doing them! It would be a much better use of time, especially given how much school has been lost this year, to just teach and assess in an age appropriate manner.

My DS in year 6 is doing SATS next week.

Not SATs but yr 4 tables test (fair enough good to know where they're at.) BUT our school has gone crazy with the extra work - all of primary have an extended day by 50mins, AND on top of that there are yr4s coming in before school to work on tables, and then missing a bit of lunch (about 1/3 of the class.) Altogether its too much.

My son in Year 2 is doing Sats past papers again this week, they also did them when they returned after the lockdown in March.

Not that the parents have been told, I only know because my son always tells me everything that's going on! We've got parents evening soon so I will ask about it then.

Our local moderation heavily weighted decisions on test results. If a child had performed baldly on one you really had to have every piece of evidence possible in three separate pieces of work to prove they had achieved the standards.

Believe me I have campaigned against sats in year 2 for many years and I will be pleased to see them go. I would also welcome more realistic standards for year 2 writing where they don't have to be perfect at 7 years old to achieve greater depth.

It sounds like your LA moderation team are cutting corners, probably to save themselves time. You can see from the exemplification materials that the TAF evidence can be from a range of normal classroom activities. None of the examples include the test! If the test is being used as evidence, it should be a specific question to evidence a specific TAF point. Not just 'oh they got 107 so they're EXS.'

I would always ask for evidence of every TAF point at the standard submitted when moderating. That's what we've been told to do. And if the evidence looks shaky, I'd ask for more examples to get a clearer picture. The three pieces of evidence is a made up rule, you just have to have enough evidence to form a solid judgement. And you can tell pretty quickly by flicking through books if it's solid or not!

Also, you can't even evidence most of the reading TAF from the test paper. It's a complete waste of time!! GDS needs specific tasks set to collect the required evidence and WTS and EXS have to be listened to read to evidence the decoding and fluency points.

It annoys me greatly that KS1 assessment gets so formalised. If you go back to the DfE materials, it doesn't have to be. Yes there are the tests (but at least they're going!) but some teachers, heads and LAs make it far too formalised for the age of the children. I suspect mainly the heads and LA bods who mainly have experience in KS2!