The government has released the dates for the 2020 key stage 1 and key stage 2 Sats tests. This year, KS2 Sats week will begin on Monday 11 May.
KS1 Sats will take place in May, but the exact dates of the tests will be determined by the school. The phonics check week will start on Monday 8 June.
Related
When do the 2019 Sats results come out?
Get the latest Sats news and views
2020 KS2 Sats dates for your diary
The 2020 KS2 tests will also, as usual, be taken during the second week of May: 11 May to 14 May. There are no details yet on which test is scheduled for each day.
The new Year 4 multiplication tables check is due to be taken during the three-week period from 8 June 2020.
The Year 6 science sample tests will be taken during the two-week period from 8 June 2020.
What are Sats?
Sats stands for “standardised assessment tests”. They are national tests that children in state schools across the country sit at the same time. At KS1, children are assessed in English, mathematics and science, and at KS2 they are assessed in English and mathematics.
At KS1 pupils will sit six papers, one grammar and punctuation paper, one spelling paper, two reading papers, and two mathematics papers.
At KS2 pupils will sit six papers, one grammar and punctuation paper, one spelling paper, one reading paper, and three mathematics papers.
KS1 Sats tests
KS1 English papers
There are two reading papers for KS1 pupils to complete, and two spelling, punctuation and grammar tests. The teacher can decide if pupils can have a break in the middle of any of the tests if needed.
The first requires pupils to read two extracts and complete “practice questions” with a teacher. Then pupils must complete a mixture of short answer and multiple-choice questions.
Each question is worth one mark and there are 20 questions. The test is not timed but should take about 30 minutes to complete.
The second reading paper requires pupils to read a booklet that contains three extracts. The questions are a mixture of multiple choice and short-answer questions. There are 16 one-mark questions and two two-mark questions. The test is worth 20 marks overall.
The test is not timed but should take about 40 minutes to complete.
In total, the reading papers last 70 minutes.
The spelling paper requires the student to listen to their teacher as a transcript is read and fill in the missing words on their sheet. There are 20 words that they need to spell. Each word is worth one mark, so there are 20 marks in total.
The grammar and punctuation paper is a mixture of multiple choice and short-answer questions. Pupils will also be asked to add punctuation to prewritten sentences. There are 19 questions, 19 one-mark and one two-mark question. The test is worth 20 marks in total. The test lasts for 45 minutes.
KS1 mathematics papers
Paper one is on arithmetic and pupils are not permitted to use a calculator. There are 25 questions, each worth one mark, and the test lasts for 20 minutes.
Paper two is on reasoning and pupils are not permitted to use a calculator. There are 32 questions, each worth one or two marks. The test lasts for 35 minutes and is worth 35 marks overall.
KS2 Sats tests
KS2 English papers
The grammar and punctuation paper is a mixture of multiple choice and short-answer questions. Pupils will also be asked to add punctuation to prewritten sentences. There are 50 questions and each question is worth one mark. The test lasts for 45 minutes.
The spelling paper requires the student to listen to their teacher as a transcript is read and spell out the missing words on their answer booklet. There are 20 words that they need to spell and each word is worth one mark each. The last lasts for 15 minutes and is worth 20 marks overall.
The reading paper requires pupils to read a booklet that contains three extracts. They must then answer questions that test them on their comprehension of the three texts. There are 40 questions that together are worth 50 marks, comprising a mixture of multiple choice, short-answer and long-answer questions. The test lasts for 60 minutes, including 15 minutes of reading time.
In total, there are 120 minutes of English tests.
KS2 mathematics papers
Paper one is on arithmetic and pupils are not permitted to use a calculator. There are 36 questions, with questions worth one or two marks. The test lasts for 30 minutes and is worth 40 marks overall.
Paper two is on reasoning and pupils are not permitted to use a calculator. There are 23 questions, with questions worth one, two or three marks. The test lasts for 40 minutes and is worth 35 marks overall.
Paper three is also on reasoning and pupils are not permitted to use a calculator. There are 21 questions, with questions worth one or two marks. The test lasts for 40 minutes and is worth 35 marks overall.
In total, there are 110 minutes of mathematics tests.
What the Sats measure
The English Sats assess pupils on their knowledge of the rules of punctuation, grammar and the accuracy of their spelling, whereas the reading tests assess their reading comprehension skills and their vocabulary.
The mathematics Sats test the pupils on their knowledge of mathematical operations, their mathematical fluency, their ability to solve problems and their reasoning.
Advice on how to prepare parents
Tes columnist and headteacher Michael Tidd shares his advice on how you can prepare parents, as well as pupils, for the 2019 Sats.
