Year 6 SATs Parents Meeting - 11 February 2020
What are the SATs?
SATs is a term people use to refer to End of Key Stage 2 Assessments;
It lasts for four days beginning on Monday 11th May 2020 and ending on Thursday 14th May 2020;
Children will sit the following SATs papers:-
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (Paper 1) – Monday 11th May 2020;
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (Paper 2) – Monday 11th May 2020;
Reading – Tuesday 12th May 2020;
Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic) – Wednesday 13th May 2020;
Maths Paper 2 (Reasoning) – Wednesday 13th May 2020;
Maths Paper 3 (Reasoning) – Thursday 14th May 2020.
Writing is assessed using evidence collected by your child’s teacher throughout Year 6, so there is no Year 6 SATs writing test. There will be no Science sampling for Year 6 this year. Therefore, no Year 6 Science SATs Paper in 2020.
When and how are the SATs carried out?
The tests will take place during normal school hours, under exam conditions;
Children are not allowed to talk to each other from the moment the assessments are handed out until they are collected after the test has ended;
Afterwards, the completed papers are sent away to be marked externally;
The children’s results are sent back to school at some point in July;
The standard timings of tests differ but last no more than 60 minutes:-
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (Paper 1) – 45 minutes;
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (Paper 2) – typically 15 minutes;
Reading – 60 minutes;
Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic) – 30 minutes;
Maths Paper 2 (Reasoning) – 40 minutes;
Maths Paper 3 (Reasoning) – 40 minutes.
Specific arrangements for SATs
Children with additional needs, who have similar provision in their day-to-day learning at school, may be allotted specific arrangements, including:
Additional (extra) time;
Tests being opened early to be modified;
An adult to read for them;
An adult to scribe (write) for them;
Written or spoken translations of the mathematics reasoning papers;
The use of prompts or rest breaks;
Arrangements for children who are ill or injured at the time of the tests.
Pupils with an EHC plan are automatically allowed up to 25% additional time (except for the spelling paper, which is not strictly timed). Pupils who use the modified large print or braille versions of the tests are automatically allowed up to 100% additional time.
Scaled Scores
All test outcomes at both KS1 and KS2 will be reported as scaled scores.
The national standard will be 100.
Raw scores (the number of marks awarded for each subject) will be translated to scaled scores (a comparable score for each subject) using a conversion table.
Pupils will receive a raw score, a scaled score and confirmation of attainment of the national standard.
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Test
There is a greater focus on knowing and applying grammatical terminology with the full range of punctuation tested.
Technical terms in grammar will be tested.
There will be one test paper for grammar, punctuation and vocabulary and one test paper for spelling. The design of the tests is unchanged.
The grammar test will last for one hour and there will be a total of 50 marks available.
In the grammar test, two thirds of the marks will be for multiple choice questions. The remaining questions will require pupils to write a longer answer.
Spelling
There are 20 spelling sentences.
The spelling words are tested within the context of a sentence.
As the sentences are read out to the children, they fill in the correct spellings on their copy of the text.
Sample spellings from previous years:
sharp
ravenously
whiskers
approached
surveyed
cautiously
lying
bristling
rigid
sensible
intruder
height
scattered
corridor
enough
proud
unique
straightened
doubt
coarse
Reading
The Year 6 Reading SATs paper will be sat on Tuesday 12th May 2020.
The assessment has been designed to measure whether children’s comprehension of age-appropriate reading material meets the national standard.
It a standard timing of 60 minutes, including reading the texts and answering questions. There are three different set texts for the children to read, which could be any combination of non-fiction, fiction and/or poetry.
The Reading paper focuses on the following areas known as Content Domains:
2a) give/explain the meaning of words in context;
2b) retrieve and record information/identify key details from fiction and non-fiction;
2c) summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph;
2d) make inferences from the text/explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text;
2e) predict what might happen from details stated and implied;
2f) identify/explain how information/content is related and contributes to meaning as a whole;
2g) identify/explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases;
2h) make comparisons within the text.
The Year 6 Reading SATs paper requires a range of answering styles, including responding to multiple choice questions, one-word answers, and multiple mark questions which require more formal paragraph-length answers.
Maths
There will be three papers: 1 arithmetic paper ( 30 mins) and 2 mathematical reasoning papers (40 mins).
A written arithmetic test to assess fluency with numbers and basic mathematical calculations, with a focus on working efficiently at speed.
The test covers all objectives from Year 3 to year 6
Calculation methods
Questions in the arithmetic test will cover:
ability to work fluently with numbers
straightforward addition and subtraction
more complex calculations with fractions
long division and long multiplication
Arrangements for test day
The tests will take place in the hall and other available spaces.
Tests are kept securely in a locked cupboard until test day.
Children are allowed to ask for questions to be read aloud to them (with the exception of the reading test).
Staff may only read the question – children are not allowed any help with spelling or to ask for clarification.
Children have the start and end time for each test displayed and are given reminders at timed intervals which they are used to as part of our test preparation sessions.
SATS Breakfast Club
After the tests
Once the test has finished, the test scripts are collected in silence and handed to Mrs Taylor who places in envelope ready for collection by Parcel force. Tests are marked by external SATs markers.
During test week, the afternoon sessions may be used for revision.
When will parents be informed of pupils’ results and who else will use these results?
Parents will be informed of their child's results during July.
They will be sent electronically to secondary schools.
Should my child be revising at home?
We will expect your child to do some revision and test papers at home and this should be encouraged to enable your child to feel as confident as possible going into their tests.
However, the best idea is little and often. Where possible children should be able to use revision websites.
What should I do if I’m worried about my child?
Steps to take:
Talk to the school
Is your child showing the same symptoms at school as they are at home? Is there anything else going on at home which may be contributing to your child’s overall level of stress? Work with the school so everyone concerned can be offering the support that’s needed.
Spend time with your child
Try to understand what aspect of SATs concerns them most. Is it the worry of ‘failing’? Is it the worry of getting stuck on a paper? If your child can pinpoint what’s bothering them most, you can take specific steps to help reassure them.
Try not to project your own anxieties or views on the SATs
If you don’t believe in SATs, or do not think your child should be doing them, then neither will they.
Confront any media coverage
Show clippings if there’s been anything negative and ask them to talk about what they've seen and how they feel. Reinforce the reality.
Encourage your child to talk to their teacher
SATs are obviously linked to school, so don’t be surprised if they favour the reassurance of teachers above family members.
Finally…
Whilst we do encourage your children to take these tests seriously and use them to show off all that they are capable of; it is important to remember that all the children in Year 6 are special and unique, irrespective of a test. The value and worth of each child cannot be quantified by a test and nor should it.
