At the end of Key Stage 2, in Year 6, pupils take National Curriculum tests, also known as SATs. SATs stands for Standard Assessment Tests. These were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but restarted in May 2022.

The SATs in 2022 have not been amended to take account of the missed learning in schools due to the pandemic as the Government wants to be able to understand the full impact of the pandemic on standards and progress in schools. 

SATs test the new National Primary Curriculum, which has been taught in schools since 2014.  Academies, Private Schools and Free Schools are not required to teach the National Curriculum but must still administer SATs tests if their funding agreements require them to follow the KS2 assessment and reporting arrangements.

What is the timetable?

KS2 SATS take place in May, usually around the middle of May. An example of the timetable for the week: 

Monday 
English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 1: questions
English grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 2: spelling

Tuesday
English reading

Wednesday 
Mathematics Paper 1: arithmetic 
Mathematics Paper 2: reasoning

Thursday 
Mathematics Paper 3: reasoning

Friday

No testing

How and when will pupils receive results?

Test results will be available to schools in early July. Parents will be notified of their child's results in their annual report. 

For each pupil registered for the tests, schools will receive:

• A raw score
• A scaled score
• Confirmation of whether or not they reached the expected standard

What is a scaled score?

Pupils results are reported as scaled scores. These help test results to be reported consistently from one year to the next, as the difficulty of the test may vary slightly between years. Scaled scores are based on raw scores, translated into a scaled score using a conversion table. A scaled score of 100 always represents the expected standard. Pupils' scores can range between 80 and 120.

These tests are set and marked externally, and the results are used to measure the school's performance (for example, through reporting to Ofsted and published league tables). Your child’s marks are used, in conjunction with their teacher's assessment, to give a broad picture of their levels of attainment

What are pupils tested on?

KEY STAGE 2 GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION AND SPELLING TEST

The grammar, punctuation and spelling test consists of two parts: a grammar and punctuation paper requiring short answers, lasting 45 minutes, and an aural spelling test of 20 words, lasting around 15 minutes. The grammar and punctuation test includes two sub-types of questions:

• Selected response, e.g. ‘Identify the adjectives in the sentence below.’ 
• Constructed response, e.g. ‘Correct/complete/rewrite the sentence below,’ or, ‘The sentence below has an apostrophe missing. Explain why it needs an apostrophe.’ 

KEY STAGE 2 READING

The reading test is one single paper, with questions based on three text passages. Your child will have one hour to complete the test, including reading time. There are a selection of question types, including

• Ranking/ordering, e.g. ‘Number the events below to show the order in which they happen in the story.’ 
• Labelling, e.g. ‘Label the text to show the title of the story.’ 
• Find and copy, e.g. ‘Find and copy one word that suggests what the weather is like in the story.’ 
• Short constructed response, e.g. ‘What does the bear eat?’ 
• Open-ended response, e.g. ‘Look at the sentence that begins Once upon a time. How does the writer increase the tension throughout this paragraph? Explain fully, referring to the text in your answer.’

KEY STAGE 2 MATHS

Children sit three papers in maths:

• Paper 1: arithmetic, 30 minutes 
• Papers 2 and 3: reasoning, 40 minutes per paper 

Paper 1 consists of fixed response questions, where children have to give the correct answer to calculations, including long multiplication and division. Papers 2 and 3 will involve a number of question types, including

• Multiple choice
• True or false
• Constrained questions, e.g. giving the answer to a calculation, drawing a shape or completing a table or chart
• Less constrained questions, where children will have to explain their approach for solving a problem