Y6 KS2 SATs Information for Rudston Parents
Who takes SATs?
Your child will take SATs twice during their school career. The first time is in Key Stage 1, when they will have tests in Y2, at the end of infants. They won’t sit formal tests but will be assessed by the class teacher in reading, writing (spelling and handwriting), maths (number, shape, space, measurement) and science. Your child’s teacher will set short pieces of work in English and maths to judge what level of ability your child is considered to be at.
In Years 3, 4 and 5, some schools test end-of-year progress by using tests known as optional SATs. The results won't be nationally recorded, but optional SATs help teachers assess children's progress. At Rudston, we regularly assess each child to help them learn and progress in their development.
The next time your child will take SATs will be at the end of KS2 in Y6. More formal than Key Stage 1, these written tests are in English and Maths. Some schools will also be chosen for Science sampling. The papers are sent away for marking and the results are known before children leave primary school in July. Your children’s secondary school will receive your child’s SATs results alongside assessments from their class teacher(s).
An overview of the tests
The national curriculum tests are designed to assess children’s knowledge and
understanding of specific elements of the key stage 2 programmes of study. They provide a
snapshot of a child’s attainment at the end of the key stage. Further information about the
tests is available on the DfE’s website at www.education.gov.uk/ks2.
The levels 3-5 tests
Schools must administer the following levels 3-5 tests:
• English reading
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling
• mathematics
Results will be published as scores and corresponding levels for each test.
A child’s overall mathematics subject level is calculated by combining the child’s scores
from the mathematics components. The child must have completed all components.
A child’s marks from the English grammar, punctuation and spelling test components will
be aggregated to calculate their level for the English grammar, punctuation and spelling
test. The child must have completed all components.
A combined overall English level will not be calculated.
The level 6 tests
Schools may also choose to administer the following level 6 tests:
• English reading
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling
• mathematics
Children entered for level 6 tests are required to take the levels 3-5 tests. Headteachers
should consider a child’s expected attainment before registering them for the level 6 tests
as they should be demonstrating attainment above level 5. Schools may register children
for the level 6 tests and subsequently withdraw them.
The child must achieve a level 5 in the levels 3-5 test and pass the corresponding level 6
test in the same year in order to be awarded an overall level 6 result. If the child does not
pass the level 6 test they will be awarded the level achieved in the levels 3-5 test.
SATs and Progress
SATs aren’t about passing or failing, but are used to reflect the level your child is working to. So SATs should never be seen as a one-off period in the school calendar but as a part of the overall teaching your child receives. Whether SATs are the best method for assessing learning and teaching has been in question for some time, but for the moment the tests remain. So it’s just a matter of supporting your child through what should be a celebration of their learning journey.
Percentage of children progressing from KS2 English to GCSE
KS2 English / GCSE C+ / GCSEA/A* / KS2 Maths / GCSE C+ / GCSEA/A*Level 2 / 3% / 0% / Level 2 / 1% / 0%
Level 3 / 16% / 0% / Level 3 / 13% / 0%
Level 4 / 65% / 5% / Level 4 / 60% / 5%
Level 5+ / 95% / 42% / Level 5+ / 94% / 43%
Table from ‘Measuring Progress at Pupil, School and National Levels (Schools Analysis and Research Division, July 2009)’.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222084/DCSF-RTP-09-02.pdf
As you can see, a good grounding in primary school helps children as they progress through their secondary phase of education and beyond.
How Parents can help
The key to making SATs less stressful for your child is to keep calm yourself!Children are well prepared for SATs throughout their school life, as teachers regularly carry out this type of assessment, but you can support your child by regularly supporting them with their homework, encouraging them to read regularly and widely, and to check their understanding of maths knowledge including times tables and their related division facts is secure. Encouraging a general love of learning and an inquiring mind is really important, across a range of both academic and non-academic topics. Remember to give them extra work to do in moderation. A little and often is the best way forward, and making sure they keep up their interests outside school is really important for a well-balanced young learner. Avoid putting undue pressure on your child, and offer plenty of rewards for their hard work.You may also wish to ask Mr Harwood or Mr Long for advice to help your child, or refer to websites such as the one below.
http://www.theschoolrun.com/ks2/key-stage-2-sats
National curriculum test timetable
The levels 3-5 tests must be taken before the corresponding level 6 tests on the scheduled
day. All children who are entered for a level 6 test must also complete the corresponding
levels 3-5 test. The school will decide which children should be entered for the various Level 6 tests. Whilst we want each child to reach their maximum potential, the Level 6 tests will not be appropriate for most children.
