Learn everything you need to know about Year 2 maths SATs papers from testing format to key dates you should know.
Author
Mhairi Sim
Published
May 2024
Learn everything you need to know about Year 2 maths SATs papers from testing format to key dates you should know.
Author
Mhairi Sim
Published
May 2024
Learn everything you need to know about Year 2 maths SATs papers from testing format to key dates you should know.
Author
Mhairi Sim
Published
May 2024
Key takeaways
The KS1 maths SATs are one of three elements that students are assessed on at the end of Year 2. They are a way for schools to measure their learners’ performance against the expected standard for students who are finishing up their Key Stage 1 journey.
The KS1 SATs became optional assessments in 2024, so schools are no longer obliged to have their students take part in them. However, many schools may still opt to have their Year 2 learners take them as they’re a great assessment tool.
Our KS1 maths SATs guide is here to answer many of the questions that parents and teachers have on these assessments. From what’s covered in each of the papers to an explanation of how the SATs are scored and the best ways to prepare – you’ll find everything you need to know right here!
There are two KS1 maths SATs papers that Year 2 students will complete during the KS1 SATs. These each cover different aspects of the curriculum; one focused on arithmetic and the other on mathematical reasoning.
The arithmetic paper is worth a total of 25 marks and as a guide, the paper should take students around 20 minutes to complete. The questions here will focus purely on arithmetic, testing kiddos on their ability to complete a number of context-free questions.
They’ll assess how well learners can work across the four operations (+, -, x and ÷) in a range of different scenarios. Previous papers have included questions such as straightforward, single-digit calculations, missing number problems, 2-digit calculations and finding halves or quarters of numbers.
Unlock unlimited SATs practice
Put your skills to the test with fun exercises + learning games that are proven to boost ability!
Try DoodleMaths for free!
Select a year group
The KS1 SATs maths reasoning paper can be a little trickier for our Year 2 learners! This paper is worth 35 marks in total and it should take students approximately 35 minutes to complete.
This paper’s 35 marks are earned from a range of different types of questions, most of which are written problems. The first five questions are aural questions – the teacher reads these out and students will mark their answers in the answer booklet.
The remaining questions will test pupils’ understanding and abilities across the entire KS1 maths curriculum topics; number (including place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, and fractions), measurement, geometry and statistics.
In the majority of this paper questions are worth one mark each, but it is worth noting that there are usually a few two-markers thrown in there too towards the end!
Many parents and students can be worried about the possibility of “failing” the SATs, but it’s important to know that these aren’t ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ assessments. They are simply a way to measure progress so that schools and teachers can continue to offer kiddos the best support and help them achieve!
The raw scores from the arithmetic and reasoning papers are combined to give students a total out of 60 marks. The raw scores are then converted using this table to give a scaled score from 85 to 115.
The scaled scores are then used to measure students’ individual performance and indicate if they are working at the level that’s expected for a Year 2 student who has completed the KS1 maths curriculum. A score of 100 or more shows that they are achieving this level.
If a student receives a score of 99 or less, this indicates that they might benefit from some additional support as they move into Year 3 and start the Key Stage 2 maths curriculum.
As the KS1 SATs are now optional assessments, the school is no longer under any obligation to report student scores to either parents or local authorities. Many schools will still report these scores to parents though, usually in an end-of-year school report.
Looking for more SATs practice? DoodleLearning is an award-winning maths and English app that’s filled with thousands of questions and games aligned to the national curriculum!
Designed by teachers, it creates each child a unique work programme tailored to their needs, doubling their progression with just 10 minutes of use a day. Try it for free!
The KS1 SATs maths papers will test Year 2 students on what they’ve learned throughout the KS1 maths curriculum. Our Year 2 maths curriculum guide is a great place to start if you need a refresher on everything that your learners should know ahead of the SATs!
When starting their SAT preparation, it’s best to do a little revision often with Year 2 learners.
This 10-minute test book is a fantastic resource to give your kiddos that all-important practice, without completely overwhelming them. You could also work through a few questions each day from our list of 45 maths questions for Year 2 with your learners too!
The challenge in the KS1 maths SATs papers lies in the worded problems. Lots of practice with written maths problems is the way to go here so that learners are able to identify the correct method to complete the question.
Our fantastic maths app is always a hit with learners as it has thousands of fun maths-linked games and interactive activities. All of the activities on the app are fully aligned with the national curriculum so you know that your kiddos are in safe hands with their revision!
Closer to the end of the year when the SAT dates are approaching is the best time to then get learners started on some practice papers. Past papers are available for free online, but we also love this practice paper bundle from CGP Books for extra revision!
A popular way to prepare kiddos for their upcoming KS1 maths SATs is to have them complete a few past papers. These are papers that students in previous years have sat during their KS1 SATs.
Using real SAT papers is possibly one of the best ways to prepare students for both the content of the assessments and the format. By the time their SATs roll around, they’ll know exactly what their paper will look like and where to write their answers.
Previous years’ KS1 maths SATs papers are available online to download and print for free! Five of the most recent papers which were set in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 & 2023 are all available, complete with a helpful marking scheme too!
Try out a few of our suggestions above to help you prepare your Year 2 learner for their upcoming KS1 maths SATs! For even more ideas, take a look at our guide on how to help your kiddos with Year 2 maths.
Not only will the revision of the KS1 material help them achieve a great mark on their SATs, but it’ll also put them in a great place for starting the Key Stage 2 curriculum in Year 3!
As with all KS1 SATs maths is also now an optional assessment. This means that there is no set timetable, but it’s likely that schools who take part will still schedule these for some point during the month of May.
No. The guidance states that students shouldn’t be provided with a calculator or any other maths aids for sitting the KS1 maths SATs papers.
It is recommended that students are given 20 minutes to complete paper one and 35 minutes to complete paper two. However, since the KS1 SATs became optional assessments these times are just guidelines.
It is recommended that teachers use their own judgment on how best to time the papers for their own students.
The SATs are not ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ assessments, so there is no official passing score. Students are awarded a scaled score based on their raw marks on both papers.
The scaled scores then indicate if a student needs any additional support to meet the expected level for their year group moving forward. A score of 99 or less on the KS1 maths SATs may indicate that a student could benefit from some maths help in Year 3.
Lesson credits
Mhairi Sim
Mhairi is an experienced teacher, freelance writer and parent. After completing her bachelor's degree in Psychology, she graduated as a teacher from the University of Strathclyde. She then built experience teaching across KS1 and KS2 throughout the UK. In addition to working in mainstream education, Mhairi specialised in the additional support needs sector, including social, emotional, and behavioural support.
Mhairi
Mhairi is an experienced teacher, freelance writer and parent. After completing her bachelor's degree in Psychology, she graduated as a teacher from the University of Strathclyde. She then built experience teaching across KS1 and KS2 throughout the UK. In addition to working in mainstream education, Mhairi specialised in the additional support needs sector, including social, emotional, and behavioural support.
All rights reserved.
Book a chat with our team
If you’d like to use Doodle’s browser version, please visit this page on a desktop.
To log in to Doodle on this device, you can do so through our apps. You can find out how to download them here:
