Sat mats scaled score of 117, would that put you in the top 1%?

[AmIRightHere]

Trying to work this out

The child has just completed their SATs, so they’re about to leave Year 6!

SS117 is just into the ‘Above Average’ range (115-129) and is at the 87th Centile. So the top 13 per cent of the population.

Sorry - just re-read the OP. 117/120 is not a standardised score. If that is all the information you have been given to go on, and it is not age-standardised, then you really can’t know. But it obviously means more if your child is say August born than born the preceding September.

I see in subsequent posts - I was thinking it was yr2 sats .

Most secondary schools use CATs I think to guide progress . Though to be fair my own kids SAT and CAT and 11+ scores are so all over the place you would have no idea .. one ranges from 135(11+) ish to about 120 and the other from 120- 100 ish . Pinch of salt useful

The SATs scores aren't standardised scores, but nor is the 117 'out of' 120. It's a scaled score, where the scaling runs from 80 to 120, where a score of 100 indicates meeting the expected standard in that subject.

A scaled score in Maths indicates a raw score of 106 out of a total of 110 marks.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-2-tests-2025-scaled-scores/2025-key-stage-2-scaled-score-conversion-tables

www.gov.uk/guidance/understanding-scaled-scores-at-key-stage-2

Just a warning that SATs aren’t always a great predictor, dd17 got 120 in reading and we had to get extra tutoring to get her through English Language GCSE, 112 in maths I think and she got a grade 8 at gcse and is doing a-level. The test is designed to judge the school rather than the individual really.

Thanks for info matching frogs
the context is so helpful

Just on that scaled score you have linked to on gov.uk there @MarchingFrogs ... there's no scaled score of 118 for reading? It drops from 119 to 117. And, looking again, there's no 115.

Possibly - I don't work for the DfE or whoever's statisticians work out the scaling. I was actually just pointing out that the scaled score the parent receives is neither a standardised score, nor a raw score (it's not '117 out of 120').

It isn’t helpful for children to have parents that competitive, or for children to learn to judge themselves that way. It can make them anxious in later life, as they’re always up against themselves. By all means tell them well done, then leave it.

By which I mean, as that wasn’t clear, that in later life these children can feel an desperate need to do extra well in sports and life, which can be overwhelming.

@Ebenezerscrogge this is KS2 SATs so going into Secondary

In my dc’s fairly ordinary primary school there were at least 4 children who got similar scores to this so I’m unsure about top 1% but it’s certainly a great score and you should be very proud.
As for “needing to explain exactly how well they did to your dc” you really, really don’t. You say that your dc generally works hard but didn’t put extra effort in for this? I would praise the fact that they have a great attitude generally and tell them they’re proud but filling their head with how “clever” they are ahead of Secondary school sets them up for a massive shock when the work gets harder and expectations for independent study increase.

Congratulations! 117 is a very good score whether top 1% or not, it shows he/she has great potential to be a good mathematician in secondary.

My DS had 120 in Sats math last year and 118 on average across the 3 subjects. In year 7 CATS tests he scored really high as well and has done 2 math competitons JMC and KMC and achived gold in both without much preparation.

That's because there are only 50 marks available, whereas maths is out of 110, so one mark extra scored means a jump of 2 in the scaled score, but in maths one more scaled mark covers a range of actual scores.