Free Articles at Neutron Marketing Article Publishing and Distribution » Home-and-family » Parenting » Education: The Dreaded Sats - A Child's And Parent's Nightmare!
Previous Article - Tantrums! How To Avoid The Toddler Terrible Two
Next Article - Parenting: The Seven Phases That Every Parent Goes Through

View PDF | Print View | Html Version
by: Dr.NoelSwanson
Total views: 5
Word Count: 533

It's time again for the dreaded and stress inducing SATS. Teachers and students across the UK are stressing. The principal or head teacher wants to look good on the national league tables. The teachers want everyone to know that they're the best. As for the students, they've heard so much about these tests that they're terrified of failing, or at least not doing their best.

There are some children who excel at tests and love them. At the other end of the spectrum are those who become completely stressed over exams. Most kids could live just as well without them. If your child stresses to the extreme, how can you help?

Standardized Achievement Tests (SATS) were created to assess schools. The British government wanted to find out how well children are doing as a whole, and how well each school is performing. They start by testing a child at age 7 to establish a baseline score. They are tested again when they are 11. The difference in scores is known as the "value added", and refers to how much the child has learned in four years. The goal is to raise the education level among eleven year olds. The SATS allow the government to measure how well they're doing.

So how is this relevant to your child? It isn't! The SATS have almost no relevance to an individual child. The secondary school will not use the SATS scores in planning their teaching - they will do their own assessment of each child. Besides, the scores on the SATS, called levels, are so broad that they do not really tell you how well your child is doing. The average eleven year old is supposed to score at level 4. But if your child is at level 4 you still have no idea if your child is the high end or low end of average. If your child scores at a lower or higher level, that too is unlikely to be news to you. Even without the SATS you would almost certainly have known if your child is ahead or behind the rest of the class - and so should the teacher. So your child's individual SAT scores will not affect his or her education in any way.

By now you are probably wondering what to tell your child if she's worrying about the SATS. Make it clear to her that it's the school being tested, not her. Whatever her level, it won't really matter. Tell her to just do the best that she can, but don't coerce her in any way to study or practice for it. She'll have plenty of tests in her life that will make a difference in her life.

If reassurance is not enough, then it is time for a visit to the teacher. Explain your concerns to him and discuss how the SATS are being approached in the classroom. Together you should be able to work out a way to support your child better.

Finally, remember that if you have any concerns about how well your child is progressing in school, do talk to the teacher, or possibly the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (the SENCO) or head teacher. Do not just sit at home worrying.

About the Author

Worried about your child's performance in school? Concerned about special educational needs? Read more of Dr. Noel Swanson's parenting tips and articles, and get a FREE gift, at his parenting advice website, and check out his book and free newsletter.

---

Rating: Not yet rated

--Choose-- 0 1 2 3 4 5

No comments posted.

Add Comment

Enter the code shown