KS2 SATS 2016

[Guest55]

Also for reading, a scaled score of a 100 is equivalent to a minimum raw score of 21/50 (42%). If a raw score of 42% translates into 'meets the standard', does that not suggest that the reading test was way too hard?

Last year a level 4b [expected] was around 23/50 so that 46% - not that different.

[PurpleDuck]

Also for reading, a scaled score of a 100 is equivalent to a minimum raw score of 21/50 (42%). If a raw score of 42% translates into 'meets the standard', does that not suggest that the reading test was way too hard?

Last year a level 4b [expected] was around 23/50 so that 46% - not that different.

I didn't realise 4b was that low - what is the logic behind expecting children to be able to answer just under half of the test? I would understand about 60% mark, but less than 50% seems a bit odd to me. Is this a case of lowering expectations so that they can be exceeded?

[Amber]

Is this a case of lowering expectations so that they can be exceeded?

It is probably a case of the test being so b****y difficult that no one can do it.

[Guest55]

I think your quotes are mixed - the % for 'expected' is very similar to previous years but as Nicky Morgan said 'You can't compare' and, of course, I believe every word she says.

[loobylou]

We just got ds's results yesterday.
I thought it was a little clearer than I had expected it to be (the explanations).
However I think for parents who have never come across the concepts of raw and scaled scores (and I didn't understand it till after my dd had gone through the 11+) it will still be quite confusing.
The raw scores for reading were very very low compared to the raw scores for SPAG and maths. THis obviously reflects the difficulty of the paper but also confirms how ridiculous it was to have a paper that hard - and how soul destroying for some of the children.

[Daogroupie]

It has always been the case that you can get half the questions wrong and still get a Level 4.

The debacle with the Reading paper is a result of attempting to have one paper to test all ten year olds.

There is obviously going to be a huge difference between those who have been preparing for selective schools and those who have not.

The paper was very straightforward for any student who has been doing papers in preparation for the DAO, HBS, ST Olaves and other standard format English papers.

I know of several students who got 120 in the Reading paper but it is very very unfair to put students who have not been taught advanced comprehension skills against those who have and then judge them a "failure" because they cannot use skills that nobody has taught them.

So much more sensible to have a "foundation" paper and a "higher" paper. There is a reason why GCSES are examined that way. DG

[Amber]

There is obviously going to be a huge difference between those who have been preparing for selective schools and those who have not.

The paper was very straightforward for any student who has been doing papers in preparation for the DAO, HBS, ST Olaves and other standard format English papers.

I know of several students who got 120 in the Reading paper but it is very very unfair to put students who have not been taught advanced comprehension skills against those who have and then judge them a "failure" because they cannot use skills that nobody has taught them.

So much more sensible to have a "foundation" paper and a "higher" paper. There is a reason why GCSES are examined that way. DG

The thing is DAOG that the vast majority of ten year olds in the country are not preparing for the highly competitive schools in a tiny corner of the South East. It really isn't representative and once you get away from that area, the educational landscape of England looks very different. Setting a policy around a very niche group of highly-pressured young people to suit the rest would be a disaster.

Best get rid of the tests altogether, but either way please don't look to stratify based on the hothousing going on down there. It isn't happening anywhere else apart from in tiny pockets of suburbia.

[loobylou]

Ds has not been preparing for any selective tests. I think his teacher taught him the skills fantastically well.
However the skills cannot be adequately tested on the majority of children if the reading age required is around 3 years higher than the reading age of the average child sitting the tests.
He has come out right at the top of the cohort but his raw score is much much lower than it was in any of his practice papers, presumably due to the difficulty of this particular test.

[twindad]

Whether the outcome of the SAT result as 'NS' will have impact on the Grammar students who are due to start in Sept ' 2016.

[mystery]

Not sure I understand your post, Twin Dad. Please could you post it again?