Year 2 Statutory Assessment Tests
SATs papers are the statutory tests taken by primary school children to test their knowledge of the National Curriculum, as well as monitor the school’s progress as a whole.
Your child will sit two sets of SATs exams: one, in Key Stage 1, when they’re in Year 2 and around 6-7 years old, and a second in Key Stage 2, when they’re in Year 6, and around 10-11 years old.
SATs are taken during the summer school term, generally in May of each year.
Why does my child have to take SATs papers?
SATs are taken to provide information about your child’s progress, in comparison to children of the same age, on a national basis.
The results are used to verify that schools are teaching their pupils the key skills in core subjects at these early stages, thereby ensuring that every child is given the tools they need to be successful throughout their education.
However, the government is keen to stress that SATs are not qualifications, and don’t affect your child’s future option at school.
What do SATs papers test my child on?
In Year 2, your child’s SATs assess their grasp of basic English and Mathematics.
The English tests focus on grammar, spelling, punctuation and comprehension, whilst mathematics questions test arithmetic and reasoning.
They will sit six papers, two for each of the following subjects:
English grammar, punctuation and spelling
English reading
Mathematics
A sample of approximately 9,500 pupils (5 pupils at around 1,900 schools across the country) will also be randomly selected to undergo a science sampling test, although the results of this will simply be used for national data and will not be returned to pupils or used in school performance tables.
What do my child’s SATs results mean?
2016 was the first year that SATs results were given in scaled scores rather than levels, as was previously the case. Your child’s raw results (i.e., the number of marks they actually achieved) will be converted into a scaled result, where a score of 100 means that they are working at the expected standard.
The numbers below show an example of the ‘raw scores’ your child would need, to reach the 100 scaled score level in each subject area needed for their age group. The conversion of raw scores to scaled scores is reviewed each year.
Year 2 SATs results
English grammar, punctuation and spelling: 25 out of 40
English reading: 22 out of 40
Mathematics: 37 out of 60
A score below 100 indicates that your child may need extra support, whilst a score of above 100 suggests the child is working at a higher level than is typical for their age group. The maximum score possible is 115, and the minimum is 85.
In this age group your child's test results are just one part of the teacher assessment. Your child’s scores informs the teacher assessment along side teacher’s observations and your child’s classwork.
Your child will have the opportunity to complete a range of tasks and activities which are presented in the same way as the tests, given the age of the children we have this as part of normal classroom practise. Pupils are often unaware that they are being tested as they have been presented with many opportunities to complete similar tasks and questions prior to the actual tests.
