Key Stage 2 SATs Support 2024

SATs are national tests that children take twice during their primary school life. Firstly, at the end of Key Stage 1 (KS1) in Year 2, and then secondly, at the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2) in Year 6. These standardised tests are actually known as End of Key Stage Tests and Assessments, but most people know them as SATs (Standard Assessment Tests). 

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SATs Explained

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SATs are an indicator of the progress your child has made at school so far. They are not a measure of whether your child is passing or failing; they simply show what level your child is currently working to.

Pupils sit their second set of SATs at KS2 level in Year 6. These tests are more formal than those taken in KS1 and have set exam days as well as external marking in the majority of schools. Children will take exams in English reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, spelling, mathematical reasoning, and arithmetic.

Once the KS2 SATs are complete, they will be sent away for external marking and children should receive their results towards the end of the summer term in July of Year 6. You will receive a report stating your child’s:

• Raw score – simply, the actual number of marks they received in their SATs
• Scaled score – a conversion score that allows results to be compared year-on-year
• Expected standard – whether or not they have achieved the national standard

SATs Timetable May 2024

• Monday 13^th May: English grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) papers 1 (questions) and 2 (spelling)
• Tuesday 14^th May: English reading paper
• Wednesday 15^th May: Mathematics papers 1 (arithmetic) and 2 (reasoning)
• Thursday 16^th May: Mathematics paper 3 (reasoning)

KS2 Reading 

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

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There will be 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.’

KS2 Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)

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

The grammar and punctuation test will include 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.’

KS2 Maths

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Children sit three papers in maths:

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

Paper 1 will consist 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

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