National Curriculum assessment
Encyclopedia
National Curriculum assessments are a series of educational assessments, colloquially known as Sats or SATs, used to assess the attainment of children attending maintained schools in England
. They comprise a mixture of teacher-led and test-based assessment depending on the age of the pupils.
The tests were introduced for 7-year-olds for the academic year ending July 1991, and for 11-year-olds in the academic year ending July 1995.
Similar tests were introduced for 14-year-olds for the academic year ending July 1998 but were scrapped at the end of the academic year ending July 2009.
The assessments are completed at the end of each Key Stage
and record attainment in terms of National Curriculum attainment levels, numbered between 1 and 8. The expectations for each stage are set out as follows:
s.
Where assessment is completed through testing, these assessments are known as National Curriculum Tests.
Colloquially the assessments - particularly in the test form - are referred to as SATs. This terminology is rooted in the original intention to introduce Standard Assessment Tasks when the assessments were first introduced. The term is variously believed to stand for Statutory Assessment Tests, Standard Attainment Tests, Standardised Achievement Tests and Standard Assessment Tests. "SATs" is pronounced as one word, rather than the American SATs (where the letters "SAT" are pronounced individually).
alongside data for secondary schools relating to performance at Key Stage 4
.
, Mathematics
and Science
. In English, teachers are required to record a level in the three strands of Reading, Writing, and Speaking & Listening.
To assist teachers in arriving at an assessed level, tests and tasks can be completed in reading, writing and mathematics. These are normally taken during May.
, Mathematics
and Science
(up until 2009). These provide records of attainment in the subjects, including separate levels for reading and writing as part of the overall English grade.
In addition, teachers are required to provide teacher assessments in the same subjects.
, all pupils were required to undertake National Curriculum Tests in the three core subjects of English
, Mathematics
and Science
. These provided records of attainment in the subjects, including separate levels for reading and writing as part of the overall English grade. The English assessments also included the study of a Shakespeare play.
Previous plans to introduce a test for Information and Communication Technology were dropped in 2007 in favour of a bank of formative assessment materials.
Following a series of issues regarding the marking of National Curriculum Tests in 2008, the national tests were abolished for Key Stage 3. Teacher assessments are still required in all the subjects of the National Curriculum and in Religious Education
.
produces suites of tests for the assessment of English and Mathematics in Years 3, 4 and 5 during Key Stage 2, and in Years 7 and 8 during Key Stage 3. These tests are not statutory, hence their titling as Optional Tests. Although no longer compulsory, assessment materials are also still available for Year 9.
In its 2008 report into National Testing, the House of Commons, the Select Committee on Children, Schools and Families
registered its concern with the current testing arrangements in state schools. It raised concerns that the "professional abilities of teachers" were under-used and that the high-stakes nature of the tests led to "phenomena such as teaching to the test, narrowing the curriculum and focusing disproportionate resources on borderline pupils." They further recommended that the multiple uses of National Curriculum assessment - for local accountability, national monitoring, and individual progress measurement - be separated into different forms of assessment.
In April, 2009, the National Union of Teachers voted to ballot members on boycotting SATs tests for the following year.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They comprise a mixture of teacher-led and test-based assessment depending on the age of the pupils.
The tests were introduced for 7-year-olds for the academic year ending July 1991, and for 11-year-olds in the academic year ending July 1995.
Similar tests were introduced for 14-year-olds for the academic year ending July 1998 but were scrapped at the end of the academic year ending July 2009.
The assessments are completed at the end of each Key Stage
Key Stage
A Key Stage is a stage of the state education system in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the British Territory of Gibraltar setting the educational knowledge expected of students at various ages...
and record attainment in terms of National Curriculum attainment levels, numbered between 1 and 8. The expectations for each stage are set out as follows:
| Key Stage | School Year | Approximate Pupil Age |
Expected Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key Stage 1 Key Stage 1 Key Stage 1 is the legal term for the two years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 1 and Year 2, when pupils are aged between 5 and 7. This Key Stage normally covers pupils during infant school, although in some cases this might form part of a first or... |
Year 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Key Stage 2 Key Stage 2 Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when pupils are aged between 7 and 11. The term is applied differently in Northern Ireland where it refers to pupils in Year 5, Year 6 and... |
Year 6 | 11 | 4 |
| Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14... |
Year 9 | 14 | 5 or 6 |
Terminology
The terminology used for the assessments varies both in type and context. Where assessments are made in-school by class teachers, these are referred to as Teacher Assessments. These assessments make up part of the final assessment at the end of all Key StageKey Stage
A Key Stage is a stage of the state education system in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the British Territory of Gibraltar setting the educational knowledge expected of students at various ages...
s.
