Year 2 SATS Meeting for Parents
What is SATS?
It means Standard Assessment Tests, but at KS1 this also means tasks.
Assessment takes place all the time in school – particularly with English and Maths in the form of marking, online assessments, target setting etc.
All children have teacher-assessed levels upon which their termly class targets are based. These levels have just been shared with you in your child’s report.
The national SATS assessments are a standardised test taken across the country aiming to give “all pupils a level” which can then be used by the next teacher to set new targets for progress.
Your child’s Year 2 SATS results will be used as an indicator for their end of year targets, and passed on to their year 3 teacher for their next stage of development.
The Government has listened to the views of parents, teachers and LEAs and has asked the National Assessment Agency to design a system of assessment, which gives more importance to how your child is performing throughout the year and places less emphasis on testing.
* Slide 1 “Trial Schools” *
What are they like?
For English, there is a reading test, which includes a comprehension test at 2 levels, and a reading task, which has 2 components. There is also a spelling test, and two writing tasks.
The writing tasks consist of a longer task – this year it will be writing an imaginative story, and a shorter task - to write a riddle.
For Maths there is a test at 2 levels and a task at 1 level; these are largely practical and involve lots of discussion.
For Science it is all teacher assessed, based on experiments carried out in class.
Generally tests are carried out in the classroom in similar situations to their normal working day – we try to make it as informal as we can.
The tasks are always carried out in small groups or individually.
The Maths tests may have readers on a 1:1 basis or in small groups, or as a class. We are not testing reading ability in this, merely mathematical knowledge. Children are not generally fazed by it and have ready access to counting apparatus.
Likewise, with all the tests, the children are not made top feel pressured, we try to keep them low profile to keep the children calm.
(Refer to sample test papers on tables)
When?
The SATS tests take place during May.
Levels
* ‘Levels’ slide *
Level W means working towards level 1 and level 1 represents achievement below the nationally expected standard for most 7 yr olds.
Level 2 has three grades 2A, 2B & 2C.
Level 2B represents achievement at the nationally expected standard.
Level 3 represents achievement above the national average.
How is it reported?
* Slide p.50*
Talk through the slide: You will receive a form similar to this with your child’s end of year self-assessment sheets.
English
Speaking & Listening * Slide 1 *
They will receive a Teacher Assessment level in Speaking & Listening, reading and writing.
Reaching Teacher Assessment
The Reading Teacher Assessment involves a discussion about the characters, plot, recall of the story etc on a 1:1 basis.
The test (if taken) involves answering questions about a piece of text. Some of the questions involve skills of prediction and ‘inference’ i.e. how does the person feel? – The answer may not be stated in the text; it is about personal opinions/ deduction.
Writing Task
The children will do a long and short piece of writing. This is teacher assessed and levelled at W, 1, 2C, 2B, 3A, 3 – following very strict Government guidelines.
Mathematics
One Teacher Assessment level is given based on the results of a collective assessment of using and applying number, number and algebra & shape, space and measures. The greatest emphasis is placed on ‘number’.
These results are then sent to a national database for final levelling. Your child will only have 1 level recorded on their report for teacher assessment in mathematics.
Science
The teacher assessment is based on 4 attainment targets:
Scientific Enquiry – experiments/ fair testing etc.
Life Processes & Living Things – the body/ plants etc.
Materials & Properties – Bending, stretching, changing shape etc.
Physical Processes – light/ sound/ electricity
These results are then combined to give 1 teacher assessment result.
National Results * Slide 52*
Also within your report, you will receive this chart for information.
This represents the national achievement for Key Stage 1 for teacher assessment. NOTE: These percentages do not always total 100% - due to rounding up & the fact that these assessments do not apply at every level. (e.g The reading task- children who achieve at L3 are not given a level for a reading task)
The best advice we can give is to keep as calm and as normal a routine as possible, for example trying to keep to a reasonable bedtime routine, & try to make sure your child has had a good breakfast before they come to school. Try to remember water bottles. They will receive fruit at break time to keep them going.
Additional note:
You might remember receiving the results of a phonic screening check in the Summer 2013. In June, any children who did not achieve the pass rate in year one will be retested. It is a simple word reading activity conducted on a 1:1 basis with the class teacher. If your child doesn’t score the pass rate they will continue to have additional support with phonics in year 3.
Any Questions?
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