National Assessment Tests 2016 Redhill Primary School

Key Stage 2 Since the introduction of the New Curriculum in September 2014, there has been an increased expectation of what children should be able to do by the time they leave primary school. The formal assessments, taken at the end of Y6, have also changed as a result.

Test Papers Children will continue to take externally marked papers. This will comprise: 3 maths papers Reading comprehension paper SPAG paper (spelling, punctuation, grammar) Spelling test Writing will continue to be assessed, as previously, by the school (teacher assessment)

Mathematics Children will take 3 maths papers: Mental arithmetic paper – to test number fluency, calculations, mental skills 2 written papers – to test knowledge and understanding, problem solving and reasoning This is in line with the 3 key aims of the New Curriculum.

Mental Arithmetic

To help at home Children need to be fluent in numbers and mathematical concepts: Mental maths (times tables and linked division facts, doubles/halves, multiplying and dividing by 10/100/1000, number bonds) Written methods – all four operations; whole numbers, decimals and fractions Number facts – square and cube numbers

Written Papers

To help at home Children need to be able to solve problems, in words, numbers and diagrams. Children need to be able to reason mathematically – explaining their thinking, showing their methods, proving/disproving statements using evidence.

English Children will take 3 test papers: Reading comprehension paper SPAG paper Spelling test Writing will be assessed by teachers in school and across schools.

Reading Children have 1 hour to complete the reading comprehension paper. They have a reading booklet, with 3-4 different texts which increase in difficulty, all based on different topics. They must use these texts to help them answer a wide range of questions.

Reading These include: Recall of key information Inferring details (using clues in the text) Identifying organisational features Identifying effective vocabulary and explaining the effect Thinking about the purpose of the author and the impact on the reader

Reading

SPAG Children take a written SPAG paper which tests grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and spelling (to some extent). They also take a spelling test. Words are dictated in the context of sentences and the target word is repeated several times. Words are based on spelling lists across KS2 and expected rules/ patterns which should be taught.

SPAG

To help at home Children need to know, recognise and use: Word classes (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, pronoun, article) Parts of sentences (words, phrases, clauses) Variety of punctuation marks (. CL, ? ! “” ‘ … () - : ;) Generating words (root words, prefixes, suffixes)

Spelling

To help at home Encourage children to learn and practice spellings: Weekly spellings Word lists – Y3/4 and Y5/6 Key words (reading journals) Encourage children to spot patterns: Using letter strings/digraphs Creating their own words which match groups Investigating new vocabulary Invest in a dictionary/thesaurus!