key stage two SATS – Provisional results (status; Press release)

PROVISIONAL results of this year?s Key Stage 2 tests for 11-year-olds in Oxfordshire have been published.
The results for 2008, when compared with previous years, are affected by changes in the marking process for borderline exam papers. This is estimated to reduce the percentage level achieving the expected level; by up to 1.2% in English, 0.2% in mathematics and 0.5% in science.

Because today?s announcements only cover provisional results, statistics must now be verified before any complete announcement can be made about trends.

However, early indications are that:

The percentage of pupils achieving both English and Maths at Level 4, the expected level, is above the national average.
The percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 and above in English and in maths is in line with the national average.
The percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 and above in mathematics has increased this year and is in line with the national average (78%), up from 76.9% last year.
The percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 and above in English is in line with the national average (81%) but has dipped slightly compared with last year.
The percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 Science has dipped from 88.2% to 86.5% – although there has been a dip nationally on this measure.
Head of Oxfordshire County Council’s Raising Achievement Service Paula Tansley said: “Oxfordshire’s results have held steady and improved in some areas. We are pleased that there have been some improvements and congratulate the pupils and their schools who have have worked hard to achieve these results.

“We recognise there is still work to do and the county council is determined to see big improvements in Key Stage 2 results in coming years.

“It must also be remembered that we do not yet have complete results and must view these provisional figures with some caution.”

Missing results
The statistics should also be viewed with a certain amount of caution as 15 Oxfordshire schools appear to have some missing results ranging from a few missing results to larger gaps. This is due to the well-publicised national problems with Key Stage 2 marking.

Ed. No primary schools in the Thame area are affected.