Primary Tests and Assessments (England)
Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)
This takes place within the first six-weeks of a child starting in reception to get a snapshot of a child's abilities in areas including literacy, communication and maths. This is done through 1:1 sessions completing simple tasks like counting objects, identifying patterns and naming pictures.
Early Years Foundation Stage Profile
This is a national assessment completed at the end of the reception year (usually between April and June). This is not a formal test and is done through teacher assessments against 17 Early Learning Goals (ELGs). The ELGs are grouped into seven key areas of learning:
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
Literacy
Maths
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
The results help teachers to plan the right support for each child as they transition into Year 1.
Year 1 – Phonics Screening Check
The check takes place in June and each child will read 40 words out loud to a teacher. Within the 40 words there will be a mix of real words and pseudo (nonsense) words – 20 of each.
For a child to pass their phonics screening test they must score at or above the threshold mark – which was set at 32 for 2018. Therefore any child scoring 32 or more passed the phonics screening check.
Any child that does not pass the check in Year 1 is retested in Year 2.
Year 2 - Key Stage 1 Tests (optional)
At the end of Year 2, schools have the option to use Key Stage 1 Tests to help them understand the progress of a child in reading, writing and maths. These are usually completed in May in a relaxed way within the classroom.
Teachers will use the test results along with their daily observations and knowledge of a child's work to make a final judgement on whether a child is working at, above or below the expected standard. This can help identify where targeted support is required.
Year 4 - Multiplication Tables Check
This is a short online assessment completed by each child to see how well they know their multiplication facts up to 12 x 12. They will answer 25 multiplication questions on a computer or tablet with 6 seconds to answer each question. The assessment usually takes place in June.
Year 6 - Key Stage 2 Tests (SATs)
In May of Year 6, children will sit SATs tests in:
English Reading
Maths
Grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS)
The children will complete the tests under exam-style conditions across 4 days in May with the results being released in July as scaled scores ranging from 80 to 120.
Score of 99 or below means a child may need more support to help them to reach the expected standard
Score of 100 means the child is working at the expected standard
Score above 100 means the child is working above the expected standard
English writing and Science are not formally tested by are assessed by the class teacher at the end of the summer term based on work completed across the year.
For any child that is not at the expected standard, it allows the school to identify where extra support is needed to help that child to achieve the expected standard.