SATS 2016

What are SATs? Standard Attainment Tests To measure academic performance in English and Maths at Year 6

There are no levels now – marked on a scaled score. A pupil’s scaled score will be based on their raw score. A pupil who achieves the national standard will have demonstrated sufficient knowledge in the areas assessed by the tests. This will mean that they are well placed to succeed in the next phase of their education. _________________________________________________ You will be told your child’s scaled score and whether or not they met the national standard. The old national curriculum levels are not relevant to the new national curriculum.

SATs week : week beginning 9 th May 2016 English reading testMonday 9 May English grammar, punctuation and spelling test Paper 1: short answer questions Paper 2: spelling Tuesday 10 May Mathematics Paper 1: arithmetic Paper 2: reasoning Wednesday 11 May Mathematics Paper 3: reasoning Thursday 12 May

Reading test Stamina – children will be given 1 hour to read and answer questions (usually around 30 questions with up to 50 marks) Questions assess their comprehension at different levels Three sections, increasingly difficult The least-demanding text will come first with the following texts increasing in level of difficulty

There will be a selection of question types, including: Ranking/ordering, e.g. ‘Number the events below to show the order in which they happen in the story’ Labelling, e.g. ‘Label the text to show the title of the story’ Find and copy, e.g. ‘Find and copy one word that suggests what the weather is like in the story’ Short constructed response, e.g. ‘What does the bear eat?’ Open-ended response, e.g. ‘Look at the sentence that begins Once upon a time. How does the writer increase the tension throughout this paragraph? Explain fully, referring to the text in your answer.’

Writing tests Writing is now assessed by your child’s teacher All of their independent writing from across the year will be taken into account in order for us to assess them However most of the evidence we will take from work completed after Christmas Final assessments will be completed in June

These are the statements that your child's writing will be assessed against: Working towards the expected standard The pupil can write for a range of purposes and audiences: using paragraphs to organise ideas describing settings and characters using some cohesive devices* within and across sentences and paragraphs using different verb forms mostly accurately using co-ordinating and subordinating conjunctions using capital letters, full stops, question marks, exclamation marks, commas for lists and apostrophes for contraction mostly correctly spelling most words correctly* (years 3 and 4) spelling some words correctly* (years 5 and 6) producing legible joined handwriting.

Working at the expected standard The pupil can write for a range of purposes and audiences (including writing a short story): creating atmosphere, and integrating dialogue to convey character and advance the action selecting vocabulary and grammatical structures that reflect the level of formality required mostly correctly using a range of cohesive devices*, including adverbials, within and across sentences and paragraphs using passive and modal verbs mostly appropriately using a wide range of clause structures, sometimes varying their position within the sentence using adverbs, preposition phrases and expanded noun phrases effectively to add detail, qualification and precision using inverted commas, commas for clarity, and punctuation for parenthesis mostly correctly, and making some correct use of semi-colons, dashes, colons and hyphens spelling most words correctly* (years 5 and 6) maintaining legibility, fluency and speed in handwriting through choosing whether or not to join specific letters.

The Spelling Punctuation and Grammar test (SPAG) These will be short answer questions, assessing grammar, punctuation and vocabulary. Grammar and punctuation test. 45 minutes and about 45 – 50 questions The grammar and punctuation test will include two sub- types of questions: Selected response, e.g. ‘Identify the adjectives in the sentence below’ Constructed response, e.g. ‘Correct/complete/rewrite the sentence below,’ or, ‘The sentence below has an apostrophe missing. Explain why it needs an apostrophe.’

Spelling test The spelling test will be 20 sentences with missing words. The teacher will read them out for the children to fill in. Spelling test marks are combined with the SpaG test for the reported result. Spelling comprises a large part of the marks.

discover mission loose sign country gymnastics edible posture sleigh delicious scent illusion re-enter parachute abundance unavoidably dissolve ominous drawer possession

Maths tests There are 3 parts to the maths test: Maths Paper 1: Arithmetic– 30 minutes ( 36 questions) In this test, long division and long multiplication questions are worth 2 marks each. You will be awarded 2 marks for a correct answer. You may get 1 mark for showing a formal method. Maths Paper 2: Reasoning Maths Paper 3: Reasoning Both of these papers are 40 minutes long Children are allowed adult help to read the questions on the maths paper.

Paper 1 will consist of fixed response questions, where children have to give the correct answer to calculations, including long multiplication and division. Papers 2 and 3 will involve a number of question types, including: Multiple choice True or false Constrained questions, e.g. giving the answer to a calculation, drawing a shape or completing a table or chart Less constrained questions, where children will have to explain their approach for solving a problem

= 24 x 3 = = 48 ÷ 6 = 472 – 9 = 5 x 4 x 7= 1 4 – 5 20 % 0f x ÷ x 8

8a £2.55 1m 8b Award TWO marks for the correct answer of 25 Up to 2m If the answer is incorrect, award ONE mark for evidence of an appropriate method, e.g. £5.15 – 15p = £5 £5 ÷ 20p OR £5.15 – 15p = £5 5 × 5

Award ONE mark for an explanation which recognises that the two pie charts represent different numbers of children, e.g. ‘25 boys like milk chocolate best and more than 25 girls do’ ‘It’s almost half of 100 girls and that’s more than half of 50 boys’

Science As there are no SATs for science this year we will be assessing the children towards the end of the summer term based upon all of their learning throughout Key Stage 2. Some schools complete sample science SATs.

What is the school doing to help my child to prepare?

Support for English Key Skills lessons Spelling patterns taught in school Focussed guided reading sessions Independent opportunities with individual feedback marking Focussed writing tuition for children Booster writing sessions Mock SATs reading questions Test ‘technique’ Homework

Support for Maths Regular arithmetic practise Regular times tables focus Homework Flexible teaching groups Booster groups

During SATs week itself: All resources are provided – children do not need to bring any resources Use of additional rooms – smaller groups of children (if appropriate) Adult support

We are doing lots of SATs preparation at school to get your child ready for their tests and feel confident. First mock tests in November. You can come and chat to me and look at their books at any time.

What can parents do at home to help? Hear your child read and ask questions about it Help them to spot patterns in their spellings Online practise papers Practise times tables as much as possible Real life maths CGP study guides Mathletics Short revision sessions are best! They’ll do their best if they are calm, confident prepared and relaxed.

Useful websites for SATs practice All of the old SATs materials are here. We use them in school.

Year 6 revision books and example papers to order. Please take an order form with you tonight and return to the office by Tuesday 1 st December.