Date / TestMonday 12 May / Levels 3-5 English reading test
Level 6 English reading test
Tuesday 13 May / Levels 3-5 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test
Level 6 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test
Wednesday 14 May / Levels 3-5 mental mathematics test
Levels 3-5 mathematics Paper 1
Thursday 15 May / Levels 3-5 mathematics Paper 2
Level 6 mathematics Paper 1
Level 6 mathematics Paper 2
Writing is judged by teachers over a period of time using a range of different writing from different genres. These judgements may be externally assessed.
Changes for the academic year 2013 to 2014
Calculators in the mathematics tests
Calculators are not allowed in any of the levels 3-5. Calculators continue to be allowed in the level 6 Paper 2 test.
Test model and timings for the levels 3-5 English reading test
The texts in the levels 3-5 English reading booklet will not be linked by a theme. The
booklet will contain three or four texts. The least demanding text will come first with the
following texts increasing in level of difficulty. Instead of being given 15 minutes reading time and 45 minutes to answer the questions, children will have a total of one hour to read the texts and complete the questions at their own pace. There are no changes to the level 6 English reading test.
Other Useful Information: Reading Comprehension
Comprehension Question Types:
W / Writer / Think and respond like a writer.O / Opinion / What do I think (with reasons)?
R / Retrieval / Find and copy.
D / Deduce / Be a detective and read between the lines.
COMPREHENSION METHOD
1. Read the whole text quickly and carefully. If you get stuck on a word, sound it out, work it out, move on!
2. Read each question carefully. What type of question is it? (WORD).
How many marks is it worth? (1,2 or 3)
3. Highlight the part of the text that helps you answer the question. Scan the texts by using letter and word shapes.
ALWAYS REFER TO THE TEXT!!! (Play ‘Head Tennis’)
4. Write your answer, then check it. Does it answer the question?
5. Don’t spend too long on each question.
6. When you think you’ve finished, check your answers again! Every Mark Matters!
TOP TIP: Use explaining conjunctions such as…
‘because’ and ‘so’.
Other Useful Information: spelling, punctuation and grammar
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar Components
The proportion of marks assessing each element of each component.
Level 3-5 test
Component 1: Grammar, punctuation and vocabulary
Grammar: 25-35/70 (36-50%)
Punctuation: 10-20/70 (14-28%)
Vocabulary: 5-10/70 (7-14%)
Component 2: Spelling
Spelling: 20/70 (29%)
Spelling
En3.4a–j Spelling… Pupils should be taught:
En3.4 spelling strategies
a: to sound out phonemes
b: to analyse words into syllables and other known words
c: to apply knowledge of spelling conventions
d: to use knowledge of common letter strings, visual patterns and analogies
e: to check their spelling
f: to revise and build on their knowledge of words and spelling patterns.
En3.4 morphology
g: the meaning, use and spelling of common prefixes and suffixes
h: the spelling of words with inflectional endings
i: the relevance of word families, roots and origins of words
j: the use of appropriate terminology, including vowel, consonant, homophone and syllable.
SATs spellings, 2009-2013.
transporting / fantasy / simple / children / large
station / stories / purposes / variety / stunning
boiled / cultures / enemies / bottle / remarkable
stapled / associated / instruments / particular / collapsed
future / intelligent / tribal / challenge / engulfed
enough / wearing / significant / sharing / descent
feature / considered / dimensions / enthusiasm / enormous
mattered / dangerous / function / signatures / surrounded
produces / majestic / typically / figures / protected
disruptive / characters / tourists / musicians / availability
shipped / extinct / competition / forge / population
strength / believe / easiest / illegal / remain
umbrellas / impressive / correctly / considerably / various
released / scales / vertical / condition / scorching
variety / breathe / swoops / creases / several
chief / emblem / adjustment / valuable / traditionally
familiar / bridge / breeze / character / distinctive
physically / islands / precision / excited / carrying
substantial / supreme / clapping / enormously / unique
surprised / stretches / attempt / hundreds / magical
Here are the most recent 100 spellings in the SATs spelling tests. Each year, Year 6 children will be given a passage which includes 20 words which they have to spell. The number of correct words (out of 20) is then added to their mark from the Punctuation and Grammar test (50 marks). This total mark contributes to the overall Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar mark (out of 70).
