KS2 Sats and GCSE targets?

[jjxoxoxo]

What did your child get in their ks2 sats, if they have gcse targets of 6's and 7's?

Real targets (as in based off work actually done in class)? Or the targets that are predicted from KS2 SATS (which makes your question somewhat circular)?

And for what age child?

I would question why you want to know. IMO targets have limited value unless they are generated based on how the child is actually working in class, in which case what they were doing at age 11 has long since ceased to be relevant.

Targets based off sats? My child didn't reach a pass mark in sats so that flight path is 1s across the board.
Targets set by teacher? 3-6s depending on subjects.

I ignore my dcs because maths and English results can't predict grades for other subjects.
Dc1 scored 85 in Sat's, but with the correct support got grades 4-6s at gases.
Dc2 got 115 is targeted to get 7s, and looks on track to get that. But could get higher if he pulled his socks up.
Dc3 got 118 is targeted 8 across the board and expected to get higher. Her report always says is working below standard in art, music, pe, drama, dt as she is academic but not creative so wouldn't get her target grade 8 in these subjects.
I think you get a better picture of individual grades by year 9 and a better prediction can be made based on strengths and weaknesses at this point. It also depends on other things too, dc3 is an avid reader and it shows across many subjects. She also is obsessed about everything being perfect, done on time and goes above and beyond whats expected of her, to the detrimentof other areas of life i believe. Dc1 loved geography and it showed in his work. Dc2 is more of an all rounder is good at academics and practical subjects, but will often only put the minimum effort required in to pass.
Dc1 was very ill from years 7-9 and school attendance was below 80% which obviously affected his education.
So target grades are only a prediction, lots of other things come into play over those 5 years.

@Grasshedgeplants
"I ignore my dcs because maths and English results can't predict grades for other subjects."

They can, and do, quite accurately actually.

For mine Dc1 should have got a 4 or 5 in English, they got an 8 in lang for maths a 6 and they got a 9.

For Dc2 full marks on English, got a 7 in lang an 8 in lit, almost full marks in maths got a high 9 doing maths and further maths A levels.

Having had 2 children go through this I would say that you cannot predict attitudes, friendship groups, brilliant teachers, dislike of a teacher, bullying etc and so it is just a rough guide. Parental oversight of their education can make a huge difference to outcomes. This is all without any SEN being identified in secondary.

I'm not convinced they can predict grades for English any better than other subjects.

English at KS2 is largely SPAG and comprehension. DD was great at that, and very much weaker at GCSE English. She fell well short of her target grades for English (but the rest of her target grades were realistic).

My DS got a very high SATS score for English and mediocre (4 for English Lang and 3 for English Lit) grades at GCSE.

Conversely DD got a very average SATS score in maths (think it was 103) and ended up with a 7 at GCSE.

Targets are only useful at a cohort level; they are entirely meaningless for individuals.

105 for SPAG and 109 for maths and reading

This surprises me. Do predicted grades (based on sats) in English and maths really accurately predict subjects such as French, music, DT, even history and geography?
I've only had one DC through GCSEs and it was totally wrong for him.

I did roll my eyes at DD's English SATS result informing her GCSE Art one.
But actually it turned out having a great portfolio (requiring presentation of information) is more likely to get you a higher grade than being a good artist.

Though in general I don't think SATS are great predictors at an individual level, but they probably average out at a cohort level. I would definitely suggest that parents do not get hung up on them, and focus on their child's effort in a subject.

Sorry to quote you but this is a good answer to the question a couple of people have asked me.

The new curriculum is very academic, even the creative subjects. They are no longer the subjects that are "easier". It's a big reason why lots of SEN kids are tanking in KS4. Art, Music and Drama for the most part are analysis.

Most importantly, yes KS2 sats aren't great at predicting individual targets, and that's not necessarily what they're used for. As already explained, it's more for a whole cohort level. Schools know this though and I don't think I've ever come across a school that doesn't do 2 different predictions. The one given by the teacher and one by the KS2 days.

Not sure they're awfully helpful.

DD was certain to fail all her SATS - happily her year didn't do them due to Covid, but I'd already told the HT I was withdrawing her from the tests precisely so there was no record for secondary.

Her current target grades after 3 years in secondary are 8s in all subjects. Suspect the reality will be a couple of 6s in there too for the subjects she has no interest in.

Why would she have failed her sats if thats what she's getting in GCSEs? I'm not saying sats predictions are entirely accurate but my DD is very unusual in that she failed her sats but is on course to comfortably pass her GCSEs. That's quite rare to make such a big jump. Not saying it doesn't happen, but going from failing sats to grade 8 is incredibly rare.

She has severe dyslexia, ADD, hypermobile fingers and a very spiky profile.

During lockdown we taught her to touch type and moved her onto a laptop. Result of just doing that was she was able to produce pages of answers instead of spending a whole lesson struggling to write a single incomprehensible sentence.

Secondary used CAT scores and teacher assessments instead of relying on SATS.

Teachers therefore have high expectations for her and have been amazing about putting her in the right sets so she is working at an appropriate pace for both her potential and her SEN.