65% achieve ‘expected standard’ in key stage 2 SATs

Sixty-five per cent of pupils have met the required standards of reading writing and maths, up from 64 per cent last year, according to government data on key stage 2 SATs.

In grammar, spelling and punctuation, 78 per cent of pupils met the expected standard – unchanged from 2018.

79 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in maths – up from 76 per cent in 2018.

73 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading –down from 75 per cent in 2018 but up from 66 per cent in 2016.

78 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in writing – unchanged from last year.

This year’s results are the fourth to be released following the introduction of more rigorous assessments in summer 2016.

The attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers has fallen between 2011 and 2018. And in 2016 England achieved its highest ever score in the international PIRLs literacy study. This follows a greater focus on reading in the primary curriculum, and a particular focus on phonics.