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SATS! - A Daunting Educational Yardstick
by Noel Swanson
http://www.good-child-guide.com
Well, here we are again facing the dreaded standardized
achievement tests (SATS). Everyone involved is a bundle of
nerves. The head teacher wants to look good on the national
league tables. The other teachers want to make a good
impression. The poor children, everyone keeps telling them
how important the tests are, so they are panicked about not
doing well enough.
There are some children who excel at tests and love them. At
the other end of the spectrum are those who become
completely stressed over exams. Most kids could live just as
well without them. If your child stresses to the extreme,
how can you help?
Standardized Achievement Tests (SATS) were created to assess
schools. The government wanted to find out how well children
are doing as a whole, and how well each school is
performing. They start by testing a child at age 7 to
establish a baseline score. They are tested again when they
are 11. The difference in scores is known as the "value
added", and refers to how much the child has learned in four
years. The goal is to raise the education level among eleven
year olds. The SATS allow the government to measure how well
they're doing.
So how is this relevant to your child? It isn't! The SATS
have almost no relevance to an individual child. The
secondary school will not use the SATS scores in planning
their teaching - they will do their own assessment of each
child. Besides, the scores on the SATS, called levels, are
so broad that they do not really tell you how well your
child is doing. The average eleven year old is supposed to
score at level 4. But if your child is at level 4 you still
have no idea if your child is the high end or low end of
average. If your child scores at a lower or higher level,
that too is unlikely to be news to you. Even without the
SATS you would almost certainly have known if your child is
ahead or behind the rest of the class - and so should the
teacher. So your child's individual SAT scores will not
affect his or her education in any way.
How do you handle the situation if your child is stressed
out about the SATS? First, explain that it's the school
being tested, and not her. Tell her that her levels won't
matter. Tell her to do the best she can, but don't force her
to study or practice. She will have enough tests in her life
and doesn't need to stress out about these.
If your reassurance doesn't t help, then talk to her
teacher. Find out how he handles explaining the SATS to his
students. Let him know that you have concerns about your
child, and would like to work out a plan of mutual support.
If you have concerns in general about your child's school
progress, then have a talk with the teacher. You may even
need to talk with the head teacher or the Special Needs
Coordinator (SENCO). Take action instead of silently
worrying.
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