Learn everything you need to know about Year 6 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 6 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 6 maths SATs papers from testing format to key dates you should know.
Author
Mhairi Sim
Published
May 2024
Key takeaways
If your learners are in Year 6, you’re probably already well aware that the KS2 SATs are looming at the end of the year. These assessments are a measure of their performance as they finish primary school and are an important part of a student’s academic journey.
The Year 6 maths SATs refer to three out of the six papers that students will sit over the course of SATs week in May. These papers will assess their confidence and ability in the Key Stage 2 maths curriculum and will cover the topics of arithmetic and reasoning.
The results of these assessments are shared with secondary schools to ensure students are supported or challenged appropriately as they progress.
With this in mind, it’s essential students are prepared for the KS2 maths SATs so they get a true reflection of their ability!
We’ve created this guide to break down exactly what the KS2 maths SATs are all about and give you effective strategies to help your learners excel in this important assessment. Let’s dive in!
The arithmetic paper is the first of the three maths SATs papers KS2 students will take. They will have 40 minutes to answer a total of 36 questions here, worth a total of 40 points.
Almost all of these questions are worth one mark each, with four worth two marks each. The two-mark questions are usually long division or long multiplication questions, where one mark is awarded for the correct method and the other for the correct answer.
This paper will test students on their ability to work across the four operations (+, -, x and ÷) with a variety of whole numbers and fractions. The questions will be presented as simple calculations with no surrounding context or wording.
Being comfortable working with a mix of whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percentages is key to success here! Additionally, a maths skill that will be useful in this paper is knowing how to convert fractions and find equivalent fractions.
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Let’s take a closer look at the next second and third maths SAT papers which are focused on maths reasoning. Some find the maths reasoning papers to be the trickiest!
These papers are each worth 35 marks and students will have 40 minutes to complete each one. There are usually between 20 and 25 questions in each paper, the main difference being that the third paper usually features more two-mark questions than the second does.
The scope of the reasoning papers is much wider than the arithmetic one. While the arithmetic paper focuses primarily on number, the reasoning papers also covers geometry, measurement, and statistics.
The questions in these papers will be presented with context and require learners to use their problem-solving skills. Some of the harder two-mark questions are multi-step problems where students must identify and perform a range of calculations to get to a final answer.
To get a full picture of everything your learners should know across the maths curriculum before they sit the KS2 maths SATs papers, take a look at our guide to the Year 6 maths curriculum.
The Year 6 maths SATs papers are worth a total of 110 marks. Paper one on arithmetic is worth 40 marks and papers two and three on reasoning are each worth 35 marks.
Once completed, the SAT papers are sent off and marked by external markers and the results will be returned to the school in early July. The raw scores (i.e. the number of marks students achieve per paper) are converted into a converted scaled score between 80 and 120.
A score of 100 or more indicates that a learner is working at the expected level for the end of Key Stage 2. If they score less than 100 this can suggest that some additional support might be required as they move on to Year 7.
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 end of Year 6 SATs papers are something that students work towards their entire primary school careers – but what is the best way to prepare for the SATs?
A great way to keep learners on track and motivated is by creating a study schedule that allows time for them to revise each of the different maths topics. The key to a study schedule that your kiddos will stick to is to include a variety of activities and tasks. When creating a schedule, remember to include some KS2 maths SATs past papers (more on these below!) so that learners get used to the format of the test.
You can also keep things exciting for learners with the fun, interactive games available on our fantastic DoodleLearning maths app! The app is fully aligned with the curriculum and will create a programme of activities for learners to follow that’ll make sure they’re covering all their bases.
There are a whole bunch of study materials that can help your student with Year 6 maths. A few that we love include practice workbooks, the free KS2 SATs online 10-minute tests from CGP Books, and these fun mini-tests from More Than a Score.
Having learners take a look at and complete some real examples of KS2 maths SATs papers is a fantastic way to prepare, as they can get familiar with the format and layout of the tests.
