The Best Revision Techniques for KS2
What actually works according to decades of cognitive science — and what feels productive but isn't. A practical guide for parents.
The Evidence Problem
In 2013, psychologist John Dunlosky and colleagues published one of the most comprehensive reviews of learning techniques ever conducted. They examined decades of research across hundreds of studies and rated ten common revision strategies by effectiveness. Their findings were striking — and uncomfortable.
The techniques most popular with students (and most commonly recommended by parents) turned out to be the least effective. Highlighting, re-reading, and summarising — the bread and butter of most children’s revision — were rated as low utility. Meanwhile, the two highest-rated strategies (practice testing and distributed practice) are used far less often.
This matters for SATs preparation because parents invest significant time and money in revision. If that time is spent on ineffective methods, it is not just wasted — it can actively increase stress by creating the illusion of preparation without the reality of learning. This guide will help you focus your child’s revision time on what the evidence says actually works.
Practice Testing (Retrieval Practice)
Practice testing — also called retrieval practice — means actively recalling information from memory rather than passively reviewing it. Instead of reading notes, the child answers questions, completes quizzes, or tries to recall facts without looking at the source material.
Why it works: Every time the brain successfully retrieves a piece of information, the neural pathway to that memory is strengthened. This is called the “testing effect” and it is one of the most robust findings in cognitive psychology. Retrieval practice does not just measure what a child knows — it actually changes the brain to make that knowledge more accessible in future.
How to do it at home:
- •After reading a chapter or topic, close the book and ask your child to tell you three things they remember.
- •Use flashcards for key facts (times tables, grammar rules, spelling patterns). The act of trying to recall the answer before flipping the card is the active ingredient.
- •Complete SATs-style questions under low-pressure conditions. The format matters less than the act of retrieval — multiple choice, short answer, or verbal recall all work.
- •Importantly, getting answers wrong during practice testing is beneficial — errors followed by feedback produce stronger learning than always getting things right.
For a deeper look at the research, see our blog post on why practice testing beats highlighting.
Distributed (Spaced) Practice
Distributed practice means spreading revision out over time rather than concentrating it into long sessions. Twenty minutes every day is dramatically more effective than two hours on a Sunday. This is the second strategy rated as high utility by Dunlosky’s review, and it aligns perfectly with Barak Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction (2012), which emphasises daily review as one of the ten most effective teaching strategies.
Why it works: Memory consolidation happens during sleep and in the gaps between study sessions. When a child studies a topic, then returns to it a day or two later, the brain has to work harder to retrieve it — and that effort is what strengthens the memory. Cramming feels effective because the information is fresh in the moment, but it fades rapidly. Spaced practice produces slower initial progress but far better long-term retention.
How to do it at home:
- •Set a fixed daily revision time (after school or after tea) of 15–25 minutes. Consistency matters more than duration.
- •Revisit topics on a schedule: study fractions on Monday, return to fractions on Wednesday, then again the following Monday. The gaps should gradually increase.
- •Start revision early. The biggest advantage of spaced practice is that it needs time to work. Beginning in January gives six months of spaced repetition before May.
- •Use a simple calendar or the SATs revision timetable to plan which subjects and topics to cover each day.
Interleaved Practice
Interleaving means mixing different types of problems or topics within a single practice session, rather than completing a block of one type before moving to the next. For example, instead of doing 20 fraction questions followed by 20 percentage questions, the child would alternate: fraction, percentage, ratio, fraction, percentage, and so on.
Why it works: Blocked practice (doing all of one type) produces a false sense of mastery because the child knows what strategy to apply before they even read the question. Interleaving forces them to first identify what type of problem this is before deciding how to solve it — which is exactly what SATs require. The reasoning papers, in particular, present mixed-topic questions with no subject labels.
How to do it at home: Rather than working through a textbook chapter by chapter, mix questions from different topics in a single session. SATs Arcade does this automatically — practice sessions draw from multiple topics, requiring children to switch strategies on each question. You can also achieve this by cutting up past papers and shuffling the questions into a random order.
Highlighting and Re-reading
This is the uncomfortable part. Highlighting key facts and re-reading notes are by far the most common revision strategies used by children (and recommended by many parents and teachers). Dunlosky’s review rated both as low utility.
Why they feel productive but aren’t: Both strategies create what psychologists call the “illusion of fluency.” When a child re-reads a passage, the text feels familiar on the second pass, and this familiarity is mistaken for understanding. Similarly, highlighting gives the satisfying sensation of “doing something” without requiring any actual retrieval from memory.
The problem is that recognition (feeling familiar with information) is not the same as recall (being able to produce information from memory). SATs require recall — the child must produce answers, not recognise them. A child who has re-read their notes ten times may genuinely believe they know the material, only to go blank in the test.
What to do instead: Replace passive re-reading with active recall. After your child reads a page of notes, close the book and ask them to write down (or tell you) everything they remember. This one change transforms a low- utility strategy into a high-utility one.
What the EEF Adds to the Picture
The Education Endowment Foundation’s Teaching and Learning Toolkit translates educational research into months of additional progress. Three findings are particularly relevant for SATs revision:
Feedback: +6 months of progress
Feedback is most effective when it tells the child what they need to do next, not just whether they were right or wrong. “You got this wrong because you forgot to simplify the fraction — next time, check whether the numerator and denominator share a common factor” is vastly more useful than a simple tick or cross. This is why detailed explanations after each question matter more than raw scores.
