What are SATs?
Standard Attainment Tests are a measure of your child’s progress compared with other children born in the same month. For KS2 (Year 6) they usually take place the first 2 weeks in May (week commencing 09 May 2016) and results made available to the school in July, just prior to the summer holidays. Children will sit exams in :
- Reading
- Spelling, punctuation & grammar (SPAG)
- Maths
These exams are set and marked externally, and the results will be used to measure your child’s progress. Your child’s marks will be used in conjunction with teacher assessments to provide a broader picture of their attainment.
 How have they changed?
They have been updated to reflect the new national curriculum as well as a new scoring method being used, which removes the existing “levels” system and replaces it with a “raw score”. The existing levels score marked pupils based on their raw marks, for example, a pupil scoring 80/110 would achieve a level 5. This scoring system from 2016 is now being replaced and given a scaled score.
How are they scored?
Each child will still be given their raw score, as well as a scaled score, which is derived from their raw score and converted to a scaled score when taking into account everyone else’s exam marks and will be based on the national expected “standard” scaled out of 100. A scaled score of less than 100 signifies that your child has not met the national “standard”, and may need further support leading up to Secondary school. Those that get 100 will of reached the national standard and those above 100 will have exceeded the standards expected of them. Your child’s scaled score will be provided to their chosen secondary school as they can prepare themselves for their arrival!
What difference does it make?
Probably not a lot to yourself as a parent or to your child; but now progress is being assessed differently, using a scaled score and not a level.
Why did they change the scoring method?
The new scoring method should allow the moderation process to be more consistent from one year to the next. This basically means, that they maintain their meaning and purpose over time, and comparison of scores between children will demonstrate the attainment level they have achieved more accurately.
What should I do next as a parent?
There’s not a lot you can do differently, except to support your child over the forthcoming months in preparing them for the exams in May. It can be daunting for some children to have to take formal exams, and preparation and confidence is key. There are a number of past papers that you can look at, but bear in mind, that the tests in 2016 are aligned to a new curriculum. Feel free to contact us on 0800 689 0193 if you would like to discuss any aspect of this subject further, and see how we can help support you and your child in preparing them for the SATs through our preparation lessons we have organised in Telford and Shrewsbury from Jan 2016 onwards. Â Â Â Â