SATS - are your schools taking them?

ausvic · Post by **ausvic** » Tue May 11, 2010 9:12 am

Just wondered if any schools of parents on this forum have boycotted the SATS. It's big news (after the election) but apart from a few they have rolled out on the news haven't heard of any in my area. After all the stress of the 11+ would have thought SATS was a walk in the park

pheasantchick · Post by **pheasantchick** » Tue May 11, 2010 9:21 am

My school in Kent are holding SATS, and optional SATS for years 3, 4, and 5.

sherry_d · Post by **sherry_d** » Tue May 11, 2010 9:34 am

pheasantchick wrote:My school in Kent are holding SATS, and optional SATS for years 3, 4, and 5.

Same here but optional sats are next week.

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:26 am

pheasantchick wrote:My school in Kent are holding SATS, and optional SATS for years 3, 4, and 5.

Same at DS's school in Bucks.

Suey12 · Post by **Suey12** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:39 am

My headteacher boycotted SATS

This is most surprising because she is scared stiff of doing anything against the norm. She (and only one other headteacher in the whole area) decided to keep her/our school open when we had the worst snow earlier this year.

I wouldn't really mind, except that my DS' class has been working hard towards these SATS for ages, when they could have been doing fun stuff. We were only told last week that there would be no SATS at our school - imagine what they would have said if WE had boycotted the SATS ??

As for doing too many exams, my DS has been forced through loads of entrance/11+ exams so these really would have been a doddle for him.

Anyway, I'm very pleased to say that his predicted SATS results were very good, so that will give him a good start in Year 7 (unless we get our Inde, in which case I would imagine they couldn't care less anyway

).

Suey12 · Post by **Suey12** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:39 am

p.s. I should have said we are in Cheshire.

Moving on · Post by **Moving on** » Tue May 11, 2010 11:41 am

My DD's school are doing Year 6 SATS exams and held optional SATS for years 3, 4, and 5 two weeks ago.

Re: Year 7, I have heard that GS do their own assessements/tests to "streamline" and do not rely on SATs predictions or results.

Midget Man · Post by **Midget Man** » Tue May 11, 2010 11:47 am

That is certainly the case for the GS my Midget will be going to. Within the first two week's they will be doing a Midyis test.

ausvic · Post by **ausvic** » Tue May 11, 2010 11:49 am

Moving on wrote: Re: Year 7, I have heard that GS do their own assessements/tests to "streamline" and do not rely on SATs predictions or results.

I think you are right. I think SATS are more about school league tables and used by non-grammars.

Suey 12 - I wouldn't really mind, except that my DS' class has been working hard towards these SATS for ages, when they could have been doing fun stuff. We were only told last week that there would be no SATS at our school - imagine what they would have said if WE had boycotted the SATS ??

I am sure your DS was quite pleased not to take the tests, I know mine would of been however so much work has been put in at school and also with masses of homework that I would have been very angry that most of our Easter holidays and weekends had been ruined by SATS homework for tests never to be done. When my older son was in year 6 doing SATS he was sick on one of the days and the school rang me and asked me to take him in just for the test - double standards

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Tue May 11, 2010 11:58 am

Moving on wrote:Re: Year 7, I have heard that GS do their own assessements/tests to "streamline" and do not rely on SATs predictions or results.

DS's GS are quite dismissive of SATs - they say they can't be sure whether the child has been taught and understood the curriculum or whether they have just been doing practice papers for the past 6 months! There is no streaming in Y7 at all, I don't know what happens next year whether they use the results from end of year exams.