End of KS2 Tests “Show off week”

Life without levels As part of the national curriculum review, levels have been abolished. This is in part in response to concerns about the validity and reliability of levels and sub-levels. We are changing the way the tests are reported. From 2016, we will use scaled scores to report national curriculum test outcomes. Head Teachers won’t need to change the way their school prepares for, or administers, the tests because of the introduction of scaled scores. Within key stages, schools and teachers will have the freedom to assess what pupils understand and can do in a way that best suits the needs of their school.

Scaled scores – Why? Scaled scores are used all over the world. They help test results to be reported consistently from one year to the next. We design National curriculum tests to be as similar as possible year on year, but slight differences in difficulty will occur between years. Scaled scores maintain their meaning over time so that two pupils achieving the same scaled score on two different tests will have demonstrated the same attainment. For example, on our scale 100 will always represent the ‘national standard’. However, due to the small differences in difficulty between tests, the ‘raw score’ (ie the total number of correct responses) that equates to 100 might be different (though similar) each year.

Scaled Score - continued We can’t give full information about what the scale will look like yet. We need to wait until pupils have taken the tests and the tests have been marked before we can set the national standard and the rest of the scale. We can’t set the scale in advance; this cohort is the first that has reached the end of key stage 2 having studied sufficient content from the new national curriculum. If we were to set the scale using data from pupils that had studied the old national curriculum, it is likely it would be incorrect. We do know the scale will have a lower end point below 100 and an upper end point above 100.

Interpreting scaled scores A pupil’s scaled score will be based on their raw score. The raw score is the total number of marks a pupil receives in a test, based on the number of questions they answered correctly. The pupil’s raw score will be translated into a scaled score using a conversion table. A pupil who achieves the national standard will have demonstrated sufficient knowledge in the areas assessed by the tests. This will mean that they are well placed to succeed in the next phase of their education. The old national curriculum levels are not relevant to the new national curriculum. However, in order to provide schools with some indication of the new standards, We have tried to indicate equivalence in a broad sense. At KS1 the national standard will roughly equate to an old level 2b. At KS2 this will roughly equate to an old level 4b. Otherwise levels and scaled scores will not be comparable.

KEY Stage 2 tests - reporting We will receive the KS2 results in July 2016. Each pupil registered for the tests will receive: a raw score (number of raw marks awarded) a scaled score confirmation of whether or not they attained the national standard

What they will be tested on English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (SPaG) Paper content Number of marks % of total mark Paper 1 questions Grammar 25 - 35 36 – 50% Punctuation 10 - 20 14 - 29% Vocabulary 3 - 7 4 – 10% Paper 2 spelling Spelling 20 29% Total 70

SPAG Question stem type Identify – identifying the correct response i.e. circle all the nouns, which sentence is punctuated correctly, clauses, noun phrases Match – draw lines to match sentences to their type, matching two elements Complete/correct/rewrite – rewriting sentences in another tense, adding in punctuation, correcting errors. Write – write a statement to answer a question, if this is the answer what could the question be? Explain – Explain why this sentence needs a comma, apostrophe etc

Reading Paper 1 – 50 marks 60 minutes including reading time Reading booklet and a separate answer booklet There is a selection of texts 1500 – 2300words. Text will get progressively harder through the booklet. Questions will get progressively harder per text. Types of questions: give/explain the meaning of words in context retrieve information Summarise main ideas Justify inferences using the text as evidence Predict Make comparisons Explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases.

Mathematics description Number of papers Number of marks Time Paper 1 arithmetic Arithmetic Replacing the CD 1 40 30 minutes Paper 2 and Paper 3 Mathematical Reasoning Solving mathematical problems 2 70 overall 35 per paper 80 minutes total 40 minutes per paper Total 3 110 110 mins

Profile of Content 75 – 85% of the marks are within the Number, ration and algebra strands. i.e. Number, place value, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Fractions, decimals and percentages, ratio and proportion and algebra. 15 – 25% of the marks are within Measurements, geometry and statistics i.e. Measurements, properties of shape, position and direction, statistics.