5 March 2016
SATs, SATs and even more SATs
Saturday 5 March 2016 saw the beginning of EducateFirst’s SATs revision programme aimed at students in Years 2 and 6. The objective of these sessions is to support and prepare students for the forthcoming SATs in May.
EducateFirst has been inundated with additional requests for support from parents and as such have initiated additional learning sessions for students taking their SATs.
More about Standardised Assessment Tests (SATs)
In the summer term of 2016, children in Year 2 and Year 6 will be the first to take the new Maths and English SATs papers. These new SATs will reflect the current National Curriculum (introduced in 2014) with a new marking scheme that will replace the existing National Curriculum levels.
Year 2 SATs
Children in Year 2 will be tested in Maths, reading, grammar, punctuation and spelling through a series of test papers.
Although Year 2 SATs papers will be set externally, they will be marked by teachers within the school.
The Year 2 SATs are scheduled to take place in May 2016; however, no formal dates for the tests have been set.
Year 6 SATs
While the Maths tests are designed to test your child’s general maths, mental maths and problem solving skills, the English tests will focus on reading, spelling, punctuation and grammar.
In addition to the test in Maths and English, a number of schools will put students forward to sit Science tests as part of a Science sampling exercise that will be used to represent the population as a whole. Your school will be able to advise you if it is taking part in the Science sampling.
All Year 6 SATs papers will be both set and marked externally, and the results will be used to measure your child’s progress and the school’s performance. Your child’s marks will be used in conjunction with teacher assessment to give a broader picture of their attainment. At the end of Year 6, the results will be shared with your child’s Year 7 teacher so that preparations can be made for the next academic year.
Important dates
EducateFirst’s SATs revision sessions will take place over an 8-week period from 5 March to 7 May 2016 (please bear in mind the dates we will be closed for Easter).
Children will sit the Year 6 SATs papers week commencing 9 May 2016. Dates for all SATs papers can be found at the bottom of the following page:
http://www.educatefirst.co.uk/student-parent-zone/sats/
New scoring system
The new SATs will be marked based on a 1600-point scale (800 each for Maths and English), compared with the 2400-point scale used for the old SATs.
Each child will receive:
- a raw score (number of raw marks awarded)
- a scaled score (scale 100 representing the national standard)
- confirmation of whether or not they attained the national standard
Sample tests
The government has made available a series of sample practice tests to help students prepare for the SATs in May 2016. These can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum-assessments-2016-sample-materials
Take the test:
Do you think you could pass the Year 6 SATs? You may be surprised at the results. Take the sample test to see if you would pass:
http://www.sats2016.co.uk/think-youd-pass-your-sats-in-2016/