KS2 SATs maths past papers

Every year, with its pass mark

The marks needed for the expected standard (a scaled score of 100) and the higher standard (110), read from each year's conversion table. Pick a year for its papers, mark scheme and what was different that year.

There were no tests in 2020 or 2021: both were cancelled because of the pandemic.

Which years were harder

The pass mark moves because some papers turn out harder than others. For maths it has ranged from 54 marks in 2024, when fewer marks were needed and children seem to have found the paper harder, to 61 marks in 2018. The average is 58 out of 110.

Every paper since 2016 tests the same curriculum in the same format, so any year is good practice. Many parents save the most recent, 2026, for last.

What is in the maths papers

Three papers. Paper 1 is arithmetic; Papers 2 and 3 are reasoning. 110 marks in total, sat on the Wednesday and Thursday of the test week.

No calculators are allowed. Paper 1 is straight calculation, which is where practice makes the biggest difference: every question is a method that can be learnt.

Practise what the papers test

Short sets of questions on one topic at a time, with the working shown after every answer. Free, with no sign-up.