By Jennifer Pegg
SATs stand for Standard Assessment Tests. They are now called National Curriculum Tests, however, many people still refer to them as SATs.
The Conservatives introduced SATs in 1988.
In England they are compulsory for all 7, 11 and 14 year olds. This means those children in school years 2, 6 and 9.
However, a small number of pupils whom teachers do not think have reached the required level may not be entered for the exams.
1.8 million children take the tests each year.
Thanks to devolution in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, they all do not have SATs tests for 7 year olds.
In England there are SATs league tables at 11 and 14. This is not the case in Scotland or Northern Ireland. After devolution the Welsh too abolished SATs league tables leaving the English as the only remaining region to maintain them.
SATS marks are recorded as levels. Level one is the lowest whilst even at 14 a level eight is considered to be exceptional. The expected grades for SATS are
Year 2 (aged 7) level two,
Year 6 (aged 11) level four,
Year 9 (aged 14) level five/six.
The SATs are taken in the following subjects: -
Year 2 (aged 7) English and Maths only,
Year 6 (aged 11) English, Maths and Science,
Year 9 (aged 14) English, Maths and Science.
These are considered to be the core curriculum subjects at these ages.
The SATs exams are said to take the following amount of time: -
Year 2 (aged 7) less than three hours,
Year 6 (aged 11) five to five and a half hours,
Year 9 (aged 14) seven to eight hours.
SATs results are not given directly to children. They are given to the child's parent/legal guardian in the form of a report.
In April 2003 Healthy magazine reported that a survey carried out by the BBC showed six out of every ten teachers believe that SATs stress children.
The government is currently reforming tests for seven year olds; they are carrying out a pilot in 38 Local Education Authorities (LEAs).
The term Attainment Target refers to the eight level performance indicators used to record achievement.
Key Stages are school year blocks. These could be seen to refer to the school years in which a child is working to a particular end. The stages are
Key Stage One 5-7 (SATs Year 2),
Key Stage Two 7-11 (SATs Year 6),
Key Stage Three 11-14 (SATs Year 9),
Key Stage Four 14 - 16 (GCSEs Year 11).
Age standardised test scores is a term that refers to a system to inform parents how their child did compared with other children born in the same month.
2003 SATs results
Results for 'expected grades' for seven year olds in writing fell 4 percent from 86 percent to 81 percent of seven year olds. The government still did not reach its targets of 75 percent of pupils at eleven to achieve the 'expected level' in Maths - it remained static at 73 percent. The English target of 80 percent of eleven year olds to get the 'expected grade' was also not met and the number of eleven year olds obtaining this grade remained at 75 percent.
Still not sure you know what you want to know, the following are some useful websites
Department of Education and Skills
Parent Centre (govt website)
Qualifications Curriculum Authority (awarding body)
