Year 6 SATs 2024

The key stage 2 tests are timetabled from Monday 13th May to Thursday 16th May 2024.

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

In the summer term of 2024, children in Year 6 will take their end of Key Stage SATs papers. These tests are in English and Maths and will reflect the current national curriculum.

At the end of Year 6, children will sit tests in:

Reading 

Maths 

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

These tests will be both set and marked externally, and the results will be used to measure your child's progress and the school's performance. Your child’s marks will be used in conjunction with teacher assessment to give a broader picture of their attainment.

Key Stage 2 Reading

The reading test will provisionally be a single paper with questions based on one 800-word text and two passages of 300 words. Your child will have one hour, including reading time, to complete the test.

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’ 
• 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 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test

The grammar, punctuation and spelling test will consist 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 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.’ 

Key Stage 2 Maths

Children will sit three papers in maths:

• Paper 1: arithmetic, 30 minutes (written)
• Papers 2 and 3: mathematical fluency, solving problems and 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.

How will Key Stage 2 SATs be marked?

Children will be given standardised scores. You will be given your child’s score, alongside the average for their school, the local area and nationally. There will also be a ‘performance descriptor’ of the expected standard for Key Stage 2 pupils. The Department for Education is aiming for 85 per cent of children to reach or exceed that standard.