Common English SATs misconceptions

We've examined the data from 1,000s of pupils to bring you just a few of the most common answers and misconceptions from LbQ's English SATs resources.

English SATs Reading Set 1 Text 1: Non-Fiction Question 8 (7252 pupil answers)

This is an open text answer. Most pupil answers were either about global warming/sea ice decreasing or that the polar bears are attracted by the smell of rubbish, food and dogs. A full, two-mark answer (as shown in the example answer in the feedback) would contain both of these points.

English SATs Reading Set 1 Text 2: Fiction Question 4 (13153 answers)

This is a multiple choice retrieval question. Only 38% of pupils selected the two correct answers the first time. The most common misconception was that Kaysaan was tired, but in the text it references his father: 'Ayaan's tired face', so the incorrect feedback guides pupils to that part of the text.

Pupils needed to have read the names in the story (and in the question) carefully enough to distinguish between Kaysaan, the big brother, and Ayaan, the children's father.

English SATs Reading Set 1 Text 3: Poetry Question 12 (7008 answers)

This is a multiple choice question about the author's use of language in the poem. This proved to be a tricky question for pupils with only 54% of pupils understanding that it meant 'an image of what the daffodils had looked like suddenly appeared in the author's mind'.

Over 20% of pupils selected the more literal answer of 'the author glimpsed some daffodils in his garden out of the corner of his eye'. Questions about an author's intent are notoriously difficult for pupils. More experience of such questions could be useful, and LbQ's Language Question Sets can be found alongside each poem to help pupils gain confidence with this skill.

English SATs Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Set 1 Question 7

Only 35% of pupils typed in either 5 and 6 or 6 and 5. The most common misconception was to enter the number 6, which would mean that the sentence would show that Sam only had three favourite things. This misconception is likely to be a result of not reading the question carefully. The plural of 'commas' and the fact that the question asks for four favourite things have both been missed in that case.

English SATs Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Set 2 Question 59

Only 34% of pupils entered the correct answer 'is talking'. The most common misconception for this question was to enter the simple past tense form of the verb 'talked'. Using the progressive tense is a Y2 English objective, so pupils may not have come across the term for a while.

English SATs Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Set 3 Question 66

Only 33% of pupils correctly identified the adverbs as 'loudly' and 'too'. The most common misconception was to identify 'laughed' as the second adverb instead of 'too'.

So there you have it, just a small selection of misconceptions and popular answers taken from our English SATs Practice resources.

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