Despite the ongoing debate surrounding them, SATs tests are back on the agenda for pupils this week.
These assessments, held annually in May across primary schools nationwide, are scheduled for Year 6 students from May 12 to 15.
While Key Stage 1 (Year 2) exams are no longer compulsory, it's down to individual schools to decide whether their younger students participate.
Over time, there have been numerous calls to scrap these tests, with some parents and educators arguing that they've transformed schools into exam factories and soured children's attitudes towards learning.
In a notable act of protest in 2016, the campaign group Let Our Kids Be Kids organised a school strike day, encouraging parents to keep their children at home as a sign of resistance against the exams, reports the Manchester Evening News.
However, the government maintains that these 'tests are in pupils' own interests', enabling both parents and teachers to pinpoint where extra support is required to 'make sure all children leave primary school having mastered the basics of literacy and numeracy'.
What does the process involve?
Pupils are assessed in maths and English (including reading and spelling, punctuation and grammar).
Teachers aim to make the testing procedure as relaxed as possible. The papers aren't strictly timed and are typically administered in a regular classroom setting to minimise stress for the children.
Students receive scaled SATs scores, which teachers calculate from the raw score - the actual number of marks achieved. This overall score is based on both the SATs results and classroom performance, including teacher observations.
For Key Stage 1 (KS1), a score of 100 indicates that the child is performing at the expected level. A score below 100 suggests the need for additional support, while a score above 100 implies the child is exceeding expectations for their age.
The maximum possible score is 115, and the minimum is 85.
In contrast, for Key Stage 2 (KS2), there is no teacher assessment involved as the papers are marked externally.
Each student receives a raw score and a scaled score - you'll likely only be informed of their scaled score - and will be told whether they have met the national standard (NS).
The full list of KS2 SATs outcome codes is:
- AS - the expected standard has been achieved
- NS - the expected standard has not been achieved
- A - the child was absent from one or more of the test papers
- B - the child is working below the level assessed by KS2 SATs
- M - the child missed the test
- T - the child is working at the level of the tests but is unable to access them (because all or part of a test is not suitable for a pupil with particular special educational needs)
A scaled score of 100 or more signifies that the child has met the expected standard in each test. A scaled score of 99 or less means they haven't reached the government-expected standard.
The maximum possible score is 120, and the minimum is 80.
Teacher assessment results are also available, and at the end of Year 6, you'll receive your child's results for reading, writing, mathematics, and science. Codes include EXS, indicating 'working at the expected standard', or GDS, meaning they're working at a greater depth.
Now that you understand how the tests work, you might be curious about the type of questions included.
We've compiled the following quiz using questions from past KS1 and KS2 tests. Try your hand at 10 sample questions below, some of which are targeted at children as young as six years old.
You don't have to disclose your score (no pressure), but we've included multiple choice answers even though students don't always get these options.
Interestingly, the average score for adults taking these tests is less than 50%, implying that most adults would score below expectations in their KS2 SATs if they were to sit them today.
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