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As we now enter the third year of the new key stage 2 curriculum, schools have a certain level of understanding of where the examiners are coming from when setting the SATs papers, so are in a good place to continue to improve on 2016’s and 2017’s results.
Summary of Results: 2017 vs 2016
The improvement made in 2017 versus 2016 can be seen within this infographic. Improvements in brief are outlined below:
- Reading showed the best result in terms of growth with 66% of students reaching the expected standard in 2016, and 71% in 2017.
- Results for the Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test have remained steady.
- There was a slight although still significant increase in the number of children who achieved the expected standard in mathematics. The percentage rose from 70% to 75%.
As in previous years, 2017 saw girls still outperforming boys in most subjects. In some cases, by as much as 12%. The only subject to break this trend was mathematics, where 3% more boys achieved a high score.
Another interesting set of figures are those that compare the performance of local authority schools against academies. Generally, the results are very similar, with local authority schools performing just slightly better in terms of achievement.
Key Stage 2 SATs in a Nutshell
As we all know, Key Stage 2 SATs are compulsory. The papers include:
- A mathematics paper focused on arithmetic, followed by two focused on reasoning.
- An English grammar, punctuation and spelling paper using a question and answer format.
- An English grammar, punctuation and spelling paper focused on spelling.
- An English reading paper.
Key Stage 2 Mathematics SATs
The Key Stage 2 mathematics test is split into three sections. Paper 1 (arithmetic) attracts 40% of the marks, whilst Papers 2 and 3 attract 35% each.
From analysis of the content domain coverage of the tests in 2017, we can see what proportion of the test is associated with each academic year group’s learning objectives:
As you would expect, most questions draw from the Year 6 curriculum, but perhaps surprisingly a good proportion draws from Year 4 and 5’s learning objectives too.
EducationCity’s blog includes tools and helpful hints, tips and advice when it comes to Key Stage 2 Maths. Check out our articles, such as ‘Maths Worksheets Involving Decimals for Key Stage 2’ and visit our Free Resources section, which includes a Maths SATs Preparation Lesson Plan pack.
Key Stage 2 English SATs
The Key Stage 2 English test is split into three sections. Paper 1 of the English grammar, punctuation and spelling test papers (questions) attracts 50 marks, Paper 2 (spelling) attracts 20 marks, and the reading paper attracts 50 marks.
- Paper 1: Questions
In 2017, the content domain coverage of the tests was split as below:
- Paper 2: Spelling
From this, we can see that punctuation is one of the key areas to focus on, followed by grammatical terminology.
From this breakdown, it is apparent that a good mix of suffixes and letter strings are tested.
EducationCity has its own tests onsite, which are excellent preparation for this kind of test. Just pop ID number 28200 into the Search tool to find it!
If you don’t have access to the English module, there is a Free Resource pack on the tests here too. This includes a teacher and student paper for a similar aural spelling test.
- Reading
As you would expect here, showing understanding of the text given is paramount, so it would be useful to download the 2017 test paper to gauge what the examiners require in terms of detail. You can download the reading paper from 2017 from here.
As before, EducationCity is a good source of helpful hints, tips and advice when it comes to Key Stage 2 English too. Check out our blog for general Key Stage 2 education advice and our Free Resources area for our English SATs Preparation Lesson Plan pack and Spelling Preparation Lesson Plan pack.
Last but not least, remember to remind your students that we value them for more than their exam results, and that the results are not the be-all and end-all. As part of your preparation, it’s a good idea to talk as a class about how they’re feeling and explain that it’s normal to feel nervous. See our short blog, 5 SATs Tips for Students in 5 Minutes, for more ideas.
Prepare well and lots of luck!
Sources:
Key Stage 2 tests: 2017 mathematics test materials – 2017 Key Stage 2 mathematics: mark schemes – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-2-tests-2017-mathematics-test-materials
Key Stage 2 tests: 2017 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test materials – 2017 Key Stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test: mark schemes https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-2-tests-2017-english-grammar-punctuation-and-spelling-test-materials
Key Stage 2 tests: 2017 English reading test materials – 2017 Key Stage 2 English reading: mark schemes – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-2-tests-2017-english-reading-test-materials