SATS - It feels like they are setting Ds up to fail :(

[MrsMorgan]

We had a meeting today to discuss ks1 sats. We were shown some previous test papers, and I am now even more worried about them than I was before and at one point I actually thought I might cry (i know pathetic).

The questions looked harder than I was expecting them to be, and quite involved, with seperate sections.

My main concern is that ds has concentration issues aswell as poor handwriting etc and this all contributes towards him hating school. These tests are just going to stress him out because there will be no on explaining what to do, and as his concentration is so poor, he could be sat there all day doing them.

I also think that the crap spouted about them making sure the children don't know they are tests is rubbish.

"I also think that the crap spouted about them making sure the children don't know they are tests is rubbish"

Why Mrsm? IME with 2 DC who have been through this is that is exactly how it was. My eldest 2 simply weren't aware of how significant they were - they were just a sort of in-class test.

Not to mention it isn't in the school's interest to get amazing results anyway - the lower the KS1 SATs results, the bigger the jump to KS2 (where the pressure really is on ).

My son sounds very like yours but I am not concerned. It will just be another day to him.

gosh - noone at dd's school has mentioned the dreaded SATs to me yet. dd has similar issues to your ds and unless things improve, she will find the SATs really hard. She is reasonably happy at her current school though, and they are aware of her problems and trying to help her. Does your ds get any extra help? I'm hoping that dd's school won't pressure her to do well in these SATs.

My eldest two have done SATS and they always knew when they were being tested.

They are doing it over two weeks so that they only do a test every couple of days apparently.

I asked how long they can take to do each test, and the teacher said that they have as long as they need, but that if it was obvious that they would never finnish then they'd stop them. Ds could then potentially be sat there all morning.

I know from doing homework with him that he needs putting back on track at least every 5 minutes, and he always needs me to explain what to do several times. He won't have anyone doing that so I can't see it going well.

He has an IEP Paddington but his teacher this year isn't sticking to it.

It states that he has 5 min handwriting practice a day but when I went to parents meeting, she said she thought it was only 15 min once a week, and she didn't know what the rest of his IEP said. 4 weeks on and he still isn't having the handwriting help. His iep is due for review anytime now.

His current and previous teacher also stated that ds worked alot better in a small group, but he is still doing the majority of work within the whole class

Don't get me wrong, he has improved in some areas, but his complete lack of concentration is holding him back, as is his attitude to school. As far as he is concerned, he is there to play, and his teacher said that by now they'd have expected him to realise what is expected of him and settle down.

do not get yourself worried and worked up about this MrsMorgan.
I have absolutely no idea why the school is talking to you about ks1 tests now and as for showing you past papers. Well, imo, it's bloody ridiculous.
Ks1 tests are for showing the school, how they are teaching and how the children are performing in relation to national averages. Unless your dc is significantly behind it's of no matter to you or your son.
He is what.. 6?, the tests aren't until May/june next year?
forget it.

dd works better in small groups too - if she has to work with the whole class she kind of gets 'lost' and doesn't get what she's meant to be doing. Her teacher tends to address her directly to make sure she knows what to do. Even then it doesn't always work! She does get a fair bit of help from the TA though - does your ds's class still have a TA?
We changed dd's school before summer as her old one just didn't suit her at all, they weren't prepared to help her. She's now probably a year behind (and they won't keep her down a year), so if she gets 1s in SATS I'd be delighted!

Take him on holiday for the week!! SATS are in May, it could be nice weather then!!

However my two didn't know at KS1 what was going on, they never asked about the results and parents were certainly not discussing them. They mean nothing to the children, they are just for the school to be measured.

But at KS2 it was different, they knew very well what was happening, but what horrified us ( and I know different families do things differently ) was that children were being rewarded for Level 5s, you know £50 per level 5.

I hate SAT's. I was tempted to withdraw DD from them but it was over a few weeks in May and she didn't realise she was doing them. She didn't ask what her results were and I didn't tell her (very average ). My DD is one of the youngest in her class so she's below average in age.

our school has expressly asked us not to book holiday in SATS week. Are you allowed to withdraw your dcs from them?

My DD has dyspraxia and the ks1 sats really weren't an issue. She wasn't sat there all day and wasn't stressed about them. Ks2 is completely different though, she faces them this year and the pressure is hugely on, she isn't coping well at the moment.

I really wouldn't worry about these ones, it honestly isn't a big deal.

I'd love to take him on holiday during sats but then i'd get done for his low attendance.

I just think it is such a complete waste of time and they should at least be optional.

I just hate the thought of him sat there struggling for something which I disagree with anyway.

