Changes to Assessment at Year 2 2016

Context September 2014 – a new curriculum was introduced Expectations have increased and some Y3 objectives are now in the Y2 curriculum Revised National Curriculum assessed for the first time in 2016 – without levels New curriculum, new standards, new tests

Testing at KS1 The Year 2, KS1 SATs will take place during May but there is not a specific date during which they must be administered. They can be administered in groups or as a class, at the discretion of the teacher but remain highly confidential. The Y2 tests are to be administered very much under systems and routines similar to KS2 e.g. heightened security.

Reading Reading is tested and the test forms PART OF the teacher assessment. The test will involve two separate papers Paper 1 (lower demand) approx 30 mins Selection of short texts with questions interspersed. Paper 2 (higher demand) approx 40 mins 2 different texts with answers in a separate booklet. The texts in the reading papers will cover a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. All pupils will have access to both papers, with the teacher deciding when to withdraw pupils from the test if necessary.

Reading There will be a variety of question types: Multiple choice Ranking/ordering e.g. ‘Number the events below to show in which order they happened in the story’ Matching e.g. ‘Match the character to the job they do in the story’ Labelling Find and copy e.g. ‘Find and copy one word that shows what the weather was like in the story’ Short answer e.g. ‘What does the bear eat?’ Open-ended answers e.g. ‘Why did Lucy write the letter to her grandmother? Give two reasons’

Reading Children must evidence all the Y2 skills and all Y1 skills when reading at an age appropriate text Most importantly, they need to be able to retrieve information and infer (use information provided to draw conclusions) They need to read with fluency and automaticity (they do it automatically) Reading regularly at home really helps.

Grammar, Spelling & Punctuation (GPS) Tested at Year 2 for the first time this year – Paper 1: Spelling test 20 marks available 20 mins approx Paper 2: Grammar, punctuation & vocabulary 15 mins approx Emphasis on the technical aspects of grammar

Grammar, Spelling & Punctuation What your child needs to know Use subordination (using when, if, that, because) and co-ordination (using or, and, but) Use expanded noun phrases for description and specification e.g. the blue butterfly, plain flour) Know there are 4 main sentence types – statements, questions, exclamations and commands Make the correct choice of present tense and past tense words throughout writing (ran not runned, wrote not writed) and use the correct form of verbs in the present and past tense to mark actions in progress (she is drumming, he was shouting)

Grammar, Spelling & Punctuation What your child needs to know Use suffixes to form nouns e.g. –ness, -er (sad-sadness, weak-weaker) Use suffixes to make adjectives e.g. –ful, -less, (home- homeless, power – powerless, pain – painful) Understand compounding (two words combine to make one) e.g. white/board, super/man Use of the suffixes –er, -est in adjectives to make comparisons (largest, smaller) Use of suffix –ly to turn adjectives into adverbs (dangerous-dangerously, beautiful-beautifully)

Punctuation What your child needs to know Use capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate sentences Use commas to separate items in a list Use apostrophes to mark where letters are missing in spelling (don’t, I’m) and to mark singular possession in nouns e.g. ‘the girl’s name’

GPS – Example Questions

GPS – Example Questions

Writing A judgement about writing will be made using teacher assessment. Teachers will review all of a child’s writing – not just writing in their English books – in order to arrive at a judgement. Children will be judged to be: Working towards the expected standard Working at the expected standard Working at greater depth within the expected standard These standards will be described using “The pupil can…” statements. Children must achieve all of the statements within a judgements in order for it to be awarded.

National Curriculum for Maths aims to ensure that all pupils: ‘Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics.’ ‘Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, and developing an argument, justification or proof using maths language.’ ‘Can solve problems by applying their Maths to a variety of routine and non routine problems with increasing sophistication, breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.’

National Curriculum for Maths To be able to count on and back in steps of 2,3,5, and 10 to and from 100. To use mental and written calculation strategies to solve addition and subtraction number problems involving money and measures. To be able to halve and double numbers. To start to learn times tables. Children must know their 2,3,5 and 10 times table. To understand the relationship between addition and subtraction, multiplication and division. Practical problem solving, involving time, money and measures.

The Maths Papers Paper 1: Arithmetic This will test number & calculation skills. 20 mins approx Paper 2: Mathematical fluency, problem-solving & reasoning Using maths to solve problems-variety of question types including multiple choice, matching, true/false etc. 35 mins approx Questions will increase in difficulty. Children will not be able to use any equipment such as calculators or number lines.

Maths – Example Questions

Maths – Example Questions

Maths Teacher Assessment will include: Written, practical and oral classwork Results of the tests

Marking and Results All of the tests will be marked by the teacher. The score achieved in the test will be converted to a scaled score around 100. Teachers will then use these scores alongside their knowledge of your child & the work in their books to help them arrive at their teacher assessment for the end of Year 2. The judgements will follow the same format as the writing judgements and state whether your child is working: towards, at or at greater depth within the expected standard.

Standards For English Reading, Writing and Mathematics, children will be grouped into 4 categories: Working towards the expected standard Working at the expected standard Working at greater depth within the expected standard, or A category for those children who do not meet the ‘working towards the expected standard’ For Science, children will be grouped into 2 categories: Working at the expected standard, or A category for those children who do not meet the standard

We have pushed for fun and topic based learning. And the good news We have built our teaching around the format of the tests since September so, unbeknown to the children, they have been exposed to the language and formats in order to prepare them. We have pushed for fun and topic based learning.

How can you help? Ensure your child reads at least 3 times a week (preferably five or more at Y2) Read a variety of texts to and with your child – not just school books. Always ask questions to check your child’s understanding of what they have read. Help them learn their spellings through emphasising the rule (if in doubt, call in to see the teacher) Get your children involved in practical Maths at home when making models, doing crafts, baking, shopping, when doing DIY. Even High 5s can be graded in 5s and 10s!

How can you help? Take time to practice counting in 1s, 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s (from zero and from any unit number) forwards and backwards and help with times tables. Encourage anything which helps develop fine motor skills (e.g Play-Doh, colouring, Lego etc) and harness any enthusiasm or opportunities to write (thank you notes, lists etc) Ensure homework is completed but encourage independence.