The 2025 SATs begin on Monday, May 12. Year 6 pupils will be assessed on a wide range of knowledge and skills including spelling, punctuation, grammar, reading, arithmetic and reasoning.
With about two weeks to go as I write it is vital that both teachers (and parents) are focused on effective strategies to support pupils’ final preparation to give them the best chance at succeeding on the day.
Making retrieval fun
Retrieval practice focuses on getting information out of long-term memory. Through the act of retrieval, which involves recalling information via a written or verbal response, memory is strengthened. Retrieval practice is regarded as one of the most effective study strategies to support learning for pupils of all ages and can be used across a range of subjects and topics (Dunlosky et al, 2013; Hattie & Donoghue, 2021).
Crucially at this stage with just two weeks to go, retrieval tasks, games and quizzes can be highly enjoyable, engaging and rewarding for learners. This certainly does not have to be stressful or mundane as the two examples below demonstrate.
- Quizzing can be carried out in a number of ways including multiple-choice questions, the use of mini-whiteboards, online tools, or paper quizzes. To ensure the quizzing is low stakes it is advisable for the teacher (or parent at home) to provide the correct answers (verbally and visibly) and for pupils to self-assess. This ensures the stakes are low but it also helps learners to see for themselves what they know and don’t know.
- Walkabout Bingo! Pupils are given a sheet with a series of questions and space to write the answer – and the name of the peer that provided the answer! You see, pupils don’t answer the questions on their own, they have to walk around the room and ask their peers the questions. They then write down their response and record the name of the peer who provided the answer. Once all the questions have been answered someone shouts “Bingo” and the teacher goes through the answers with the class. This is a fun, enjoyable and engaging game where learners interact with one another asking and answering questions from long-term memory.
Retrieval practice can also take place outside of the classroom and it shouldn’t be viewed as a one-off study strategy. Rawson et al (2018) found that correctly recalling items one time in three sessions (as opposed to three times in one session) yielded a 262% increase in retention test performance.
Quite simply, the more that pupils practise recalling information from memory, the easier (and quicker) it can be to recall that information in the future. The more teachers and parents can space out these retrieval activities to make them challenging but achievable for pupils, the better.
For example, for the spelling SAT, learners will be instructed to write out 20 terms with a focus on spelling accuracy. To prepare for this, retrieval practice is perfect. Instead of copying words out over and over, the act of recalling the spellings from long-term memory will reveal quickly what the learner doesn’t know, identifying gaps in knowledge that might be addressed in any final preparatory sessions. Through the act of recall, long-term memory is strengthened so that knowledge, information or spellings of key terms become easier and quicker to recall in the future.
Flashcards
Pupils can also find flashcards fun and motivating. So to take the example of the spelling SATs again, teachers could deliver spelling tests in class, after which the challenging words can be put onto flashcards for further practice.
To help with this, lists of spellings from past SATs papers are available with a quick online search and the Department for Education has also provided lists of words that would be expected to be known by pupils at various stages in primary education.
Flashcards are a popular study strategy with pupils. But flashcards can be used poorly, so it is important that pupils know how to use them effectively so that time and effort are not wasted. Instead of copying information from a textbook or class book onto their flashcards and then continuously re-reading them, a flashcard should contain a question on one side and the correct answer on the flipside – to help boost retrieval.
Flashcards can also be used to support vocabulary and spellings, with a key term on one side and definition on the other. Parents, teachers and even peers can ask the child questions from the flashcards, and check if the answer is correct to provide feedback.
Applying this to maths
Retrieval practice in maths might take the form of answering some rapid-fire questions regarding times tables, calculating answers to mental arithmetic questions, or recalling and writing down the steps involved in a method such as long division. Pupils can also benefit from using flashcards that pose a maths question on one side and show the answer or method on the other. The process of attempting to answer before flipping the card engages retrieval and helps reinforce the learning.
Schools will often provide resource materials such as spelling lists, practice exam questions and/or past papers. Further resources and examples of questions with mark schemes can also be found by searching online.
Using past papers
The use of past papers to prepare for the SATs tests is commonplace, but pupils should focus mainly on areas that consistently present greater challenges. Focusing on these areas for retrieval practice is more likely to result in measurable improvement overall – certainly in the limited time left before May 12.
Pupils could take three papers, which assess the same content – for example the use of brackets, making use of synonyms/antonyms, or the appropriate placing of a dash in a sentence. They then answer all three papers and see if a pattern emerges.
Do they frequently struggle with some areas? Can they explain why an answer is right/wrong? Those issues can then be a focus in their flashcards, to remedy misconceptions and embed their new, accurate knowledge, over time.
Pupil wellbeing
The SATs can be a daunting time for everyone, especially pupils. There is significant evidence that regular retrieval practice can reduce pupil anxiety and boost confidence ahead of high-stakes tests like SATs (Agarwal et al, 2014). This is something teachers (and parents) need to be very mindful of this academic term. As the SATs approach it is important to maintain regular routines with sleep, nutrition and also ensuring pupils make time to relax.
- Kate Jones is an experienced teacher, leader, author and speaker. She is currently senior associate for teaching and learning at Evidence Based Education and is author of 10 books including a best-selling series on retrieval practice. Kate is editor of the ResearchEd Guide to Cognitive Science (2023) and her latest book focuses on evidence-informed and workload-friendly feedback strategies. Kate is the founder of The Love To Teach Podcast.
Further information & resources
- Agarwal et al: Classroom-based programs of retrieval practice reduce middle school and high school pupils’ test anxiety, Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (3,3), 2014: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2014.07.002
- Dunlosky et al: Improving pupils' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology, Psychological Science in the Public Interest (14,1), 2013: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-00960-002
- Hattie & Donoghue: A Meta-Analysis of Ten Learning Techniques, Frontiers in Education (6), 2021: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.581216
- Rawson et al: Investigating and explaining the effects of successive relearning on long-term retention, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (24,1), 2018: https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000146