Understanding SATS Tests & Reports in 2009

SATs - Standard Assessment Tests - Visit our Interactive Revision Zones

 What is Sats ?

 Revision Zone

 Maths Revision

What is the  11+ ?

 Science SATS Questions

Questions and Answers

A Glossary of Terms.

Key Stage 1 - Infant School
Key stage 2 - Junior School copyright of Woodlands Junior School
Key stage 3 & 4 - Secondary School

National curriculum - This is what the government says we have to put into practice.

Programmes of study - This is what teachers have to teach.

Level - A method of comparing your child's ability against local and national standards of achievement. The spread of marks required to achieve each level is wide. It takes, on average, two years to complete each level. At the end of Key stage 1, an average ability child is expected to have gained level 2 and at the end of Key Stage 2 level 4. A child who achieves level five is doing very well. A child who passes GCSE at grade C has achieved level seven. copyright of Woodlands Junior School

Level descriptors - This is what teachers use to decide what level a child is working at.

Teacher assessment - level given to child by teacher based on work throughout the year.

SATs - tests given at the end of each year to show progress.

National Tests - The name given by the Government to the statutory tests in the Core and Foundation subjects of the National Curriculum, taken by all children in Local Authority schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland at the end of Key Stage 1 to 3 (ages 7, 11 and 14 in England and Wales). They are sometimes referred to as 'SATs' (Standard Assessment Tasks). copyright of Woodlands Junior School

Standard Age Score or Standard Score - This tells you how your child is doing compared with other children born in the same month. The mean (average) score for each age group on an assessment is set at 100 and the standard deviation at 15. For any age group a given numerical value has the same meaning in terms of standing relative to the group. For example, an eight year old and a nine year old, each of whom has a standard age score of 105, have performed equally well in relation to the average for their respective age groups. (See My child compared to other children) copyright of Woodlands Junior School

Raw Score - This is simply the total of the marks obtained on that test.

League tables & Ofsted reports - These are tests for teachers!

Baseline Assessment - A test designed to establish the attainment level of children when they first enter schools at 5 years and transfer to secondary schools at 11 years. Their performance is regarded as a 'baseline' from which their subsequent performance may be predicted, monitored and any relative improvement or deterioration judged.

Reading Age - This tells you the current developmental level of a child's performance in a particular area of reading. For example, a nine-year-old child with a reading age of nine is performing at the national average level for his or her age. Another child aged nine years, with a reading age of 10, is developmentally 12 months ahead of the average in reading.

Visit our Revision Pages or Maths Corner for help with SATs.

What do Sats tests show?

The idea of the SATs is to show what pupils have learnt and retained during the year. The tests help our teachers learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of what your child understands about a subject.

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Can my child fail a SATs test? NO!

It is important that Children understand they are not going to 'pass' or 'fail' the test - it will just show what they have learned and what they can do.

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What are the children tested on?

The children are tested on all of the work they have covered in all year groups so far. Year 6 children are tested on Maths, English and Science. Years 3, 4 and 5 are only tested in Maths and English, and have Science assessments through out the year.

Formal assessments take place through out the year. SATs results rarely hold any surprises for the teaching staff. copyright of Woodlands Junior School

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What form will the tests take?

The format of the tests varies from year group to year group, as does the timing, but on average they have: copyright of Woodlands Junior School

The Science tests cover the National Curriculum attainment targets: life processes and living things; materials and their properties and physical processes.

The knowledge and use of correct scientific vocabulary is important.

See sample questions

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How will the results be reported?

Years 3, 4 and 5 receive the levels achieved by their child, on their child's annual school report. copyright of Woodlands Junior School

Year 6 S.A.T.s tests are sent away for marking and are handed out as soon as they arrive back in school. The reports are accompanied by an additional sheet that states the test level and a teacher assessment. Both carry equal weighting. The sheet also details how the child fairs in comparison to the national and the school averages.
Teacher assessment is based on descriptions of what a child should achieve at each level. Children are assigned a level that ‘best fits’ their level of achievement.

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What do the results of all the tests mean?

The results show whether or not your child has reached the expected National Curriculum level for their year group.

