Updated 29 October 2026

KS2 SATs explained

What England's Year 6 tests are, how the 80 to 120 scores work, and what they mean for a child at a British school in the UAE.

KS2 SATs are England's national tests at the end of Year 6, taken in May: reading, maths and grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Scores run from 80 to 120. 100 or more means the expected standard was met; 110 or more is the higher standard. British schools in the UAE are outside this system, so most children there do not sit the official tests.

What the tests are

Year 6 pupils at state schools in England sit six papers over four days in May. Writing and science are not tested; teachers assess them instead.

Subject	Paper	Time	Marks
Grammar, punctuation and spelling	Paper 1: questions	45 minutes	50
Grammar, punctuation and spelling	Paper 2: spelling (20 words)	About 15 minutes	20
Reading	One paper, 3 texts	1 hour	50
Maths	Paper 1: arithmetic	30 minutes	40
Maths	Paper 2: reasoning	40 minutes	35
Maths	Paper 3: reasoning	40 minutes	35

The tests cover the Key Stage 2 curriculum: see maths, Year 1 to Year 6 and English, Year 1 to Year 6. In 2027 they run from Monday 10 May to Thursday 13 May, and schools in England see results from Tuesday 6 July.

How scaled scores work

Each subject's raw marks are added up and converted to a scaled score between 80 and 120. The conversion changes every year so that a harder paper needs fewer marks for the same score. Pupils with too few marks get no scaled score.

100 to 120: met the expected standard.
110 or more: the 'higher standard' in government statistics.
80 to 99: did not meet the expected standard in that subject.

Marks needed for 100 in 2026

Subject	Raw marks for 100	Out of
Reading	25	50
Maths	56	110
Grammar, punctuation and spelling	34	70

How children in England did in 2026

Subject	Met expected standard	Average scaled score
Reading	75%	106
Maths	75%	105
Grammar, punctuation and spelling	74%	105
Writing (teacher assessment)	73%	No score
Reading, writing and maths combined	63%

Provisional figures for England, published September 2026; revised figures are due in December 2026. 9% of pupils reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined.

KS2 SATs and schools in the UAE

The tests belong to England's assessment system. The Standards and Testing Agency's 2027 rules cover state schools in England, and independent schools in England may choose to take part. We found no provision in them for schools outside England. British-curriculum schools in the UAE are regulated by their emirate (KHDA in Dubai, ADEK in Abu Dhabi, SPEA in Sharjah, the Ministry of Education elsewhere), not by England's Department for Education.

That has three practical consequences:

Your child will probably not get an official KS2 result. Ask your school how it measures progress at the end of Year 6.
Past papers are free. The Standards and Testing Agency publishes the last three years' test papers on GOV.UK, along with each year's score conversion tables, so you can see the standard expected at the end of Year 6.
Moving to England after Year 6? Secondary schools there can see SATs results for children who sat them. A child arriving from abroad simply will not have them, which is normal.

Questions parents ask

What is a good KS2 SATs score?

100 or more means your child met the expected standard. 110 or more is the 'higher standard' used in national statistics. The highest score is 120. In 2026 the average scaled score in England was 106 in reading and 105 in maths and in grammar, punctuation and spelling, so a score around 105 is typical, not low.

What is the expected standard in SATs?

A scaled score of at least 100 in a test. A score of 99 or less means the expected standard was not met in that subject. Writing is not a test: teachers judge whether a child is working at the expected standard or at greater depth.

How many marks do you need to get 100?

It changes each year with the difficulty of the papers. In 2026 it was 25 out of 50 in reading, 56 out of 110 in maths and 34 out of 70 in grammar, punctuation and spelling. The Standards and Testing Agency publishes the conversion tables each July.

When are the 2027 KS2 SATs?

Monday 10 May to Thursday 13 May 2027, according to the Standards and Testing Agency. Grammar, punctuation and spelling is on Monday, reading on Tuesday, maths Papers 1 and 2 on Wednesday and maths Paper 3 on Thursday. Schools in England can see results from Tuesday 6 July 2027.

Do schools in Dubai and Abu Dhabi do KS2 SATs?

The official tests are run by England's Standards and Testing Agency for schools in England. Its 2027 rules cover state schools there and independent schools in England that choose to take part; we could not find any route for schools abroad. So children at British schools in the UAE do not sit the live tests the way children in England do. Past SATs papers are free to download from GOV.UK, so any school or parent can use them. Ask your school how it assesses Year 6.

Are SATs results used for secondary school places?

In England, the results are passed to the child's new secondary school to help it plan support for new pupils. Schools in the UAE set their own admissions requirements, so check each school's admissions page.

Is it 'SATs' or 'national curriculum tests'?

Officially they are the key stage 2 national curriculum tests. The Standards and Testing Agency notes that some people call them SATs. They have nothing to do with the American SAT used for university entry.

Sources