Where assessment is completed through testing, these assessments are known as National Curriculum Tests.
Colloquially the assessments - particularly in the test form - are referred to as SATs. This terminology is rooted in the original intention to introduce Standard Assessment Tasks when the assessments were first introduced. The term is variously believed to stand for Statutory Assessment Tests, Standard Attainment Tests, Standardised Achievement Tests and Standard Assessment Tests. "SATs" is pronounced as one word, rather than the American SATs (where the letters "SAT" are pronounced individually).
Data
In England, data collected from the assessments at all three key stages are published nationally in performance tables produced by the Department for Children, Schools and FamiliesDepartment for Children, Schools and Families
The Department for Children, Schools and Families was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education...
alongside data for secondary schools relating to performance at Key Stage 4
Key Stage 4
Key Stage 4 is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs, and other exams, in maintained schools in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland—normally known as Year 10 and Year 11 in England and Wales, and Year 11 and Year 12 in Northern Ireland, when pupils are...
.
Key Stage 1
During Year 2, teacher assessment is carried out in the core subjects of EnglishEnglish studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, Mathematics
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
and Science
Science education
Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises...
. In English, teachers are required to record a level in the three strands of Reading, Writing, and Speaking & Listening.
To assist teachers in arriving at an assessed level, tests and tasks can be completed in reading, writing and mathematics. These are normally taken during May.
Key Stage 2
During May in the final year of Key Stage 2, children undertake National Curriculum Tests in the three core subjects of EnglishEnglish studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, Mathematics
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
and Science
Science education
Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises...
(up until 2009). These provide records of attainment in the subjects, including separate levels for reading and writing as part of the overall English grade.
In addition, teachers are required to provide teacher assessments in the same subjects.
Key Stage 3
Until 2008, in May during the final year of Key Stage 3Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3 is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14...
, all pupils were required to undertake National Curriculum Tests in the three core subjects of English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, Mathematics
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
and Science
Science education
Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises...
. These provided records of attainment in the subjects, including separate levels for reading and writing as part of the overall English grade. The English assessments also included the study of a Shakespeare play.
Previous plans to introduce a test for Information and Communication Technology were dropped in 2007 in favour of a bank of formative assessment materials.
Following a series of issues regarding the marking of National Curriculum Tests in 2008, the national tests were abolished for Key Stage 3. Teacher assessments are still required in all the subjects of the National Curriculum and in Religious Education
Religious Education
Religious Education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a...
.
Optional tests
In addition to the statutory assessments at the end of each key stage, the Qualifications and Curriculum AuthorityQualifications and Curriculum Authority
The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency is an exempt charity, and an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Children, Schools and Families...
produces suites of tests for the assessment of English and Mathematics in Years 3, 4 and 5 during Key Stage 2, and in Years 7 and 8 during Key Stage 3. These tests are not statutory, hence their titling as Optional Tests. Although no longer compulsory, assessment materials are also still available for Year 9.
Criticisms
Like many tests of this nature, the assessments have been subject to a variety of criticism. Two of the main points of concern are that they place children under constant stress for their whole academic lives, and that the principal purpose of national curriculum testing is for school league tables.In its 2008 report into National Testing, the House of Commons, the Select Committee on Children, Schools and Families
Department for Children, Schools and Families
The Department for Children, Schools and Families was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education...
registered its concern with the current testing arrangements in state schools. It raised concerns that the "professional abilities of teachers" were under-used and that the high-stakes nature of the tests led to "phenomena such as teaching to the test, narrowing the curriculum and focusing disproportionate resources on borderline pupils." They further recommended that the multiple uses of National Curriculum assessment - for local accountability, national monitoring, and individual progress measurement - be separated into different forms of assessment.
In April, 2009, the National Union of Teachers voted to ballot members on boycotting SATs tests for the following year.