Every year in May, all eligible Year 6 pupils are assessed using National Curriculum tests for the end of Key Stage 2, also known as Key Stage 2 (KS2) SATs. This includes mathematics assessments.
Here is a thorough breakdown of the KS2 SATs mathematics papers, some predictions for the 2026 paper and top tips to help your pupils successfully prepare.
What Is Involved in the KS2 SATs Mathematics Papers?
The Key Stage 2 SATs mathematics assessment consists of three papers.
Paper 1: Arithmetic. 40 marks. Time limit: 30 minutes
Paper 2: Reasoning. 35 marks. Time limit: 40 minutes
Paper 3: Reasoning. 35 marks. Time limit: 40 minutes
Children will complete Paper 1 and Paper 2 assessments on the same day and Paper 3 will be completed the following day.
Expected Standard
The table below shows the raw score and percentage that children need to achieve the expected standard. This is approximately between 54 and 58 marks or 49% and 53%.
Paper Content
The content of the Key Stage 2 SATs mathematics papers can span all content domains in the KS2 National Curriculum for mathematics, with the highest weighting on Four Operations and Fractions, Decimals and Percentages.
The table below shows the content coverage for the last four years according to the year group.
This emphasises that it is an end-of-key-stage assessment and not an end-of-year-six assessment. Despite the amount of Year 3 content in the assessments usually being quite low and the amount of Year 6 content usually being quite high, in the years 2022-2025, children could meet the National Expected Standard in their KS2 SATs mathematics without answering a single question from the Year 6 curriculum correctly.
The orange highlight on the table shows when the year group content has been the highest, so the 2024 paper contained more Year 4 content than in 2022, 2023 and 2025. The past three years have not had as much Year 5 content as in 2022; therefore, we could see lots of Year 5 content in the 2026 paper.
Content Domains
The mathematics framework outlines the content domains and strands that can be covered in the assessments. Table 10 shows that 83-93 marks or 75-85% of marks on the assessment are for Number, Ratio and Algebra and 17-27 marks or 15-25% of marks are for Measurement, Geometry and Statistics.
Table 11 shows the marks per paper. As paper 1 is an arithmetic assessment, all 40 marks are for Number, Ratio and Algebra, whereas papers 2 and 3 consist of 22-26 marks for Number, Ratio and Algebra and 9-13 marks for Measurement, Geometry and Statistics.
Content and Predictions
The table below shows a further breakdown of the KS2 SATs mathematics papers by content from 2017 to 2025.
The number of marks that are for Number and Place Value is usually quite low, but it was slightly higher in 2025.
In 2024, the number of marks for Calculations was the highest it had been (41 marks), but in 2025 this went back down and was 35 marks.
The number of marks for Fractions, Decimals and Percentages has been quite high since 2019.
In 2025, Algebra was the lowest it had been and the number of marks for Statistics was also very low, particularly when compared to 2017.
EdShed trainer Amelia Rimmer has made some predictions for the 2026 KS2 Mathematics SATs papers.
Disclaimer: Amelia does not have any type of inside knowledge about the papers. These are just guesses!
Predictions:
Amelia predicts that the marks for Fractions, Decimals and Percentages will remain quite high. She also predicts that the marks for Algebra and Statistics may increase this year. However, this would mean that the marks in one of the other content areas would need to decrease and Amelia thinks that this is likely to be Number and Place Value and Measurement.
What Learning Should I Prioritise?
Calculations consistently emerges as the content domain with the most marks on the assessments, followed by Fractions, Decimals and Percentages. The table below shows that pupils need to achieve approximately 54–58 marks out of a possible 110 to meet the expected standard; this is approximately 49-53%. Therefore, if pupils answered all of the Calculations and Fraction, Decimals and Percentage questions correctly, they would meet the expected standard.
Although it is worth focusing on areas like algebra and statistics, the data does show that focusing on Calculations and Fractions, Decimals and Percentages should offer the greatest benefit in delivering SATs success for your pupils.
To meet the expected standard, pupils need to achieve approximately 54-58 marks and Paper 1, Arithmetic alone is worth 40 marks; therefore, it is well worth prioritising arithmetic fluency. These skills are heavily covered in the reasoning papers too.
Top Tips for Preparing for the KS2 SATs Mathematics Papers
1. Use MathShed games to develop fluency
MathShed’s fluency games are designed to develop critical mathematic skills. The games focus on number bonds, times tables, powers of ten and addition and subtraction. There are variations in each game, allowing children to practise particular times tables, number bonds to different amounts or specific addition and subtraction formats. Educators can assign these games to pupils so specific skills and variations can be targeted. They are perfect for increasing pace and developing fluency and all data from gameplay feeds directly into a handy data report for easy monitoring.
2. Use MathShed’s NEW SATs-inspired question sets.
MathShed’s KS2 SATs folder has been updated with new question sets for the most recent papers. It now includes question sets based on each paper for every year from 2016 to 2025. You can assign them to pupils to complete digitally or can generate them as handy revision PDFs. If you assign them digitally, they mark themselves! The 2022 papers are FREE to download and the others can be downloaded with a MathShed subscription.
3. Aim for mastery
Remember that what you do, the way you teach and the pedagogy you use are there for a reason. Don’t drastically change how you teach, particularly if it is a new concept. Once the content is understood by the children, you might need to use lots of repetition for fluency, but it is really important that you are still using all the areas of mastery. This includes looking at variation, doing lots of mathematical thinking and using lots of representation and structure. This is particularly important for Papers 2 and 3, as the questions can be presented in lots of different ways.
4. Speed is key
With the arithmetic paper having a pace of one mark per minute, it is clear that speed is key and children need to work quickly. Encourage children to find strategies and use recall to increase the speed of their responses over time.
MathShed’s Quick Maths slides focus on developing pace and fluency. There is one for every day and the Year 6 spring and summer term slides are based on past SATs papers.
5. Combine Areas of Mathematics
Questions in the SATs papers often combine areas of mathematics, so it is important that children are familiar with this. Make sure you combine areas of mathematics in your teaching.
The question below is from the 2025 KS2 SATs Mathematics Paper 3.
Here is a similar question from MathShed’s 2025 KS2 SATs question set.
This not only helps children become familiar with combining areas of mathematics, but it is also a great way of practising multiple areas at once for revision and to build fluency.
6. Revisit mistakes
Revisiting mistakes with children is a really good way of identifying where they went wrong or why they got it wrong. Talking through the mistake can help children identify why the mistake happened, where they went wrong and how to avoid a similar mistake next time. It can also help address any misconceptions.
7. Have at least one practice of the assessment
Understanding what the test experience will look and feel like before the real assessment is extremely important for some children. While we want to avoid testing too much, it is essential that pupils have at least one opportunity to practise the assessment in advance. However, tests do not teach children. Their purpose of tests is to practise the test format and assess their understanding.
2026 Key Stage 2 access arrangements guidance can be found here.
Video Webinar Recording: Statutory Assessment Series: Predictions and Preparation for the KS2 SATs Mathematics Papers
Watch this free webinar recording for all of the above.