Year 6 maths SATs papers can be found online for free and are a perfect way to get in some essential practice before May!
Papers are available for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 & 2023 – There aren’t any papers for 2020 or 2021 as the SATs were cancelled these years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There’s no doubt that the KS2 maths SATs cover a lot of the maths learning that students have been completing over the course of their primary school career. The sheer amount of topics that’ll come up for revision can seem daunting to even the most confident student!
By putting in place a study schedule, learners should feel a little more in control and on top of their revision. Keeping the types of activities they’ll complete varied (and, where possible, fun) will give them the best shot at staying engaged and motivated.
The KS2 maths SATs usually take place over two days during the SATs week. This week is in May and all schools will adhere to the same timetable. The maths papers are usually on the Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
No. Students are not permitted a calculator for any of the three KS2 maths SAT papers.
Students will have 1 hour and 50 minutes to complete all three papers. They will have 30 minutes for the arithmetic paper and 40 minutes for each of the two reasoning papers.
The SATs are not strictly ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ assessments. The highest mark is 120 and the lowest is 80. The results are not used to award a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’, but instead are an indicator of how learners are performing against the expected standard.
A score of or above 100 in the Year 6 maths SATs indicates a student is working at the expected level. Below 100 indicates that a student may need some support as they move into Year 7.
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.
We’d like to support your SATs preparation by giving your Year 2 and Year 6 pupils a FREE trial of Doodle!
We’d like to support your SATs preparation by giving your Year 2 and Year 6 pupils a FREE trial of Doodle!
We’d like to support your SATs preparation by giving your Year 2 and Year 6 pupils a FREE trial of Doodle!
In 2022, it was reported that Ofsted would be using SATs results to judge the impact of a school’s curriculum. This, combined with the aftermath of the global pandemic, has led to increased pressure and scrutiny on teachers and pupils alike.
With this in mind, it’s never been more important to consolidate pupils’ knowledge across all year groups and give them the confidence to tackle assessments. But finding the time to baseline pupils, teach new content and revise learning can be tricky. Luckily, this is where Doodle can help!
In 2022, it was reported that Ofsted would be using SATs results to judge the impact of a school’s curriculum. This, combined with the aftermath of the global pandemic, has led to increased pressure and scrutiny on teachers and pupils alike.
With this in mind, it’s never been more important to consolidate pupils’ knowledge across all year groups and give them the confidence to tackle assessments. But finding the time to baseline pupils, teach new content and revise learning can be tricky. Luckily, this is where Doodle can help!
In 2022, it was reported that Ofsted would be using SATs results to judge the impact of a school’s curriculum. This, combined with the aftermath of the global pandemic, has led to increased pressure and scrutiny on teachers and pupils alike.
With this in mind, it’s never been more important to consolidate pupils’ knowledge across all year groups and give them the confidence to tackle assessments. But finding the time to baseline pupils, teach new content and revise learning can be tricky. Luckily, this is where Doodle can help!
Doodle’s baseline assessment mode removes the need for traditional paper-based tests. Made up of short sets of interactive exercises, pupils can complete the questions across multiple sessions in their own time, removing any anxieties they may have about assessments.
Doodle analyses the results of each child’s baseline for you, saving invaluable time. It provides in-depth data, including where their learning gaps are in the curriculum. Plus, all data can be instantly exported, helping with intervention planning and setting targets.
Filled with thousands of interactive exercises, Doodle explores the curriculum in a fun and engaging way. It sets work at just the right level of challenge and uses positive reinforcement to celebrate each child’s hard work, boosting their confidence a little every day!
Once pupils have completed the assessment, Doodle automatically finds and fills each child’s learning gaps, removing the need for setting differentiated work. It displays these gaps in an online hub and lets staff instantly set work in these areas, making it easy to provide additional support where needed.
Doodle creates each child a unique work programme tailored to their needs. It tops up their knowledge by regularly revisiting content across all year groups, preventing learning loss and creating a solid foundation of understanding for them to build on in class.
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