Common KS2 SATs mistakes

Across every year, the same marks get dropped for the same reasons. Most are habits rather than gaps in knowledge, which makes them quick to fix.

Not showing working

Multi-mark maths questions award method marks. A child who does everything in their head and writes only a wrong final answer scores zero on a question they nearly had.

Worth making non-negotiable in practice, so it is automatic in May.

Answering a slightly different question

The question asks how many are left; the child works out how many were used. The maths is right, the answer is wrong.

A habit that fixes it: after finishing, reread the question and check the answer matches what was asked. Costs ten seconds.

Missing units and labels

Mark schemes often require units. £4.50 and 4.50 are not always the same to a marker, and neither is 3 cm versus 3.

Cheap marks, routinely lost.

Explanations without evidence

In reading, inference questions want a point and evidence from the text. In maths, explanations want a number.

'Because he was scared' scores less than 'because he was scared — the text says he was trembling'.

Running out of time on reading

Covered elsewhere on this site, but it is the biggest single source of lost marks in the reading paper. Practise pacing separately from comprehension.

Leaving blanks

Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer. A blank scores zero with certainty; a sensible attempt sometimes scores.

Worth saying explicitly to a child who tends to freeze.