Parenting Advice: Oh No, Not the SATS Test!

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?

SATS (standardised achievement tests) were introduced as a way of assessing schools rather than children. The government wanted to answer two questions: how well are the nation's children doing, and how well are individual schools doing? To do this, they test children at age 7 to get a baseline score. The children are then tested again at age 11. The difference between the two scores is how much the children have learnt through their four years in school and is referred to as the "value added". The aim is to raise the overall level of education among eleven year old, and SATS give the government a way of measuring this.

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 you don't convince her, then talk to her teacher. Find out how she explains the SATS to her class. You can work together to reassure your child that she doesn't need to worry.

Finally, remember that if you have any concerns about how well your child is progressing in school, do talk to the teacher, or possibly the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (the SENCO) or head teacher. Do not just sit at home worrying.

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Dr. Noel Swanson has a free newsletter on children's behavior problems and is an expert contributor to Yes Parenting website.
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