Last year (2012/2013), the marks and their equivalent levels were as follows:
5a 66-70; 5b 60-65; 5c 54-59; 4a 51-53; 4b 48-50; 4c 44-47; 3a 38-43; 3b 32-37; 3c 25-31
Word Lists (National Curriculum framework, July 2013)
Y5/Y6
accommodateaccompany
according
achieve
aggressive
amateur
ancient
apparent
appreciate
attached / available
average
awkward
bargain
bruise
category
cemetery
committee
communicate
community / competition
conscience*
conscious*
controversy
convenience
correspond
criticise (critic + ise)
curiosity
definite
desperate / determined
develop
dictionary
disastrous
embarrass
environment
equip (–ped, –ment)
especially
exaggerate
excellent / existence
explanation
familiar
foreign
forty
frequently
government
guarantee
harass
hindrance
identity
immediate(ly)
individual
interfere
interrupt
language
leisure
lightning
marvellous
mischievous / muscle
necessary
neighbour
nuisance
occupy
occur
opportunity
parliament
persuade
physical / prejudice
privilege
profession
programme
pronunciation
queue
recognise
recommend
relevant
restaurant / rhyme
rhythm
sacrifice
secretary
shoulder
signature
sincere(ly)
soldier
stomach
sufficient / suggest
symbol
system
temperature
thorough
twelfth
variety
vegetable
vehicle
yacht
Punctuation and Grammar
a: word classes and the grammatical functions of words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles
b: the features of different types of sentence, including statements, questions and commands, and how to use them for example, imperatives in commands
c: the grammar of complex sentences, including clauses, phrases and connectives. / sg/ga1 Grammatical terms/word classes
sg/ga1.1 Nouns
sg/ga1.2 Verbs
sg/ga1.3 Adjectives
sg/ga1.4 Connectives
sg/ga1.5 Pronouns
sg/ga1.6 Adverbs
sg/ga1.7 Prepositions
sg/ga1.8 Articles
sg/ga2 Features of sentences
sg/ga2.1 Statements
sg/ga2.2 Questions
sg/ga2.3 Commands
sg/ga3 Complex sentences
sg/ga3.1 Clauses
sg/ga3.2 Phrases
sg/ga3.3 Subordinating connectives
En3.6a–b Standard English
a: how written standard English varies in degrees of formality
b: some of the differences between standard English and non-standard English usage, including subject–verb agreements and use of prepositions. / sg/ga4 Standard English
sg/ga4.1 Tense agreement
sg/ga4.2 Subject–verb agreement
sg/ga4.3 Double negatives
sg/ga4.4 Use of ‘I’ and ‘me’
sg/ga 5 Formal / informal
sg/ga5.4 Contractions
En3.1 and En3.2 Vocabulary / language strategies
En3.1b: to broaden their vocabulary and use it in inventive ways
En3.2d: to proofread – check the draft for spelling and punctuation errors, omissions and repetitions. / ga7 Vocabulary
sg/ga7.1 Word meaning
sg/ga7.2 Vocabulary in context
sg/ga7.3 Concision and precision in
vocabulary
sg/ga7.4 Synonyms
sg/ga7.5 Antonyms
sg/ga7.6 Word groups / families
sg/ga7.7 Prefixes
sg/ga7.8 Suffixes
sg/ga7.9 Singular and plural
En3.3 Punctuation
En3.3: to use punctuation marks correctly in their writing, including full stops, question and exclamation marks, commas, inverted commas, and apostrophes to mark possession and omission. / p/ga6 Punctuation
p/ga6.1 Capital letters
p/ga6.2 Full stops
p/ga6.3 Question marks
p/ga6.4 Exclamation marks
p/ga6.5 Commas in lists
p/ga6.6 Commas to mark phrases
or clauses
p/ga6.7 Inverted commas
p/ga6.8 Apostrophes
p/ga6.9 Brackets
p/ga6.10 Ellipses
p/ga6.11 Colons
Other Useful Information: MATHS
MENTAL MATHS METHOD
1. Look at the paper to predict what the questions could be about.
2. Listen to the question carefully the first time.
3. Note the important numbers and operations if it helps. Annotate and use your answer sheet wisely.
4. Work out your answer, then write it, then check it!
5. Maintain a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA)!
Maths Paper A and Paper B Method
1. Read the question carefully.
2. Annotate the paper if it helps.
3. Use your equipment where necessary (pencil, ruler, angle measurer, mirror, tracing paper).