National Curriculum assessment
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2008-07-06T14:21:56Z
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1514906
Undo incorrect removal of Science from KS2 tests
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'''National Curriculum assessments''' are a series of educational assessments 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 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:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Key Stage
! School Year
! Approximate<br>Pupil Age
! Expected<br>Level<ref name="expected">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/performancetables/ks3_06/k5.shtml|title=Secondary Schools 2006 (KS3)|accessdate=2008-06-02|publisher=Qualifications & Curriculum Authority|year=2008|work=National Curriculum Online}}</ref>
|-
| [[Key Stage 1]]
| [[Year Two (School)|Year 2]]
| 7
| Level 2
|-
| [[Key Stage 2]]
| [[Year Six (School)|Year 6]]
| 11
| Level 4
|-
| [[Key Stage 3]]
| [[Year Nine (School)|Year 9]]
| 14
| Level 5/6
|}
==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 Stage]]s.<ref name="directgov">{{Cite web|url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/ExamsTestsAndTheCurriculum/DG_10013041|title=National Curriculum teacher assessments and key stage tests|accessdate=2008-02-18|publisher=H M Government|year=2008|work=DirectGov website}}</ref>
Where assessment is completed through testing, these assessments are known as National Curriculum Tests.<ref name="qca">{{Cite web|url=http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_8584.aspx|title=Tests and tasks: National Curriculum Tests|accessdate=2008-02-18|publisher=Qualifications and Curriculum Authority|year=2008|work=QCA website}}</ref>
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.<ref name="RB">{{cite book | title=Schools’ Use of Data in Teaching and Learning| url=http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR671.pdf| last=Kirkup| first=C| coauthors=Sizmur, J., Sturman, L., Lewis, K.| date=2005| pages=27| publisher=Department for Education and Skills / NFER| location=London|format=PDF}}</ref> The term is now often believed to stand for Statutory Assessment Tests<ref name="wscc">{{Cite web|url=http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/ccm/content/education/parents/exams/sats-exams.en;jsessionid=aCJD0jLsnCy9|title=SAT Exams|accessdate=2008-02-18|publisher=West Sussex County Council|year=2008|work=WSCC website}}</ref> or Standard Attainment Tests.<ref name="glossary">{{Cite web|url=http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/onlinehelp/?view=A-Z&version=1<r=s|title=The Standards Site: Online Help|accessdate=2008-02-18|publisher=Department for Children, Schools and Families|year=2008|work=DCSF website}}</ref>
==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 Families]]<ref name="dcsf">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/performancetables/|title=School and college achievement and attainment tables |accessdate=2008-02-18|publisher=Department for Children, Schools and Families|year=2008|work=DCSF website}}</ref> alongside data for secondary schools relating to performance at [[Key Stage 4]].
===Key Stage 1===
During Year 2, teacher assessment is carried out in the core subjects of [[English studies|English]], [[Mathematics education|Mathematics]] and [[Science education|Science]]. In English, teachers are required to record a level in the three strands or Reading, Writing, and Speaking & Listening.<ref name="directgov"/>
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.<ref name="wscc"/>
===Key Stage 2===
During May in the final year of Key Stage 2, children undertake National Curriculum Tests in the three core subjects of [[English studies|English]], [[Mathematics education|Mathematics]] and [[Science education|Science]]. 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.<ref name="directgov"/>
===Key Stage 3===
In May during the final year of Key Stage 3, all students are required to undertake National Curriculum Tests in the three core subjects of [[English studies|English]], [[Mathematics education|Mathematics]] and [[Science education|Science]]. These provide records of attainment in the subjects, including separate levels for reading and writing as part of the overall English grade. The English assessments also include the study of a [[Shakespeare]] play.<ref name="directgov"/>
Previous plans to introduce a test for [[Information and Communication Technology]] were dropped in 2007 in favour of a bank of formative assessment materials.<ref name="ict">{{Cite web|url=http://www.naa.org.uk/naaks3/379.asp|title=Key Stage 3 ICT assessment tasks: About the Tasks: Background|accessdate=2008-02-18|publisher=National Assessment Agency|year=2008|work=NAA website}}</ref>
In addition to the national tests, teacher assessments are required in all the subjects of the [[National Curriculum]] and in [[Religious Education]]<ref name="directgov"/>
===Optional Tests===
In addition to the statutory assessments at the end of each key stage, the [[Qualifications and Curriculum Authority]] produces suites of tests for the assessment of English and Mathematics in Years 3, 4 and 5 during Key Stage 2,<ref name="ks2opt">{{Cite web|url=http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_8740.aspx|title=Years 3, 4 and 5 optional tests|accessdate=2008-02-18|publisher=Qualifications and Curriculum Authority|year=2008|work=QCA website}}</ref> and in Years 7 and 8 during Key Stage 3.<ref name="ks2opt">{{Cite web|url=http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_8659.aspx|title=Years 7 and 8 optional tests|accessdate=2008-02-18|publisher=Qualifications and Curriculum Authority|year=2008|work=QCA website}}</ref> These tests are not statutory, hence their titling as '''Optional Tests'''.
== Criticisms ==
Like many tests of this nature, the SATs have been subject to a variety of criticism. One of the main points on concern are that they place children under constant stress for their whole academic lives, and that the principal purpose of SAT testing is for school league tables.<ref name="sfsgroup">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfs-group.co.uk/news-industry-18591974-fresh_criticism_for_sats.htm|title=Fresh criticism for Sats|accessdate=2008-05-31|publisher=SFS Group|year=2008|work=SFS Group website}}</ref>
In its 2008 report into National Testing, the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], the [[Select Committee]] on [[Department for Children, Schools and Families|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 focussing 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.<ref name="select">{{Cite web|url=http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmchilsch/169/16912.htm|title=Conclusions and Recommendations|accessdate=2008-05-31|publisher=UK Parliament|year=2008|work=Select Committee on Children, Schools and Families Third Report}}</ref>
==References==
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==External links==
*[http://www.parentscentre.gov.uk/foragegroup/5to7years/testsage7/ UK government info on assessments in year 2]
*[http://www.parentscentre.gov.uk/foragegroup/7to11years/testsage11/ UK government info on assessments in year 6]
*[http://www.parentscentre.gov.uk/foragegroup/11to14years/testsage14/ UK government info on assessments in year 9]
[[Category:Education_in_the_United_Kingdom]]
[[Category:Education_in_the_United_Kingdom]]