Initial reactions to the mathsÌýtests taken today by 10- and 11-year-olds were that they were harder than expected.
It is the third day of key stage 2 Sats week, and today around 600,000 Year 6 pupils were given twoÌýmaths tests: a 30-minute arithmetic paper and a 40-minute maths reasoning paper.
And teachers sharing their views on Twitter felt that the papers were "interesting".Ìý
Spag: 'Fair' test kicks off Sats week
Reading: Did the reading test meet your expectations?
Sats week: What to expect
How difficult were the Sats maths tests?
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On the Tes forums, one user called bigbopÌýcommented: "Arithmetic has been taken up a notch. Reasoning probably fair overall."
And another commentator, PetalLove, added: "The reasoning paper wasn't particularly bad, but they have definitely made it slightly more challenging than before."
But the day brought some joy to frazzledÌýYear 6 teachers in the online world, as "Sats test Chen" –Ìýa Twitter parody account of a fictional pupil who has appeared on Sats papersÌý– popped up to start the day with a song.
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Last year, these two maths tests wereÌýseen as harder than that years'sÌýreading and spelling, punctuation and grammar (Spag) papers,Ìýwith teachers concerned that there were questionsÌýdesigned to "trick" children and that the arithmetic paper had been a "step up" on previous years in terms of difficulty.Ìý
But the results for maths did rise slightly, withÌý76Ìýper cent of pupils reachingÌýthe expected standard in 2018,ÌýupÌýfrom 75 per cent in the previous year.
Tomorrow pupils will take the thirdÌýmaths paper, which isÌýtheÌýfinal test of Sats week.
Note to teachers: weÌýknow how important these tests are, but please do not discuss the content as more children will be taking the paper over the next few days.
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