Are you able to ask that he spends a maximum time on each paper (how long are they supposed to take ?), or gets a break after 30 minutes. He then gets marked on what he has done It shouldn't be a big deal but as they are in house it is probably variable from one school to another.

I will definatly ask about that Liz, because otherwise he could be sat there a while.

Judging from the papers we looked at today, I would say that they would take an hour, maybe slightly less if the child just got on with it. Ds would probably take at least 2 and I don't want him sat doing it for that long.

I did a workshop with him after the meeting. It was about promoting writing and he had a sheet with boxes labelled When, Where, Why, Who and Felt like. He had to write a sentence in each box wrt when they did the circus topic last term.

After about 15 minutes the teacher stopped everyone to tell them what to do next. Ds at this point had only filled in 3 of the boxes, and that was with me sitting helping him.

Oh and the homework given between now and May is to help with sats

I am not sure if this is instead of normal homework or in addition too, but if it is addition too then I will need more wine lol.

Is this a private school MrsMorgan?

Sounds very very pushy, OP. I've had 2 DC thru SATs, I've never been shown a paper. DC1 definitely didn't know he was doing them.

DC2 sort of knew, but definitely felt no stress. We parents weren't even informed what days or week they would happen; they are supposed to be assessed over the whole of the spring, with the actual sit-down tests in May being just one small part of the info used to assign the final marks.

No, state primary.

'Take him on holiday for the week!! SATS are in May, it could be nice weather then!!

They don't do them like that any more in key stage 1. They will do them when he gets back. It is just done in the classroom with the teacher. They shouldn't know they are doing them. I don't know why they are showing past papers.

RatherBeOnThePiste KS1 SATs don't have a set week so even if a child is absent for the task the teacher can let them take it alone when they return...

Ds is someone who will almost certainly get low results in his SATS. I don't think that's setting him up to fail; both he and I know that the SATs have no influence over his later career. The only reason for him to get stressed would be if I got stressed. And I already know roughly what his abilities are so am unlikely to stress much about them.

Dd (who is usually very bright) didn't do herself justice in the SATS as she was ill in bed (TA took her answers down to dictation), but it hasn't affected her chances in later life. She wasn't stressed because we had made it quite clear that these exams don't matter to her, only to the school. She had friends who stressed out, but that was because their parents were stressing.

sorry to be blunt, but you do sound overly dramatic about this and I do blame the school for a large chunk of that.
I hope some Ks1 teachers come on and explain it's not a big deal.
Be honest with yourself, do you really really think a couple of papers are setting him up to fail and at 6/7 going to impact on the rest of his academic life?
If I was at your school, I'd be looking to move...ks1 SATs practice from Nov - May is outrageous.
The head is obviously only concerned with how the school looks on paper!

• KS1 SATs are not reported (except to governors)
• Teachers in Y2 report their teacher assessments of each child in reading, maths, science and speaking and listening. They use results of the tests to SUPPORT their assessments, not to PROVIDE them. The tests in themselves are only a TOOL to help the assessment.
• There is no pressure to get certain levels in the tests, as the teachers will know the level the have assessed the child at anyway.
• We can assess children, and do the tests any time from January to late June.

It is ABSOLUTE crap they are spouting. They should not have shown test papers. Sounds like someone at your school doesn't quite get what's happening in the real world. I would, in all truthfulness, be a bit concerned about this.

I would be quite worried about the school too. DCs need to be assessed to get the appropriate teaching for their needs.Trickerg is quite right, it is merely a tool, there is no need to feel tearful. Your DS is only very young-some would argue that he shouldn't even be having formal education yet. He has plenty of time, boys especially are late developers. My brother was very like that and suddenly became a high flyer when he was 13yrs-my parents were worried all through the primary school!
I would ask the teacher or the Head why you are being shown past papers and why they are even talking about them this early.

This may be useful:www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/ExamsTestsAndTheCurriculum/DG_10013041

Ok so implying that they are setting him up to fail is overdramatic, I agree.

However, I still feel crap that he is being made to sit these tests which he will struggle with and for what ? Doing them will not benefit him at all.

You are correct in thinking that the head wants the school to look good on paper. She joined the school last January and so far I am unimpressed.

I have been considering moving ds, but he'd hate to leave his friends behind, and whilst I know that his schooling is more important than that, I think at the moment if I moved him i'd be taking away the only thing about school that he likes iyswim.

Hmm that link says that ks1 tests last for no more than 3 hours alltogether. Thats funny because the papers I saw are quite long and the teacher clearly said that there was no time limit, so are they going to be timed or not ?