Viewing 19 posts - 1 through 19 (of 19 total)
  • Kids and SATs
  • aleigh
    Free Member

    How have your kids done? Do you think these tests are any good? Aleigh jr number 1 took her first one last month and did ‘not as expected’ in every category. I got the SENCO on the case and I now know why, it’s down to her misreading the questions.

    My daughter has learning issues, very minor but enough not to get what is expected of her in this sort of thing and this wasn’t taken into account. Apparently she is able to do the stuff she failed on in class but because of the way it was written she did pretty bad!

    Does anyone know if kids should get ‘extra help’ or should have their personal circumstances taken into account – or is that the point of SATs? Sorry for being dumb but this is all new to me and I can’t relate it to the tests I did at junior school as a kid.

    nickc
    Full Member

    Son is doing his this year. Just had mocks and is doing as expected. He’s more relaxed about it than we are…

    stratobiker
    Free Member

    Speaking as an ex teacher…………

    We want your child to do well in the SATS.
    We teach to the SATS.
    Some of us feel that teaching to the SATS is shite teaching.
    But, we want your child to do well in the SATS.

    I don’t teach no more. Because – see above.

    SB

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    timwillows
    Free Member

    SATS are for the school not the child.

    Bad results reflect on the school, she’ll never have to quote her SATS on a job application so dont worry

    aleigh
    Free Member

    ok thanks – i’m trying not to worry 🙂

    FoxyChick
    Free Member

    aleigh…how old is your daughter?
    Which SATS are you referring to?

    KS1 or KS2? Makes a huge difference.

    aleigh
    Free Member

    Hi FC.

    She’s in year 3, aged 8 and KS2 I think……

    aleigh
    Free Member

    SATs, haven’t a clue! We weren’t given any info

    nickc
    Full Member

    That’s KS1, aliegh.

    aleigh
    Free Member

    is it? what do i know!

    FoxyChick
    Free Member

    aleigh..I will email you.

    aleigh
    Free Member

    thank you my lovely 🙂

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    KS3 sats have been disappeared, went to work one morning to find out we didnt know what we were doing, very odd.
    Anyway, find out the specific learning difficulty your child has and get specefic help for it, get the SENCO to help. Dont worry about the sats though, just see them as good in having shown up something she needs help with.

    FoxyChick
    Free Member

    nickc…hate to disagree but Yr 3 is KS2.

    aleigh
    Free Member

    i do know something then 😆

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    We want your child to do well in the SATS.
    We teach to the SATS.
    Some of us feel that teaching to the SATS is shite teaching.
    But, we want your child to do well in the SATS.

    Sadly, the same could probably be said of 11 plus, as well.

    Veering off topic, what is it Sir Humphry said about comprehensive education: “To Labour, we tell them selective education is divisive; to the Conservatives, we tell them it is expensive. And we educate our own children privately”.

    SATS – evidently no damned use for anyone!

    FoxyChick
    Free Member

    omitn…not really sure what you mean about the 11 plus.

    Every child in the UK, whatever their ability, is subjected to SATS and these results are published.
    The 11 plus is a selective exam used by parents who wish their child to be accepted into grammar/some private schools.

    midlifecrashes
    Full Member

    Some of this you’ll know, but it’s not always explained at some places.

    Primary schools are currently organised into three stages. Foundation Stage, formerly called nursery and reception. Then Key Stage 1 covering years 1 and two. Then yrs 3 to 6 are in KS2. The big numbers as far as the schools are concerned are the SATS at the ends of KS1 & 2. To keep things even more confusing the Foundation stage and Keystages are measured against different scales. Basically though, once into keystages you’d expect a progression from level one through to (if you’re at the top end) level 5 at the yr6 KS2 sat tests. The national standard at KS1 is to aim for a high percentage of your class to achieve levels 2b and 2a. Getting a 1 or 2c is below average, P is basically working at foundation level.

    So at halfway through term 2 of year three, an average pupil would have attained maybe a level 2b in the sats in the previous year, and would then expect to move up a fine point (ie a letter) every couple of terms, bring them up to 2a or three about now. At parents’ evenings and the like, the actual levels achieved and working towards ought to be explained, and put into local and national context.

    There is a huge gap in time between KS1 and KS2 SATS, and schools can’t afford to lose track of where kids are in between, so pretty much every year there will likely be a series of mock sats, basically bought in tests, marked locally. This sounds like what your girl has just been through. In the real SATS, pupils with particular needs are supposed to have these met, for example by allowing extra time, by using a quiet room, by having written questions read out etc. It would seem sensible for the same assistance given in real sats to be offered in the intermediate tests.

    It sounds like you could do with finding out explicitly where your girl is at, and what her targets for the year are. Your class teacher should have this at their fingertips, possibly in their head if they are on the ball. Since you are concerned, I’d ask for a short meeting with the teacher, and if you are already involved with the SENCO have them sit in too, ask for a copy of your daughter’s IEP(individual education plan) in advance. Every child the Senco deals with should have one.

    Despite all of the above, most of this is meant to happen in the background, although it is common practice for children to know what levels they are on and their target, and to use it in day to day work. Aside from the actual test times, all this stuff happens in the background through teacher assessment, and shouldn’t take the fun out of school. Today I’ve been volunteer driving and accompanying our KS1 visit to the BBC dinosaur exhibition and we had a great time (it’s a long way to the Natural History Museum from here). Hope it goes well, but it probably will now that you’ve decided to get to the bottom of it.

    nickc
    Full Member

    smacks forehead…sorry. My wrong. (and I’m a Governor) 😳

Viewing 19 posts - 1 through 19 (of 19 total)

The topic ‘Kids and SATs’ is closed to new replies.

Members Notice New deal added to Members Discounts