A Comparison between Two Kinds of Response, Interpretive and Skill-based, to a Y6 Story: 'Three Wishes'

This article compares the exemplar commentary put forward in the KS2 Mark Scheme, 2001, for a pupil's story produced in response to the invitation to “Write a traditional tale with the title ‘Three Wishes’” with the more interpretive response offered by Pat D'Arcy, in order to demonstrate the extent to which the meaning of the story is largely ignored when the SATs criteria are used.