SATs Papers

SATs Papers are compulsory national tests for primary school pupils. Children in England are required to take Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) at the end of Year 2 (Key Stage 1 SATs) and at the end of Year 6 (Key Stage 2 SATs).

SATs tests were first introduced in 1991 for Key Stage 1 (more commonly known as simply "KS1"). Within four years of their introduction Key Stage 2 (KS2) SATs were introduced and then in 1998 Key Stage 3 (KS3) SATs were brought in.

SATs Papers have broadly remained the same since their introduction with English and Maths tests in KS1 and KS2 plus Science in KS3.

In 2004 it was decided that KS1 SATs were no longer going to be formal SATs tests but would instead be "teacher assessments". This remains the case for 2017 with children taking KS1 SATs teacher assessments in English and Maths. Likewise, in 2009 KS3 SATs tests would no longer be externally examined and instead became internal teacher assessments.

2017 KS1 SATs

Children in Year 2 in May 2017 will take the "new-style" KS1 SATs tests that were first introduced in May 2016. These 2017 KS1 SATs assessments will be in:

• KS1 English Reading
• KS1 Maths
• KS1 Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling (GaPS or SPaG)

As with previous years, these 2017 KS1 SATs tests are planned to be taken in a relaxed and familiar classroom environment in May 2017.

2017 KS2 SATs

Children in Year 6 in May 2017 will take the "new-style" KS2 SATs tests that were first introduced in May 2016. These 2017 KS2 SATs assessments will be in:

• KS2 English Reading
• KS2 Maths
• KS2 Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling (GaPS or SPaG)

The 2017 KS2 SATs tests are formal, externally marked tests and will take place across the week commencing 8th May 2017.

SATs Papers have allowed the Department for Education (DfE) to see how well schools have perform among each other. Remember, every pupil across the entire country takes the same set of tests at the same time. The DfE can then use the SATs results data to determine how well schools are performing relative to each other.

From a pupil's perspective, the key purpose behind SATs tests is to allow them to demonstrate what they have learnt during their respective Key Stage. The tests (whether via teacher assessment or formal SATs paper) help their teacher learn more about their strengths and weaknesses and precisely what they understood about their Maths, English or Science topics.

A child cannot "fail" a SATs paper - There is no "pass mark", it's simply trying to measure how much each child has learned throughout KS1 (Years 1-2), KS2 (Years 3-6) or KS3 (Years 7-9).

There are plans for 2018 to force children that don't reach the expected standard to re-take their KS2 SATs before the end of their first term in secondary school.

For the 2017 KS2 SATs, children's marks will be presented as a mark referenced against 100. A score of 100 will represent the expected standard that children should reach. Those scoring over 100 will be deemed to have exceeded the expected standard whilst those scoring below 100 will have not reached the expected standard.

Mark	Description
< 100	Below Expected Standard
~ 100	At Expected Standard
> 100	Above Expected Standard

Under the old (pre-2014) curriculum, children's marks were translated into "levels". These levels helpfully described the expectations of a child and whether they were meeting them, exceeding them or indeed whether they needed a little extra support.

The expectations for a child's SATs performance according to their age are shown in the table below. For instance, an 11 year old child is expected to achieve level 4 by the end of year 6. A child achieving level 5 is working at a high level, and only one percent achieve level 6.

	Year 2	Year 6	Year 8
Level 8			Exceptional
Level 7			Beyond Expectations
Level 6		Exceptional	At Expected Level
Level 5		Beyond Expectations
Level 4	Exceptional	At Expected Level	Below Expectations
Level 3	Beyond Expectations	Below Expectations
Level 2	At Expected Level
Level 1	Below Expectations