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Assessment Information

Statutory Assessment - Academic Year 2023/24

 

Reception Baseline Assessment
Schools must complete the Reception Baseline Assessment for each child in the first 6 weeks after they enter reception. This usually takes place within the month of September or when a child first joins our setting.

 

Key Stage 1 SATS
It is recommended that the Key Stage 1 tests (which are now optional) are administered during May 2024. Schools are free to manage the timetable and will administer the tests in the classroom in a low-stress, low-key way.

Key Stage 1 SATs are used to test children’s knowledge and understanding of English and Mathematics in Key Stage 1. They provide a snapshot of children’s attainment and help Year 2 teachers arrive at a secure judgement for their final ‘teacher assessment’ at the end of Key Stage 1.

 

Key Stage 1 Reading
The reading test for Year 2 pupils will involve two separate papers:

  • Paper 1 consists of a selection of texts totalling 400 to 700 words, with questions interspersed
  • Paper 2 comprises a reading booklet of a selection of passages totalling 800 to 1100 words. Children will write their answers in a separate booklet

Each paper is worth 50 percent of the marks and should take around 30 minutes, but children will not be strictly timed, as the tests are not intended to assess children’s ability to work at speed.

The texts in the reading papers will cover a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and will get progressively more difficult towards the end of the test. Teachers will have the option to stop the test at any point that they feel is appropriate for a particular child.

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 that they do in the story’
  • Labelling, e.g. ‘Label the text to show the title’
  • 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 answer, e.g. ‘Why did Lucy write the letter to her grandmother? Give two reasons’

 

Key Stage 1 Maths
The Key Stage 1 maths test will comprise two papers:

  • Paper 1: arithmetic, worth 25 marks and taking around 15 minutes.
  • Paper 2: mathematical fluency, problem-solving and reasoning, worth 35 marks and taking 35 minutes, with a break if necessary. There will be a variety of question types: multiple choice, matching, true/false, constrained (e.g. completing a chart or table; drawing a shape) and less constrained (e.g. where children have to show or explain their method).

Children will not be able to use any tools such as calculators or number lines.

 

Key Stage 1 Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation
Paper 1: a grammar and punctuation written task, taking approximately 20 minutes, and worth 15 marks. Children will be provided with a prompt and stimulus for a short piece of writing, with a clear text type, audience and purpose. Handwriting will be worth four per cent of the marks.

  • Paper 2: a grammar, punctuation and vocabulary test, in two sections of around 10 minutes each (with a break between, if necessary), worth 20 marks. This will involve a mixture of selecting the right answers e.g. through multiple choice, and writing short answers.
  • Paper 3: a 20-word spelling test taking approximately 15 minutes and worth 10 marks.

 

How are SATS papers marked in Key Stage 1?

Each child’s raw score – the actual number of marks they get – is translated into a scaled score, where a score of 100 means the child is working at the expected standard. A score below 100 indicates that the child needs more support, whereas a score of above 100 suggests the child is working at a higher level than expected for their age. The maximum score possible is 115, and the minimum is 85.

Teacher assessments are also used to build up a picture of your child’s learning and achievements. In addition, your child will receive an overall result saying whether they have achieved the required standard in the tests (your child’s actual results won’t be communicated to you unless you ask for them).

 

Key Stage 2 Assessment (Year 6 Pupils)
Year 6, before children leave us to move to Secondary school they undertake tests in Reading Comprehension, Writing, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation (GPS) and Numeracy. These tests are set by the Department for Education and must be taken in a particular week in May.  All maintained schools in the country take the same test on the same day.  

The key stage 2 tests are timetabled from Monday 13 May to Thursday 16 May 2024.

 

Key Stage 2 Reading
The reading test will provisionally be a single paper with questions based on one 800-word text and two passages of 300 words. Your child will have one hour, including reading time, to complete the test.

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.’

 

Key Stage 2 grammar, punctuation and spelling test
The grammar, punctuation and spelling test will consist of two parts: a grammar and punctuation paper requiring short answers, lasting 45 minutes, and an aural spelling test of 20 words, lasting around 15 minutes.

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.’

 

Key Stage 2 Maths
Children will sit three papers in maths:

  • Paper 1: arithmetic, 30 minutes (written)
  • Papers 2 and 3: mathematical fluency, solving problems and reasoning, 40 minutes per 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.

 

Key Stage 2 science
Not all children in Year 6 nationally will take science SATs. For those whose schools are selected, there will be three papers:

  • Biology: 25 minutes, 22 marks
  • Chemistry: 25 minutes, 22 marks
  • Physics: 25 minutes, 22 marks

 

How will Key Stage 2 SATs be marked?
Children will be given standardised scores. You will be given your child’s score, alongside the average for their school, the local area and nationally. There will also be a ‘performance descriptor’ of the expected standard for Key Stage 2 pupils. The Department for Education is aiming for 65% of children to reach or exceed that standard.

 

How you can help

  • Try to talk to your child ahead of the test week and reassure them – re-iterating the message that they just need to try their best and not worry.
  • Make sure that they have a reasonably early night during SAT week.  They will feel under a degree of stress so try to be patient.
  • Ensure that they have a healthy breakfast before coming to school.  Once in school we provide milk, juice or fruit prior to the tests starting with those children who want it.
  • Once home ask your child how the day went and what they think they did well.

 

Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check
Schools must administer the multiplication tables check within the 2-week period from Monday 3 June 2024.

The multiplication tables check is an online test for pupils in Year 4. Pupils are asked to answer 25 questions on times tables from two to 12. They are given six seconds per question, with three seconds rest between each question, so the test should last less than five minutes. It is very similar to the set-up of Times Tables Rock stars.

Questions about the six, seven, eight, nine, and 12 times tables are likely to come up most often, as these are the hardest for most children to learn. It’s a good idea to focus on these tricky times tables with your child.

First and foremost, the check is about finding out which children are struggling with their times tables so that they can get extra support. It is not a judgement on what your child can do, but a way for the school to know how their teaching is going and to adjust their focus if needed.

 

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check (Year 1 Pupils)
We are required to administer a phonics screening check to children in Year 1, week commencing Monday 10 June 2024

This test is a series of words – proper and nonsense words which children are asked to read using their phonic knowledge.  If a child in Year 1 does not get the required number of words right to pass the test they are able to revisit it in Year 2.

 

General Assessment Information
Our comprehensive Assessment Policy contains further information about procedures at Orchard relating to the tracking and assessment of pupils, which can be opened using the following link:
 https://www.orchardprimary.org/policy/assessment-policy

 

Useful Links
Gov.UK Education Pages:  https://www.gov.uk/browse/education
Local Authority Schools Website:  http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/education.htm