The UK version of SATs (or Standard Assessment Tests) are actually officially called National Curriculum assessments. They comprise a mix of either teacher-led or test-based assessments, depending upon the age of the students. The initial batch of tests were introduced for seven-year-olds in the 1990-91 academic year, with a second scenario of tests introduced for eleven-year-olds four years later. Tests for fourteen-year-olds were also introduced in the 1997-98 academic year, but were scraped eleven years later. The UK school education system is divided into key stages, namely Key Stage 1 (four to seven-year-olds), Key Stage 2 (seven to eleven- year-olds) and Key Stage 3 (eleven-to-fourteen year olds). The initial purpose of these tests was to assess a child’s progress at the end of each Key Stage.
To make matters even more confusing, the structure of the tests seems to constantly change. Whilst the Key Stage 1 test has remained about English (Reading, Writing and Speaking/Listening) and Maths, Key Stage 2 was originally about Maths, English and Science. Science has now been dropped and awaits new arrangements, whilst English is to be split into Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. Of course Key Stage 3 SAT tests were dropped altogether.
If this seems confusing for students, it is even more confusing for parents. If you are a child studying for your SATs, or you are the parent of a child studying for their SATs and you want to do your best to help them, here are the top ten sites you may like to visit.
No prizes for guessing that the mighty Beeb would come out on top. The Bitesize portion of their web-site has been going for years, helping schoolchildren prepare for the second educational nightmare they have to face (the first being that dreaded first day at school). All the Key Stage 2 resources are presented by a small, square goldfish and are specially targeted at the child with the emphasis on fun and interaction. The educational games are even addictive for adults, so kids may struggle to get mum or dad off the family PC.
Another one for Key Stage 2ers, this site was originally solely intended to help students at the Woodlands School, which is in the south of England, or Kent to be precise, but there are enough entertaining and educational resources on there to help anyone with their KS2 SATs. There is even a link especially for parents, so they understand what SAT tests are, and the best way that a parent can help their child.
Parentdish is an odd little site (we were hit, upon entry, by a banner ad telling us that AOL advised us to upgrade our Firefox browser, which was especially odd as we were using Google Chrome) which seems to mix the archaic with the modern. Their ‘Parents Guide to SATs Tests’ was bang up to date though, and was full of interesting information with links to other parts of the site that encouraged further exploration.
As stated in the opening paragraph, Science is off the SAT agenda for the time being, but its resurrection is likely to happen any day now. The Science Museum, which can be found in the heart of London, is the perfect playground for anyone with a keen interest in all things scientific. Their interactive web-site is just as engaging, with fun games, interactive quizzes and a few bits of just plain silly stuff.
eMaths is not the home of Yorkshire mathematics, but is instead the number one resource on the web for free goodies for both teachers, tutors and students. The main treasure-trove of this site lies in the handy collection of past SAT Papers for all Key Stages, so a child can fore-knowledge themselves in preparation for their exam. If that’s not enough, there are also games and video tutorials.
If you think your child need a little guiding hand when it comes to their KS2 English, you may consider sitting them down in front of this “Look, Cover, Write and Check” game, supplied by the Ambleside Primary School in the Lake District. The game is hardly cutting-edge, apparently being created as long ago as the year 2000, but should be enough to hold a seven-year-old’s attention.
Many years, ago, children used to walk to school, some even two or three miles. These days, most of them are driven, some as little as one hundred yards. These unnecessary drives are known colloquially as ‘The School Run’. This site is utterly necessary, diving into all aspects of SATs and SAT revision, with resource packs for KS1 and KS2 ready to download, just for the one time fee of £1.97.
This site is aimed as an essential assessment tool for all schools, so if you’re a student who thinks the resources on the site would help you and your fellow pupils, it might be worth your while to have a succinct chat with your class or head teacher, as registration for the site costs a pocket-money sapping £99. There is the chance to take a free trial, but again only schools are eligible.
This site is a collection of links created by ‘Mr Haughton’, a primary school ICT manager from Rochdale in the UK. Mr Haughton has created several other web-sites, many of which are worth a look if you’ve time with consideration to your busy SAT revising schedule. The Maths Calculations site (www.mathscalculations.co.uk) is particularly worth a peek.
A site that boldly states its manifesto to be 100% for all times, this site has collected together every SATs Paper for all key stages from 2002 right up to the present day. As well as past papers, the site also has revision guides designed specifically for SATs study, and a tidy collection of other resources.