In this article
In May of Year 6, children at state-funded schools in England sit the Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests, usually called SATs. Maths makes up three of the papers, taken in school in the same week as the English tests, and results come back to schools in July.
1. The three papers
| Paper | Time | Marks | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: arithmetic | 30 minutes | 40 | Calculations with no context: written methods, fractions, decimals, percentages, order of operations |
| Paper 2: reasoning | 40 minutes | 35 | Problems in context, where your child chooses the method |
| Paper 3: reasoning | 40 minutes | 35 | As paper 2, covering different content |
That makes 110 marks in all, and no calculators are allowed on any paper.
2. What the scores mean
Raw marks are converted to a scaled score between 80 and 120. A scaled score of 100 or more means your child has met the expected standard for the end of Key Stage 2. Nationally, 110 or more is reported as a high score.
SATs results don't decide which secondary school your child goes to. Secondary places are offered in March, before the tests are sat. Secondary schools do receive the results, and some use them alongside their own tests when setting groups in Year 7.
3. The arithmetic paper is the most predictable
The arithmetic paper asks the same kinds of question every year: 2,345 × 26, 34 + 18, 35% of 260, 6.4 ÷ 8. Long multiplication and long division questions are worth 2 marks, and correct working can earn 1 of those even if the answer is wrong.
Because the question types repeat, this is where steady practice shows most. Marks are usually lost to a few familiar slips:
- digits drifting out of line in column methods
- decimal points in multiplication, such as 0.3 × 4 = 1.2
- order of operations, as in 5 + 3 × 4 = 17
- times tables facts that aren't yet automatic
4. The reasoning papers depend on reading
On the reasoning papers, a lot of marks go because a child answered a different question from the one asked: giving the cost of one item when the question wanted three, or the change instead of the total. Reading the question twice and underlining what it asks for is worth practising as a habit, separately from the maths.
5. How to help at home
- A few short arithmetic sessions a week, with question types mixed together, from the spring term.
- An estimate before every answer, so 2,345 × 26 is checked against something near 2,000 × 30 = 60,000.
- Reasoning questions read aloud together, with your child telling you what's being asked before any working starts.
- Times tables kept secure, since almost every paper relies on them.
- Normal routines and sleep in SATs week.
6. Keeping it in proportion
Some children feel SATs very heavily, partly because of the build-up in class. It helps to know, and to tell your child if it's useful, that the results don't decide secondary places and there's no pass or fail on the certificate. If your child is very anxious, talk to the class teacher. Some children are eligible for access arrangements such as extra time or rest breaks, which the school applies for.
7. Find the gaps before May
Practice works best on the topics your child can't do yet, and a few months is plenty of time to secure them once they're known. The Ivy Maths Year 6 Full Assessment works through the whole Year 6 course and shows which topics are secure. Take the Year 6 Full Assessment in the autumn or early spring term, then use Year 6 Skill Practice on the topics it flags, in short sessions a few times a week until May.