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ADDITIONAL TESTING

SATs

SATs are national assessment tests that children will take twice during their primary school life. First, at the end of Key Stage 1 (KS1) in Year 2, and again at the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2) in Year 6. These standardised tests are actually known as End of Key Stage Tests and Assessments, but commonly know as SATs.

SATs indicate the progress your child has made at school so far. They show what level your child is currently working to.

SATs will usually take place during the month of May.

KS1 tests are assessed by teachers meaning that there is no external marking, except occasionally for moderation, and the tests themselves tend to be fairly informal, so as not to create any undue pressure for pupils. Pupils are tested in maths (arithmetic) and English (reading, spelling, punctuation and grammar).

Pupils sit their second set of SATs at KS2 level in Year 6 which are more formal than those taken in KS1 and have set exam days as well as external marking in the majority of schools. Children will take exams in English reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, spelling, mathematical reasoning, and arithmetic.

Once the KS2 SATs are complete, they are sent away for external marking and children should receive their results towards the end of the summer term in July of Year 6. The report you receive will include your child’s:

Raw score – the number of marks they received in their SATs
Scaled score – a conversion score that allows results to be compared year-on-year
Expected standard – whether or not they have achieved the national standard

SATs have undergone significant changes in recent years, previously marked using ‘levels’. As of 2016, national SATs results are to be reported only in the form of scaled scores.

11+

The 11 Plus (also known as the 11+ or Eleven Plus) is an examination taken at the end of year 5 or by some school pupils in their last year of primary school to get into the grammar school of their choice.

In reality, children will only be 10 years old when they take the test – the term “11 Plus” refers to the fact that the test selects for schools with an entry point for children aged 11 or over.

There are now 164 Grammar Schools remaining in England.

There are two main exam boards for the 11+ exam: CEM (Durham University) and GL Assessment. The exam board used will usually depend on the location of your chosen grammar school. However, sometimes exam boards can vary between schools in the same area, so it’s important to check with your chosen grammar school and which exam board they are using as it will affect how you prepare your child:

GL Assessment: Dorset, Kent, Lancashire & Cumbria, Lincolnshire, Medway, Northern Ireland, Wiltshire.
CEM: Berkshire, Bexley, Birmingham, Buckinghamshire, Devon, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wirral, Wolverhampton.
GL and CEM: Devon, Essex, Hertfordshire, Trafford, Yorkshire

The content and structure of the 11+ exam will vary between different areas of the country, but it will generally focus on a combination of the following four subjects:

English
Maths
Verbal reasoning
Non-verbal reasoning

Verbal, and non-verbal reasoning are not subjects that are taught as part of the curriculum in state primary schools.

CATs

Cognitive Abilities Tests (CATs) are marked assessments used by schools to assess pupils’ overall intelligence, developed abilities and likely academic potential. Many secondary schools use CATs to assess Year 7 pupils’ potential within the first few weeks of their first term.

A child’s performance in the CAT is used to judge progress over the academic year and helps schools to make decisions on which class they should be placed in.

CATs assess pupils in four areas:

– Verbal Reasoning – Thinking and problem solving with words

– Non-Verbal Reasoning – Thinking and problem solving with shapes and space

– Quantitative Reasoning – Thinking and problem solving with numbers

– Spatial Reasoning – Visualising, picturing and moving shapes around

CATs are given in Standardised Age Scores (SAS), which will take into account the pupil’s age.

The average SAS is 100; once scores are gathered, they are used to calculate the level pupils are currently working at and can also be used to predict GCSE results.

Schools will look for significant variation between scores in the four key areas of Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Spatial Reasoning; differences could indicate a child is struggling in a specific area due to a learning difficulty. If this is the case, the child will be placed in a class accordingly and given additional support where needed.