Every spring, thousands of children across England sit their Year 6 Sats. Come the summer, schools and parents eagerly await the subsequent results.
While the tests continue to divide opinion, with some arguing they put unnecessary stress on pupils and teachers, they provide secondary schools with a way of assessing their incoming cohort.
So, when do the results come out and what do the scores mean? Find the answers to all of your Sats results questions, below.
When do Sats results come out?
KS2 Sats results will be released to schools in July 2025 - the papers having been marked by external examiners, with raw marks converted into scaled scores (see below), and then made available to parents.
If the school uses the optional KS1 Sats, then they will be marked internally by schools and marks will be made available to parents by the class teacher.
How are results shared with parents?
At KS2, parents will be told pupils’ test results and scaled scores, and whether or not the pupil is meeting the expected standard. The scores will often be sent home with a pupil’s end-of-term report.
In addition to this, schools will explain how a pupil’s results compare with the national average.
If the school chooses to use the optional tests at KS1, then parents will be told the results of the tests in English, maths and science.
There must be an explanation of how their child’s results compare with those of other pupils at the school, and how their child’s results compare nationally.
How do you read and interpret Sats results?
Pupils’ marks are converted from a raw score (the total number of marks that a pupil received) to something called a “scaled score”. A scaled score of 100 or more means that the pupil has met the expected standard in the test.
The maximum possible score is 120 and the minimum score is 80. The scaled score allows for the small variations in difficulty that occur between assessments year on year. This makes it possible to compare the performance of different cohorts of pupils across different years.
Here, you can find a table explaining how scores are converted from raw scores to scaled scores.
Can you appeal a KS2 Sats score?
If a school believes that a pupil has been incorrectly marked, or that there has been a clerical error, it can apply for a review of marking.
There are two types of review you can ask for: a marking review query and a clerical review query.
- A marking review query can be requested if a teacher feels that there is a discrepancy between the marks on the pupil’s paper and the published mark scheme. If you request a review, the mark can go up or down. There is a £9 charge for a marking review.
- A clerical review query can be requested if you believe there to be a clerical error; for example, an incorrect addition of the marks. There is a £5 charge for a clerical review.
Find more information about re-marks and reviews.
Reviews are free if there is:
- A change to the pupil either achieving or not achieving the expected standard
- A change of two or more marks to the raw score
- A correction of a code due to a supplier error, a test marked on paper or a code on the attendance register
- A test script re-matched to the correct pupil
If a review does not result in any of these outcomes, then schools will pay the charges outlined above.
How do secondary schools use Sats results?
The scores from the KS2 Sats are used by secondary schools to calculate students’ Progress 8 scores.
Some schools will also use results to assign Year 7 pupils to sets. The data is also used to create school performance tables and by local authorities and Ofsted to measure school attainment.
What happens to pupils who do not meet the expected standard?
For pupils who do not meet the expected standard in Year 6, there is a literacy and numeracy catch-up premium given to state-funded schools (including special schools and alternative provision settings) to provide additional funding for support in reading and/or maths.
Schools can provide pupils who require extra help with individual tuition, small-group tuition or summer school places.
What were results like in 2024?
In 2024, the proportion of Year 6 pupils reaching the expected standard increased slightly but was still behind pre-Covid levels.
Overall, 61 per cent of pupils taking KS2 Sats tests in 2024 met the expected standard in all three areas (reading, writing, maths), compared with 60 per cent the year before. This is still behind the pre-pandemic 2019 figure of 65 per cent.
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