SATs Springboard insights: the first results are in!
Which maths questions / topics have caused the most issues for Year 6 pupils this academic year?
Updated: 10/11/2023
LbQ's very own maths Content Author and former SATs marker, Darryl Keane, pulls the curtains back to reveal the very first set of data from the Learning by Questions SATs Springboard.
For those unaware, the SATs Springboard features a series of online maths and English diagnostic assessments, written by teachers, with year group and content domain weighting of previous SATs papers taken into account. These diagnostics will identify gaps and then - crucially - suggest and provide supportive mastery and practice resources to make sure all bases are covered.
Top 3 most challenging maths questions
We’ve crunched the numbers to identify the 3 most incorrectly answered questions from schools that have completed our first maths diagnostic. There have been some very interesting commonalities. You can sample the first maths diagnostic here (the 'aha' moment comes when you get a question wrong).
As the chart shows, questions 3, 8 and 20 were problematic for the greatest proportion of schools. Let's take a look at the questions, topics and misconceptions that Year 6 pupils currently have and - importantly - how to rectify these issues.
Question 3: What fraction goes in box 'A'?
Year group: 3
SATs content domain: 3F1c Recognise Unit and Non-unit Fractions on a Number Line
An early Year 3 question but one that was a clear leader in making it into the Top 3 Most Challenging Questions for almost 90% of schools. This is a crucial topic, with many children coming unstuck by counting the number of lines rather than equal intervals and giving answers such as 2/8 and 3/8 instead of 2/7.
Pupils who made an error on this question were automatically recommended the additional LbQ mastery sets 'Recognise Unit and Non-unit Fractions on a Number Line' and 'Understand Unit and Non-unit Fractions', taking them right back to basics in this key area of the curriculum.
Question 8: What is ¾ as a decimal number?
Year group 4:
SATs content domain: 4F6a Recognise the decimal equivalent of ¼, ½, ¾
Another early key piece of understanding that might hold pupils back if not quickly addressed. Converting fractions to decimals is always a tricky one, but knowing and understanding the decimal equivalents of ¼, ½ and ¾ needs to be automatic by the time pupils are in Year 6.
Top misconceptions here are - quite predictably - 3.4 and 0.34. Almost 50% of all answers given to this question were incorrect, highlighting a crucial piece of key knowledge that may need to be consolidated at the earliest opportunity for many Year 6 pupils.
To help them address this misconception, these pupils were all suggested the LbQ mastery set 'Recognise and Write Decimal Equivalents to ¼, ½ and ¾', complete with pictorial support.
Question 20: What is the total area of the ground floor?
Year group: 5
SATs content domains: 5M7b Calculate the area of rectangles, using square metres [m2]
5G2a Use the properties of rectangles to find missing lengths
Question 20 of the first SATs Springboard diagnostic is the most challenging multi-step question, so perhaps less of a surprise that it appears in the top 3 most problematic questions for 55.6% of all Year 6 classes.
Top incorrect answer for this question was 136 m2, which pupils arrived at by not including the area of the porch. Regardless of the challenge, those pupils inputting 136 m2 received a hint on the LbQ platform to also include the area of the porch.
The mastery set 'Calculate and Compare the Areas of Rectilinear Shapes' was suggested for classes or pupils who weren't yet fully secure with this skill.
Summary
Overall, it's still early days for Year 6 classes yet it's still vital to get pupils back up to speed with objectives from years 3-5 as quickly as possible. The overall mean score of questions answered correctly at the first attempt for this diagnostic is 55.9%.
This is a great starting point, although it should be noted that the vast majority of the questions in this first diagnostic are from the Year 3-5 curriculum, so the figure shows that there are already a significant number of gaps to address.
We'll be revealing more Springboard insights right up until SATs, so if you want to know how your class compares with the nationwide picture, stay tuned.
LbQ is giving Year 6 teachers free access to the SATs Springboard library of SATs, mastery and practice resources for 6 weeks. That's the length of time that it took Grange Primary in Shrewsbury to see a staggering 30% + increase in age-related expectations ahead of SATs!
Book a no obligation chat with us to find out more.