Year 6 SATs
Year 6 SATs are a set of formal national curriculum tests, officially called Key Stage 2 (KS2) SATs, taken by 10 and 11 year old pupils in May each year to assess their knowledge and progress in English and Mathematics before they move to secondary school. These compulsory tests, which are externally set and marked, cover English Reading, English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (SPaG), and Mathematics Arithmetic and Reasoning. The results help to measure individual student performance, monitor the quality of education in schools, and provide a baseline for secondary schools to understand their new students' attainment.
What are Year 6 SATs?
- Standard Assessment Tests (SATs): These are the official acronym for the tests.
- Key Stage 2: The tests are taken at the end of Key Stage 2 in primary education.
- Compulsory: They are mandatory for students in state primary schools in England.
- National Curriculum: They assess pupils against the national curriculum for Years 3-6.
What do the tests cover?
Year 6 SATs consist of six papers across English and Mathematics:
- English Reading: A paper assessing reading comprehension skills by answering questions based on provided texts.
- English Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling (SPaG): Two papers that test a child's knowledge of grammatical rules, punctuation, and spelling.
- Mathematics: Three papers, including one on arithmetic for quick calculations and two on reasoning to solve problems.
Why are they important?
- Student Progress: They measure a child's learning and progress over the primary school years.
- School Performance: Results help the Department for Education to assess the performance and quality of education in schools.
- Secondary School Transition: The results provide a baseline for secondary schools to help them understand a pupil's academic level, which can inform setting or streaming in Year 7
What level can a child achieve?
The national level of attainment is EXS (Expected Standard). Your child may be ascribed one of the following results;
- WTS - Working Toward Standard (Below)
- EXS - Expected Standard (Expected)
- GDS - Greater Depth (Above)
Where can I find more information?
Department for Education - Key Stage 2 National Curriculum Tests
Department for Education - Key Stage 2 SATs Past Papers
