Further details are beginning to emerge regarding the new-style English SATs which will be taken by all Year 6 pupils in English schools from May 2013.
All schools will be equired to administer the following level 3-5 tests:
- English reading
- English grammar, punctuation and spelling (new for 2013)
- Mathematics
Schools may also choose to administer level 6 versions of these tests.
Results from the level 6 tests will continue to be used in the accountability framework for 2012/13. Further information will be available in the spring term.
There will not be a Key Stage 2 science sampling test in 2013; a new, biennial (every other year), pupil-level sampling system will be introduced in 2014.
Test dates
The 2013 Key Stage 2 tests will take place from 13-17 May. Schools have been asked to keep this period free for administering the Key Stage 2 tests.
| Date | Level 3-5 tests* | Level 6 tests* |
| Monday 13 May | English reading test | English reading test |
| Tuesday 14 May | English grammar, punctuation and spelling test | English grammar, punctuation and spelling test |
| Wednesday 15 May | Mental mathematics test Mathematics - Test A | |
| Thursday 16 May | Mathematics - Test B | Mathematics - Paper 1 Mathematics - Paper 2 |
According to the DfE website,
'the new test will put an additional focus on essential English skills and encourage good teaching. Children should have mastered these skills by the time they leave primary school, so that they can enter secondary school with the basic skills in place. At present, too many children have not achieved a firm foundation in grammar, punctuation and spelling at the end of Key Stage 2. Children who are able to write and communicate clearly are better prepared to take part in learning activities across all of the different secondary subjects.
Changes are also being made to GCSEs so that from 2013 there will be marks awarded for spelling, punctuation and grammar in key subjects. By developing these skills early, children are improving their chances of succeeding in important qualifications later on in their education.
An improved emphasis on these skills at primary school will help children to learn these important skills early and well. In the long term, children will be able to draw on these skills throughout their education and employment, and their adult life.
The change to teacher assessment of Key Stage 2 English composition means that children’s writing can now be assessed by their teachers against a wide range of genres throughout Year 6. This provides much more space for recognition of creativity and writing with purpose. The new test will assess skills that go hand-in-hand with writing composition, making it more powerful, effective and accurate.
Although grammar, punctuation and spelling skills will be assessed using a statutory test, this does not mean they have to be taught separately to writing composition. Good teaching should ensure that children not only learn the rules of grammar and punctuation, but are able to apply them in meaningful contexts.
NALDIC notes that the early guidance provided above emphasises that the testing of grammar, punctuation and spelling does not mean that these aspects need to be taught separately. We have argued in our response to the draft NC English framework that care must be taken to ensure that the teaching of specific aspects of grammar, punctuation and spelling does not displace activities which support the holistic communicative language and literacy development of bilingual pupils in English and across the curriculum.
