To help anxious parents ensure their children are ready for their assessments, the Department for Education has confirmed the important dates for the upcoming SATs in England in the coming weeks.
The assessments serve as a gauge of children’s academic development to date and are widely used by secondary schools to determine the appropriate levels of achievement for them to strive for.
Pupils won't be allowed to see the content of the exams beforehand but they needn’t worry: the tests only contain questions on subjects that should have been covered at school as part of the national curriculum.
Past exams are available on gov.uk. There won't be a science or English writing test, as is usual. Rather, this will be an assessment by teachers.
When are the year 6 SATs?
The SATs will be held from May 13–May 16 over four days.
Monday, May 13 - English grammar, punctuation and spelling
Tuesday, May 14 - English reading
Wednesday, May 15 - Mathematics
Thursday, May 16 - Mathematics 2
When are results out?
On Tuesday July 9 test results will be sent to the schools, which will provide parents with a report including the test results and teacher evaluations before the end of the summer semester. This should give parents a decent idea of the level their children have reached in every topic. Test results will be reported by the school as a scaled score for every subject. This is calculated based on how many points children receive on a given exam.
A scaled score:
- below 100 means that children may need more support to help them reach the expected standard;
- of 100 or more means the child is working at, or above, the expected standard for the key stage.
