Year 5 Practice Tests: Maths, Reading, GPS and Science

Short end-of-year tests for Year 5, written for the national curriculum in England. Each maths, reading and GPS test is about half the length of the real SATs, at the same pace, so it fits into a lesson. Every test comes with a full mark scheme, a one-page answer sheet and an Excel question level analysis (QLA), so you can see what each child has secured and what to teach next.

Year 5 SATs-style tests: maths, reading and GPS

There are six sets for each subject. All six are at the same end-of-year standard, so you can use them in any order and compare the results, and across the six sets the tests cover the year’s content. Every test starts with easier questions.

SubjectPapers in each setTimeMarks
MathsPaper 1: Arithmetic
Paper 2: Reasoning
Paper 3: Reasoning		15 minutes
20 minutes
20 minutes		55
ReadingReading booklet and answer booklet40 minutes25
Grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS)Paper 1: Questions
Paper 2: Spelling (script read aloud)		25 minutes
10 minutes		35

Maths Papers 2 and 3 are one reasoning test in two parts and can be sat on different days. Each spelling test has a script for the adult to read aloud.

Try Set 1 free

Set 1 of each subject is free for Years 2 to 6, with its mark scheme and QLA. Use it to see the format before you buy, or as a starting point for the year.

Free SATs-style maths tests for Years 2 to 6FreeMaths, Set 1Arithmetic and reasoning papers, mark scheme and QLA. Free SATs-style reading tests for Years 2 to 6FreeReading, Set 1Original texts and questions, mark scheme and QLA. Free SATs-style grammar, punctuation and spelling tests for Years 2 to 6FreeGPS, Set 1Questions and spelling papers, mark scheme and QLA.
Sets 1 to 6

The Year 5 pack

All six sets for one subject, or for all three. For every test you get the papers, a mark scheme with every answer on one page and a ‘Next time’ tip for every question, and an Excel QLA (blank and with example data). Each subject also has a progress tracker (PDF and Excel) and a one-page diagnostic guide: what lost marks usually look like in each area, and what to practise next.

One subject £8.99 · all three subjects £21.99. One-off purchase, instant download, licensed to the family, tutor or school that buys it.

See the Year 5 packWhole-school pack

Reading texts

Every text is original and written for Year 5, with a mix of text types across the sets:

  • Set 1: The Bridge Challenge and Octopuses: Masters of Disguise
  • Set 2: The Night Train and Fog on the Lake
  • Set 3: Up, Up and Away and Stone Soup
  • Set 4: The Morning Runners and Ernest Shackleton
  • Set 5: Maddie’s Dark Sky Diary and The Heron
  • Set 6: The Glass Palace and Let It Grow!

Year 5 science test

There is no national science test for most year groups. Our Year 5 science test takes 45 minutes, is worth 40 marks and covers living things and their habitats, animals including humans, properties and changes of materials, Earth and space, and forces, with working scientifically built into the questions. It comes in three short parts – biology, chemistry and physics – that can be sat together or on separate days.

Science tests Years 2 to 6 complete packYears 2 to 6Science tests – complete packAll five year groups’ tests, each with its mark scheme, one-page answer sheet and QLA.

How to use the tests

  1. When: the tests are at the end-of-year standard, so they are best used in the spring and summer terms. A few weeks between sets works well.
  2. Print on A4 at actual size (100%, not ‘fit to page’), so rulers and scales measure correctly.
  3. Sit each paper for the time on its cover. Children work on their own unless the cover or script says a question is read aloud.
  4. Mark with the one-page answers, and use the full mark scheme for any answer you are not sure about.
  5. Analyse: type the marks into the QLA, or write the area totals on the progress tracker.
  6. Teach next: use the diagnostic guide and the ‘Next time’ tips, then try the next set.
For schools

Mark it, type it in, see the gaps

Every test has a QLA workbook: type each child’s marks and it shows every question and area – for the whole year group, one class or one group – with what to reteach first, who to group, and a one-page report for every child. Excel for Windows or Mac, no macros.

How the QLA worksOrder by invoice

Frequently asked questions

Are these official SATs papers?

No. They are written by PrimaryTools for the national curriculum in England, in the style of the KS2 tests.

Why are they shorter than the real tests?

Each test is about half the length, at the same pace, so it fits into a lesson and children are more likely to finish it. Six sets together cover far more of the year’s content than one full-length test.

Do they stick to the Year 5 curriculum?

Yes. Every question is written for the Year 5 programme of study, and every answer in the mark scheme gives its curriculum reference.

Can parents and tutors use them?

Yes. Each pack is licensed to the family, tutor or school that buys it. The mark schemes explain every answer, and the progress tracker and ‘Next time’ tips show what to practise at home.

What do we need for the QLA?

Microsoft Excel for Windows or Mac. There are no macros to enable, and your data stays on your computer. See our test analysis help.

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