Every school will have set a target for a certain percentage of pupils to reach the expected levels in English and mathematics. The results will show whether your child’s school has managed to achieve that target.

The Government has set national targets for performance at the end of Key Stage 2. These targets are that, by 2008:

to have reduced the number of primary schools below 65% by 40%

65% level 4+ of pupils achieving level 4+ in English and mathematics.

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What is teacher assessment?
Teachers are required to summarise their assessment at the end of the key stage, giving a level for each attainment target in English, mathematics and science. They must give an overall subject level in mathematics and science and English.

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What guidance is given to teachers on assessment?
The level descriptions in the national curriculum are the basis for judging the children’s levels of attainment. Judgement is based on knowledge of how the child performs; it takes into account strengths and weaknesses of the child’s performance; it is checked against adjacent targets to get the closest match.

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What are ‘age standardised’ scores?
These scores tell you how your child is doing compared with other children born in the same month. copyright of Woodlands Junior School

What do the levels mean?
It is expected that the majority of 11 year old children will achieve Level 4 by the end of Year 6. However, for some children achieving Level 3 is a real success for that particular individual. A child achieving Level 5 is working at a high level, and only one percent achieve Level 6. A child who passes GCSE at grade C has achieved level seven.

	Year 2 Age 7	Year 6 Age 11	Year 8 Age 14
Level 8			Exceptional
Level 7			Beyond expectations
Level 6		Exceptional	At level expected
Level 5		Beyond expectations
Level 4	Exceptional	At level expected	Below expectations
Level 3	Beyond expectations	Below expectations
Level 2 2a 2b 2c	At level expected		copyright of Woodlands Junior School
Level 1	Below expectations

What your child needs to know to reach each level in the English test .

What your child needs to know to reach each level in the Maths test .

What your child needs to know to reach each level in the Science test .

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Where can I find some past questions?
There are good websites for Year 6 children, where they can practise past questions. You can also but books at WHSmith, which contain past questions.

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How can parents help?
Don't get carried away - the test are not an eleven plus. A child does not fail SATs. Encourage children to be confident about their ability to do well. Playing is important - children should not be stopped from living their lives as normal during test week. Support you child in working through the revision guides. Also check out some of our on-line learning resources to help your child revise.

How to help your child

Make sure they get enough sleep.
Make sure they eat breakfast.
Don’t try and frighten them into revising. Stories about ending up in the bottom stream in their secondary school adds pressure and stress.
Encourage them to ask the teacher if they are unsure about anything.
Explain that the SATs are a way of showing what they know.
THEY CAN’T FAIL!

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Visit our Revision Pages or Maths Corner for help with SATs.

A brief guide to the 11+
Pupils transfer to secondary schools at the age of 11. Some children will take the 11 plus exam.

What is the 11 plus?
The "11 Plus" is an selective examination to determine which children should enter Grammar schools in Year 7.

Up until the 1970's, every child in England and Wales had to sit the 11 Plus examination to determine which type of Secondary school they would go to once they had left their Primary School. Now a days only a few will take the exam.

Grammar School places are offered to roughly one quarter of the year group in areas where the process applies.

Approximately one quarter of Woodlands' pupils go to grammar school. (But it does vary from year to year - from about 20% to 30%.)

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How will I know which type of school is suitable for my child?
Available options and information is given to all parents at a Year 6 meeting in September and is followed by parental consultations with staff in November regarding choice of secondary school.

What does the 11+ test consist of?
This year the 11+ tests will consist of
(i) Verbal Reasoning Test (50 minutes- an 80 item test, multiple choice).
(ii) Non-verbal Reasoning Test (40 minutes - a 72 item test in multiple choice format).
(iii) Maths Test (60 minutes - 50 item test - multiple choice).

Pupils also complete a piece of writing under test conditions.

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What do secondary schools offer?
All secondary schools offer a wide range of courses to pupils and children who transfer to technical colleges and wide ability schools will be able to pursue academic courses to GCSE, A Level etc.

Can my child transfer to another school later on?
A pupil's assessment at the age of 11 is always open to reconsideration and a later transfer between schools can take place on educational grounds at the age of 12, 13 etc.

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