We mapped every one of the 793 KS2 Maths SATs questions set between 2016 and 2026 to its exact topic. Arithmetic alone accounts for more than a third of every paper — here's the full breakdown, question by question.
Every official KS2 Maths past paper and mark scheme from 2016 to 2026 was broken down question by question — 793 questions in total across the Arithmetic and Reasoning papers, spanning 9 test years (2020 and 2021 are excluded, since SATs were cancelled those years). Each question was mapped to the exact National Curriculum topic it tests — not a broad subject area, but the specific skill, such as "short multiplication" or "percentages of an amount." All 793 questions were successfully mapped. This is the same topic framework AceLearner uses for practice and mastery tracking, applied here as a straight analysis rather than a product feature.
Grouping all 793 questions into broad curriculum areas shows just how dominant arithmetic is — more than double the next largest area.
Ranked by how many of the 793 questions each individual topic accounted for.
| # | Topic | Times seen |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Short multiplication Multiplying a 2 or 3-digit number by a 1-digit number. | 46 |
| 2 | Multiplying fractions (proper × proper) Multiplying a proper fraction by another proper fraction. | 34 |
| 3 | Percentages of amounts Finding any percentage of a given amount. | 33 |
| 4 | Order of operations, with brackets Calculations that require brackets to be resolved first. | 22 |
| 5 | Times tables Recalling and applying multiplication and division facts to 12×12. | 21 |
| 5 | Equivalent fractions Finding, creating and simplifying equivalent fractions. | 21 |
| 7 | Order of operations, no brackets Calculations combining operations without brackets. | 20 |
| 8 | Estimating and checking Estimating answers and using inverse operations to check them. | 19 |
| 9 | Number sequences Generating and describing linear sequences using term-to-term rules. | 16 |
| 9 | Multi-step multiplication and division problems Worded problems needing more than one calculation step. | 16 |
| 9 | Column addition (3/4-digit, with exchanging) Adding 3 and 4-digit numbers in columns, carrying digits. | 16 |
| 12 | Place value to 10,000,000 Reading, writing and partitioning numbers up to ten million. | 15 |
| 13 | Multiplying fractions (mixed number × whole) Multiplying a mixed number by a whole number. | 14 |
| 13 | Rounding Rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000 or 1,000,000. | 14 |
| 15 | Column addition (3-digit, no exchanging) Adding 3-digit numbers in columns without carrying. | 13 |
| 15 | Written division to 1 decimal place Formal written division, with an answer to 1 decimal place. | 13 |
| 15 | Introduction to ratio Understanding ratio as a way of comparing quantities. | 13 |
| 15 | Calculating with time Calculating durations and solving timetable problems. | 13 |
| 19 | Long multiplication (3-digit × 2-digit) Multiplying a 3-digit number by a 2-digit number, formal method. | 12 |
| 20 | Simple fraction/decimal/percentage equivalence Recognising equivalence between simple fractions, decimals and percentages. | 12 |
If revision time is limited, this data points to a clear order of priority: short multiplication, fraction operations and percentages of an amount alone account for over 100 of the 793 questions analysed — before touching any of the more visually memorable but less frequent topics like geometry or algebra. Times tables and estimating/checking round out the picture: both are less about knowing a method and more about speed and accuracy under time pressure, which only comes from repeated timed practice rather than one-off explanation.
See the KS2 Maths SATs overview for how the Arithmetic and Reasoning papers are structured, or practise these exact topics with real past-paper questions and step-by-step explanations.
AceLearner maps every question to these topics, so parents can see which ones cost their child marks. Opening November 2026.
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