Q & A – Disapplication and Early Entry Issues

Following a number of queries about test entry and disapplication we have decided to come up with a few questions and answers.

  1. When should a pupil take the tests?

  1. The Assessment and reporting arrangements booklet says that pupils should be assessed at the end of the key stage (usually aged 7, 11 and 14) at the point of progressing to the next key stage programme of study. Schools must be discouraged from entering pupils early who will not be progressing as they will not be allowed to re-sit the tests the following year.

  1. If a pupil has already sat the tests can they be allowed to sit them again? For example, if a child sat the key stage 2 tests at the end of year 5 and obtained a level 5 can they sit the level 6 extension papers in year 6?

  1. No, pupils cannot be entered for the key stage tests more than once. The reason for this is that a pupils results can only be reported once otherwise the data analysis of the results would be invalidated.

Q. If a child takes a key stage test early in some or all of the subjects how are their results reported, if at all?

A. If a child takes all the tests at an earlier age than is normal their results will be reported at that time. This should only happen if the child is moving on to the next key stage. If a child takes only one or two subjects the results for each subject are reported in the year the test is taken. For example if a pupil takes the mathematics test in year 5 their result would be reported with year 6 pupils (so the total number of pupils in the school entered for mathematics would be one higher than for English and science). The following year they would not be eligible to take the mathematics test again but their English and science result would be reported with their year group (so the total number of pupils in the school entered for mathematics would be one lower than for English and science)

Q. If a child has the tests disapplied one year, but then repeats year 6 and wishes to be entered for the tests the following year is this possible?

A. No, the child cannot formally sit the tests. They should not have been disapplied, as they were not moving on to the next key stage. They may sit the test informally but the school must mark the scripts and the results cannot be included in any statistical analysis.

Q. If a child has had the national curriculum temporarily disapplied does the school need to follow the full disapplication procedure for the tests?

A. Yes, if the child would normally be deemed to be working at the appropriate level for the tests. Children working below the level of the tests need not have them disapplied. For all children who are to have the tests disapplied the school must follow the full procedures as set out in the Assessment and reporting arrangements booklet.

Q. Can recent entrants to the school system from overseas be excluded from the reporting of results?

A. It is recognised that pupils recently arrived (within the last 2 complete school years) from overseas and with English not as their first language would not do their best in the tests. For this reason schools can request to have these pupils results excluded from the performance tables data. The DfES writes to all schools in September asking them to check their assessment data before it is published in performance tables. It is at this point that schools will be asked to identify any pupils that fit the above criteria.

Q. If a child has recently arrived in England and has English as an additional language, should they sit the tests?

A. If the teacher feels that they would be able to demonstrate their true ability in the tests then they should sit them. If not they need to have the tests disapplied in the normal way. If the teacher determines that the child would normally be working below the level of the tests they need not be disapplied but marked B on the marksheet.

Q. If a child has not attended school regularly so that the teacher feels unable to award a teacher assessment nor that the child should sit the tests should they have the tests disapplied or be marked absent from the test and teacher assessment?

A. Where there is insufficient evidence to make a teacher assessment, for example where a pupil has been absent for most of the year, the pupil should be marked as absent from the teacher assessment. Where a pupil who has not attended regularly is also absent on test days they should be recorded as absent from those tests. Should a pupil who has not attended regularly attend on a test day the school should decide whether the pupil is eligible for the test (i.e. they are at the end of the key stage and moving on to the next course of study). If it is decided that they are eligible the school should decide whether they should be entered for the test, have the tests disapplied or be recorded as working below the level of the test.