Year 6 SATs

What are SATs?

SATs stands for “Standard Assessment Tests”. They are national tests that children in state schools across the country sit at the same time. They are designed to evaluate your child’s progress throughout Years 3-6 and to compare how your child achieves against other children of their age. For example, Ofsted look at SATs results. 

The English SATs assess pupils on their knowledge of the rules of punctuation, grammar and the accuracy of their spelling, whereas the reading tests assess their reading comprehension skills and their vocabulary.

The mathematics SATs test the pupils on their knowledge of mathematical operations, their mathematical fluency, their ability to solve problems and their reasoning.

SATs exams are set and marked outside the school.

When will SATS take place?

SATs take place at the start of May each year. In 2024, SATs will take place in the week beginning 13th May.  All schools throughout the country are doing the test at the same time.

How will the children be tested?

KS2 ENGLISH PAPERS

The grammar and punctuation paper is a mixture of multiple choice and short-answer questions. Pupils will also be asked to add punctuation to pre-written sentences. There are 50 questions and each question is worth one mark. The test lasts for 45 minutes.

The spelling paper requires the student to listen to their teacher as a transcript is read and spell out the missing words on their answer booklet. There are 20 words that they need to spell and each word is worth one mark each. The last lasts for 15 minutes and is worth 20 marks overall.

The reading paper requires pupils to read a booklet that contains three extracts. They must then answer questions that test them on their comprehension of the three texts. There are 40 questions that together are worth 50 marks, comprising a mixture of multiple choice, short-answer and long-answer questions. The test lasts for 60 minutes, including 15 minutes of reading time.

In total, there are 120 minutes of English tests.

KS2 MATHEMATICS PAPERS

Paper One is on arithmetic and pupils are not permitted to use a calculator. There are 36 questions, with questions worth one or two marks. The test lasts for 30 minutes and is worth 40 marks overall.

Paper Two is on reasoning and pupils are not permitted to use a calculator. There are 23 questions, with questions worth one, two or three marks. The test lasts for 40 minutes and is worth 35 marks overall.

Paper Three is also on reasoning and pupils are not permitted to use a calculator. There are 21 questions, with questions worth one or two marks. The test lasts for 40 minutes and is worth 35 marks overall.

In total, there are 110 minutes of mathematics tests.

WRITING

There is no ‘test’ for writing.  the independent work that the children have produced all year in their class lessons will be part of the writing assessment that takes place. This work is assessed by your child’s class teacher against criteria set by the government to decide upon a writing grade. Some schools will be chosen to be moderated and the judgements that are made are checked and quality assured.

Access Arrangements

Some children have different arrangements which are based on children’s individual needs.  These can include:

• Readers (but not for the reading test)
• Scribes
• Extra time
• Different formats (large print or Braille)

These decisions are made in collaboration with class teachers and the SENDCo.

How are the results reported?

The tests are sent away to be marked externally. Once marked, the tests will be given the following scores:

• A raw score (the total number of marks achieved for each paper);
• A scaled score (which is explained below);
• A judgement of whether the National Standard has been met. After marking each test, the external markers will convert each raw score into a scaled score to show whether each child is working below, at or above the national standard. Scaled scores change each year depending on the difficulty experienced nationally of the papers that year. When the scaled score is given, it is given in a range from 80 to 120. A scaled score of 100 or more is meeting the national standard. There are no separate tests for higher achieving pupils; however, a scaled score of 110 - 120 would show that a child is working above the national standard known as working at greater depth.

What is meant by the Raw Score?

The raw score is the number of marks a child actually gets on any given test.  So for instance if they score 45 marks in a 60 mark test their raw score would be 45.

What is a Scaled Score?

A scaled score is a conversion which is applied to the raw score to allow results to be compared from one year to the next. In KS2 Scaled scores range between 80 and 120; the expected achievement level for children is a scaled score of 100.

How can you support your child?

• First and foremost, support and reassure your child that there is nothing to worry about and they should always just try their best. Praise and encourage!
• Ensure your child has the best possible attendance at school.

• Support your child with any homework tasks.
• Reading, spelling and arithmetic (e.g. times tables) are always good to practise (eg BBC Bitesize for Key Stage 2, TT Rock Stars).
• Keep reading daily and ask children about the characters and vocabulary in the text.
• Make sure your child has a good sleep and healthy breakfast every morning!
• Encourage your child to talk to us or another adult they trust if they express persisting anxieties about SATs. Remember that a small amount of anxiety is normal!

SATs Week

• Make sure children arrive at school promptly.
• Try not to book any appointments for that week.
• Make sure they get enough sleep!
• Bring a snack.
• If your child cannot come to school, please let the office know as soon as possible.