Y2 SATS Information

A new national curriculum was introduced in 2014.

In 2016 the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) changed the SATs tests so that they assess the new curriculum. In 2024 the SATs test have become non-statutory, but there will be new optional papers published each year. 

During the summer term the children will indertake the optional papers in:

• Reading (2 papers)
• Maths (2 papers)

The reading test for Year 2 pupils will involve two separate papers:

• Paper 1 consists of a selection of texts totalling 400 to 700 words, with questions interspersed
• Paper 2 comprises a reading booklet of a selection of passages totalling 800 to 1100 words. Children will write their answers in a separate booklet
• Each paper should take around 30-40 minutes, but children will not be strictly timed, as the tests are not intended to assess children’s ability to work at speed.
• The texts in the reading papers will cover a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and will get progressively more difficult towards the end of the test. Teachers will have the option to stop the test at any point that they feel is appropriate for a particular child.

There will be 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’
• Find and copy, e.g. ‘Find  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’

The Key Stage 1 maths test has two papers:

• Paper 1: arithmetic, worth 25 marks and taking around 15 minutes.
• Paper 2: mathematical fluency, problem-solving and reasoning, worth 35 marks and taking 35 minutes, with a break if necessary.

Children will not be able to use any tools such as calculators or number lines. They will be able to use the paper to show written methods.

Below are the 2023 materials. 

PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK TO DOWNLOAD MORE SAMPLE PAPERS AND PAPERS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS

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