In order to assess whether primary school children are reaching the education levels set down by the Government, all Year 6 pupils will soon be undertaking two weeks of SATs (Standard Assessment Tests). Although these pupils will already have taken some form of SATs at the end of Year 2, this will be the first time that most of them will have undertaken any kind of formal academic testing and for pupils and parents alike the coming weeks can be rather daunting.  So we’ve put together some of the questions that parents might have regarding the coming SATs assessments together with a list of useful websites.

In what way are the SATs that my child took at the end of Key Stage 1 different to the SATs they will take at the end of Key Stage 2?
The main difference is that the tests are much more formal. Key Stage 1 SATs are not timed and based on teacher assessment. Key Stage 2 SATs are strictly timed.

Can my child fail a SATs test?
No, SATs tests are to show what a child knows. There is no pass or fail. The tests are designed to show whether your child has reached the expected level National Curriculum level for their age.

On what will they be tested?
The children are tested on Maths (mental and written), English (reading, writing and spelling) and Science.

How are the papers scored?
SATs are designed to show whether your child has reached the expected National Curriculum Level for their year group.  It is expected that the majority of 11 year olds will have achieved level 4 in each subject by the end of Year 6.  However, there will be some children who do not achieve this level and others who achieve a higher level. (A child who achieves level 5 is working ‘beyond expectations’ for their year group.)

What are age standardised scores?
This score shows how well your child is doing compared to other children born in the same month.

How can I best help:

• Don’t pressurise them into thinking that they must do well - the tests are designed to see how much they know
• Encourage them by telling them to do their best
• Support children by using revision guides
• Encourage them to read the instructions carefully and be aware of the marks available for each questions
• Speak to their teacher and find out if there are any areas in which they are weaker and concentrate on those.
• Let them have some down time -it’s important that they carry on with their normal day to day routine during the test period
• Make sure they get enough sleep
• May sure they eat a good breakfast and have a good energy boosting lunch with plenty to drink so that they don’t get too dehydrated.
• Encourage them to ask the teacher if they are unsure of anything
• Download some past papers and practice them at home or use revision websites. The following websites may be of use:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/index.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/

http://www.scienceyear.com/wired/index.html?page=/wired/games/index.html

http://www.st-josephs-pickering.n-yorks.sch.uk/past_test_papers.htm

http://www.sats-past-papers.co.uk/