KS1 SATs information
Your child’s teacher is responsible for making judgements about the standards your child is working at in English reading, English writing, mathematics and science, by the end of key stage 1. To help inform those judgements, pupils sit national curriculum tests in English and mathematics, commonly called SATs.
The tests are a tool for teachers to help them measure your child’s performance and identify their needs as they move into key stage 2. They also allow teachers to see how your child is performing against national expected standards. The tests can be taken any time during May and they are not strictly timed.
At the end of Year 2, children take SATs in:
- Reading – Reading Paper 1 and Reading Paper 2
- English grammar, punctuation and spelling
- Maths – Arithmetic Paper and Reasoning Paper
Teachers will use the results from these tests, along with the work your child has done throughout the year, to help them reach their own judgements about how your child is progressing at the end of key stage 1. These teacher assessment judgements will be reported to you by the end of the summer term.
Key Stage 1 reading
The reading test for Year 2 pupils is made up of two separate papers:
- Paper 1 consists of a selection of texts, with questions interspersed.
- Paper 2 comprises a reading booklet of a selection of passages. Children write their answers in a separate booklet
Each paper is worth 50 per cent of the marks. Children are not strictly timed, as the tests are not intended to assess children’s ability to work at speed. The texts in the reading papers cover a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and get progressively more difficult towards the end of the test. Teachers have the option to stop the test at any point that they feel is appropriate for a particular child.
Key stage 1 grammar, spelling and punctuation
Children taking Key Stage 1 SATs may also sit two separate papers in grammar, spelling and punctuation. These are optional tests but at Springfield, we will still administer both papers to gain an accurate judgement and assessment at the end of the key stage.
- Paper 1: a 20-word spelling test worth 20 marks.
- Paper 2: a grammar, punctuation and vocabulary test, in two sections worth 20 marks. This will involve a mixture of selecting the right answers e.g. through multiple choice, and writing short answers.
There are a variety of question types:
- Multiple choice
- Ranking/ordering, e.g. ‘Number the events below to show in which order they happened in the story’
- Matching, e.g. ‘Match the character to the job that they do in the story’
- Labelling, e.g. ‘Label the text to show the title’
- Find and copy, e.g. ‘Find and copy one word that shows what the weather was like in the story’
- Short answer, e.g. ‘What does the bear eat?’
- Open-ended answer, e.g. ‘Why did Lucy write the letter to her grandmother? Give two reasons’
Key Stage 1 maths
The Key Stage 1 maths test is made up of two papers:
- Paper 1: arithmetic, worth 25 marks.
- Paper 2: mathematical fluency, problem-solving and reasoning, worth 35 marks. There are a variety of question types: multiple choice, matching, true/false, constrained (eg. completing a chart or table; drawing a shape) and less constrained (eg. where children have to show or explain their method).
Children are not allowed to use any resources/equipment such as calculators or number lines.
When will the KS1 SATs take place?
Unlike KS2 SATs, KS1 SATs don't have to be administered according to a nationally-set timetable in a specific week. Schools are free to manage the timetable and will aim to administer the tests in the classroom in a low-stress, low-key way; some children won't even be aware they've taken them!
How will the tests be marked?
Although the tests are set externally, they are marked by teachers within the school.
Children are given a scaled score. Their raw score – the actual number of marks they get – is translated into a scaled score, where a score of 100 means the child is working at the expected standard.
A score below 100 indicates that the child needs more support, whereas a score of above 100 suggests the child is working at a higher level than expected for their age. The maximum score possible is 115, and the minimum is 85.
Teacher assessments are also used to build up a picture of your child’s learning and achievements. In addition, your child will receive an overall result saying whether they have achieved the required standard in the tests.
Video information about the SATs
To find out some more information about the SATs papers, please watch the below video:
2020 Key Stage 1 tests - YouTube
Practise Past Papers
You may find it really helpful to download and print some SATs papers that have been administered in previous years. This will provide your child/ren with the confidence they need to perform to the best of their ability. Please click on the link below to gain access to these documents.
KS1 SATs Papers - SATs Papers KS1 [1999-2022] - Free Downloads (sats-papers.co.uk)
