Contents of KS1 English SATS Tests

What questions are asked?

The new format of KS1 English tests was introduced in 2016 to reflect change made to the curriculum in 2014.This page details the contents of KS1 English SATS tests.

KS1 SATS English Reading Test Questions

There are two reading papers at this level

Paper 1 – Children will be asked to read through a selection of texts totalling about 600 words. They will then answer a series of questions.

Paper 2 – Children will be asked to read through a selection of texts totalling about 900 words.  They will then answer a series of questions.

The questions for both papers will include the following: Matching questions, Labelling questions, Find and copy questions, Open-ended questions, Short answer questions, and Multiple-choice questions.

There nothing there for children to be particularly concerned about but naturally those who read more fluently will be expected to do better.  At this age there can be a big difference in reading fluency simply because of age and maturity differences.

Sometimes it’s easier to understand what the tests will be like by looking at them (bald descriptions can sound rather daunting) Please see example papers below:

2016 Paper 2 – Reading text

2016 Paper 2 – Question Paper

2016 Paper 2 – Marking Guide

KS1 SATS SPAG Test (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation)

There are two SPAG SATS tests for KS1, the papers children will sit are as follows:

SPAG Paper 1 – A twenty word spelling test based on words they would have learnt during their KS1 Syllabus.

SPAG Paper 2 – This is a two part Grammar, Punctuation and Vocabulary test. Children will have a mix of multiple choice questions or questions where they need to give a full answer such as writing a sentence out correctly.

If you’d like to see the papers from 2016 to get a real flavour of what children will face then the links are below:

2016 Paper 1 – Spelling – Question Paper, Marking Guide

2016 Paper 2  – Grammar, Punctuation and Vocabulary – Question Paper, Marking Guide