Level 6 SATS

Key Stages 1-2 and SATs advice

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talea51
Posts: 522
Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:10 pm

Level 6 SATS

Post by talea51 »

First off, before I ask for advice, please let me say that I am not at all bothered by NC levels - I don't believe they tell me anything about my child that I don't already know and I think they are a misguided way of assessing children and what they have learned.

Having said that, I have a dd who is stressing hugely about getting level 6 for her SATS. I don't know why because she's more than capable of it. I have told her that SATS aren't really for her, that they are a way for the school to say "look how well we teach the NC" and they are used by parents misguidedly as some kind of indicator as to what sort of education their child will get. I have told her that they are for more important to her teacher than they are to her, that she will be assessed by her new secondary school anyway, that in all likelihood she will go back to a level 5 when she starts secondary school because KS3 level 6 is not the same as KS2 level 6 but despite all these highly salient points from me :lol: she is still stressing about not getting it.

She is a bit of a perfectionist, she likes to get 100% in whatever she does and if she doesn't, then she's disappointed in herself.

I don't know how else to try and stop her from worrying about this. She takes every single practice paper incredibly seriously. I worry that she will be a wreck by the time SATS roll around as she will be doing a lot of practice papers between now and then (at school, not at home).

I have offered to do some level 6 work with her at home but she says she gets enough of it at school so she doesn't want to do more at home which I think is fair enough and I'd rather she focussed on other stuff like science, art, music and broadened her horizons this year than got bogged down in SATS levels.

I can only think that the teacher must be putting some kind of pressure on the children for her to be in such a state about it already. She was in tears last night because she missed 3 questions on a practice paper due to children around her distracting her (she was doing a paper, they weren't) and she was really worried that those 3 questions could have been the difference between getting the level 6 or not.

Is anyone else's child also stressing about this? What can I do to try and make this less stressful for her?
Tinkers
Posts: 7240
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 2:05 pm
Location: Reading

Re: Level 6 SATS

Post by Tinkers »

Ask the school not to enter her?
You know she is capable, she knows she is capable. If they are just stressing her out, see if you can remove the source of stress.

DDs primary wouldn't tell the children or parents who was sitting the level 6 papers until the morning. So no one got stressed or het up about them.

Possibly the beys way tbh.
KS10
Posts: 2516
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:39 am

Re: Level 6 SATS

Post by KS10 »

Hi Talea. I take it that your daughter is determined to sit the level 6 papers? If that is the case, I would speak to the class teacher and explain the problems exactly as you have on here. Sometimes, writing the teacher a letter is easier than talking, with the added bonus that it will be taken more seriously. With some schools a chat is all that is needed.
moved
Posts: 3826
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: Level 6 SATS

Post by moved »

The 'passmark' isn't that high. Can't remember off-hand, but I think it is around 30 for maths. GPaS is relatively easy to attain, but reading is really tough. She will need to really concentrate on the 3 mark questions.
silverysea
Posts: 1105
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:32 pm

Re: Level 6 SATS

Post by silverysea »

Having had lots of drama about perfectionism with dd2, I feel this age is a good time to take steps to try to get over it. Quitting because you might not get 100% is not good behaviour and won't help the future happiness of anyone. Better to learn to cope with these emotions now, when it doesn't even matter a jot, with help from parents, than in important exams in teen years when adult help is even less valued.

My dd2 is much improved having faced her similar fears at the HBS 11+ and it has helped her keep trying with level 6 in full knowledge that hardly anyone gets it for reading, and she is not top of the class for maths anymore - but just grumbling now not the previous massive meltdown we used to get.
talea51
Posts: 522
Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:10 pm

Re: Level 6 SATS

Post by talea51 »

My dd won't even entertain the idea of not doing the level 6 papers. She's a bit of an "if it's there I have to climb it" kind of person.

I think I will have a word with the teacher, we have parents evening next week and I think I will just mention that dd is finding the process a bit stressful and see what the teacher says.

She's much more stressed about this than she was about the 11+ and I can't figure out why.
Bobmumof3
Posts: 213
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2013 8:15 pm

Re: Level 6 SATS

Post by Bobmumof3 »

Access to the level 6 was important for us as our dd was a 5a in the June of year 5 so needed the challenge.
However we are now in the position at secondary school that all her target levels for end of ks3 are L8s for every subject which is scary. Plus all A* for GCSEs.
I'm worried now that she will get stressed by trying to achieve such a high standard.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Level 6 SATS

Post by Guest55 »

There are PLENTY of ways of stretching able pupils rather than doing this paper; what do you think teachers did before it was reintroduced?!

Primary do not cover all of level 5 - so that is a start and then enrichment is the diet recommended by ACME.
http://www.acme-uk.org/news/news-items- ... ematicians" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As a secondary maths teacher I do not agree this paper is worthwhile. Pupils who don't pass feel like failures and we are finding huge misconceptions in our students when they arrive as they have been taught incorrectly.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Level 6 SATS

Post by mystery »

My children are taught lots of things incorrectly at school in a wide range of subjects. I don't think the blame can be placed squarely upon the existence of a primary "level 6" maths paper.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Level 6 SATS

Post by Guest55 »

Mystery - then complain! My child wasn't taught anything incorrect other than in maths at primary.
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