The English SAT Tests The Tests Week commencing

The English SAT Tests

The Tests • Week commencing 11 h May 2019 • The English tests: o. Punctuation, Vocabulary and Grammar (45 minutes) – 70 marks combined o. Spelling (approximately 15 minutes) o. Reading (60 minutes) – 50 marks • Writing will be ‘Teacher Assessed’, as in recent years

Assessment and Reporting • Test scores will be reported as ‘scaled scores’ • The curriculum is rigorous and sets high expectations • In the past, additional Level 6 tests were produced for children who demonstrated higher than expected attainment, now there are no separate tests for different abilities

Scaled Scores • What is meant by ‘scaled scores’? • 100 represents the national standard • Each pupil’s raw test score will therefore be converted into a score on the scale, either at, above or below 100 • In July 2020 for the publication of test results, each pupil will receive: o A raw score (number of raw marks awarded) o A scaled score in each tested subject o Confirmation of whether or not they attained the national standard • • In July 2019, the pass mark for reading was 28/50 the pass mark for SPAG was 36/70

Reading • A single test paper with three unrelated reading texts • 60 minutes in total, including reading the texts and answering the questions. • 50 marks • Questions assess comprehension of reading (using VIPERS skills – recent homework tasks for KS 2) • Some questions are multiple choice or selected response, others require short answers and some require an extended response or explanation

Reading

Reading

Reading

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar • Paper 1 – A detailed test of 45 minutes, requiring short answer questions, including some multiple choice – 50 marks • Paper 2 - 20 words given, lasting approximately 15 minutes – 20 marks • Marks for these two tests are added together to give a total for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

Sample questions

Sample questions

Sample questions

Sample questions

How to help your child – SPa. G/writing • Practise and learn weekly spelling lists – make it fun as possible • Encourage opportunities for writing such as letters to family or friends, shopping lists, notes or reminders, stories or poems. • Write together – be a good role model for writing • Encourage use of a dictionary to check spelling and a thesaurus to find synonyms and expand vocabulary • Allow your child to use a computer for word processing, which will allow for editing and correcting of errors without lots of crossing out • Good readers become good writers. Identify good writing features when reading (e. g. vocabulary, sentence structure, punctuation)

How to help your child - reading • Focus on developing an enjoyment and love of reading • Enjoy stories together – reading stories to your child at KS 1 and KS 2 is equally as important as listening to your child read • Talk about the story before, during and afterwards – discuss the plot, the characters, their feelings and actions, how it makes you feel, predict what will happen and encourage your child to have their own opinions • Look up definitions of words together – you could use a dictionary, the Internet or an app on a phone or tablet • All reading is valuable – it doesn’t have to be solely library books. Reading can involve anything from fiction and non-fiction, poetry, newspapers, magazines, football programmes, TV guides

How we prepare the pupils • Three formal practice papers (October/ January/ March) – scaled scores are given and advice on how to progress • Renaissance Reading • Revision Club – Spring term • Intervention sessions • Ten 4 Ten revision exercises nearer the time – pupils can earn points

Useful websites The English area of the Bitesize website is packed with activities and questions to help you prepare for the National Tests in English: http: //www. bbc. co. uk/schools/ks 2 bitesize/english/ Skillswise aims to help adults improve their reading, writing and maths skills. It is targeted at Level 1 of the adult Basic Skills Literacy & Numeracy Curriculums for England, Wales and Northern Ireland: http: //www. bbc. co. uk/skillswise/words/grammar/ You might like to try some spelling practise on this BBC spelling site: http: //www. bbc. co. uk/schools/spellits/home_y 6 flash. shtml and this site too http: //www. amblesideprimary. com/ambleweb/lookcover. html