Metacognition: +7 months of progress
Teaching children to plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning is one of the highest-impact strategies available. In practice, this means asking: “Before you start, what do you already know about this topic?” “Which strategy will you use?” and “After finishing, did your approach work?” Children who can self-regulate their learning are less anxious and more effective.
Digital technology: +4 months of progress
The EEF finds that digital tools can add significant value when they are used to supplement — not replace — other teaching. The key is that the technology must incorporate active learning (retrieval practice, immediate feedback) rather than passive consumption. Not all apps are equal — see our blog post on what works in digital learning for guidance on what to look for.
Making It Work: Subject by Subject
Here is how to apply these evidence-based techniques to each SATs subject:
Maths: Daily practice questions
Maths benefits most from retrieval practice and spacing. A daily 15-minute session of mixed-topic questions (not a whole page of the same operation) is ideal. Cover arithmetic fluency (times tables, long division, fractions) alongside reasoning skills (word problems, multi-step calculations). Rosenshine’s daily review principle is especially powerful for maths — starting each session with five quick recall questions from previous days locks in foundational knowledge.
Reading: Retrieval after every passage
After your child reads a passage (whether from a practice paper or a book), close it and ask: “What were the three most important things in that text?” This simple act of retrieval strengthens comprehension far more than re-reading the passage. Then practise SATs-style questions: inference (“How does the character feel?”), retrieval (“Find the word that means...”), and summary (“Explain what happened in your own words”).
GPS: Short daily grammar quizzes
Grammar, punctuation, and spelling is the subject that benefits most from spaced repetition. There are a finite number of grammar concepts tested at KS2 (word classes, tenses, clauses, punctuation rules, etc.), and each one needs regular revisiting. A daily 5-minute quiz covering a mix of GPS topics, with immediate feedback after each answer, is the optimal format. Spelling lists should be tested through active recall (cover and write) rather than passive reading.
A Sample Weekly Revision Timetable
This timetable applies the principles above: daily 20-minute sessions, subject rotation, and a mix of retrieval practice and spaced review. Adjust the times to suit your family’s routine.
| Day | Subject | Activity (20 min) |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Maths | Mixed arithmetic + 2 reasoning questions. Review errors from last Thursday. |
| Tuesday | Reading | Read one passage. Close book, recall key points. Answer 5 SATs-style questions. |
| Wednesday | GPS | Grammar quiz (10 mixed questions) + 10 spellings (cover, write, check). |
| Thursday | Maths | Fractions + percentages focus. Interleave with Monday’s weak areas. |
| Friday | Reading | New passage + questions. Compare with Tuesday: what improved? |
| Saturday | Mixed | Optional: fun quiz mixing all three subjects. Keep it light and gamified. |
| Sunday | Rest | No revision. Play, family time, fresh air. Rest is part of the strategy. |
For a more detailed weekly planner, see our full revision timetable guide.
Digital Tools and Retrieval Practice
Not all digital learning tools are created equal. The EEF’s evidence on digital technology (+4 months) comes with an important caveat: the tool must involve active learning. Here is what to look for and what to avoid:
Look for
- ✓Questions that require the child to produce an answer (retrieval practice)
- ✓Immediate feedback with explanations, not just right/wrong
- ✓Mixed-topic sessions (interleaving built in)
- ✓Adaptive difficulty that adjusts to your child’s level
- ✓Progress tracking so you can see what needs more work
Avoid
- ✗Passive video content without active recall checkpoints
- ✗Games where entertainment replaces learning (high engagement, low retrieval)
- ✗Tools that only use multiple choice (too easy to guess)
- ✗No feedback or explanation after incorrect answers
- ✗Unlimited screen time with no session boundaries
For a detailed analysis of what the evidence says about digital learning tools for primary-age children, see our blog post on digital learning: what actually works.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should my child revise each day?
Research consistently shows that 15–25 minutes of focused, active revision per day is optimal for primary-age children. Beyond 30 minutes, attention drops sharply and the quality of learning declines. Two focused 15-minute sessions are more effective than one distracted 45-minute session.
When should we start revising for SATs?
The ideal time to begin gentle, regular revision is January of Year 6 — roughly four months before the tests in May. This gives enough time for spaced practice to work without creating a sense of urgency too early. If you are starting later, do not panic — even six weeks of daily practice testing produces measurable gains. See our last-minute revision guide for a condensed plan.
What if my child refuses to revise?
Resistance usually signals one of two things: the child feels overwhelmed (the task seems too big), or the revision method is boring (passive re-reading). Address the first by keeping sessions short and predictable. Address the second by switching to active methods — quizzes, games, verbal recall, or digital tools that feel more like play. Never use revision as punishment or withhold treats for low scores.
Is cramming the weekend before SATs effective?
No. Dunlosky’s research is clear: massed practice (cramming) produces short- term recall that fades rapidly. By the time the child sits the test on Monday or Tuesday, most of what they crammed over the weekend will be inaccessible. The weekend before SATs should be light — perhaps a gentle quiz for confidence, but primarily rest, fun, and good sleep.
Is it too late to start if SATs are next month?
It is never too late to benefit from better revision strategies. Even two weeks of daily retrieval practice will produce better results than two weeks of highlighting and re-reading. Focus on the highest-value activities: practice questions with feedback, and prioritise the topics where your child has the most room for improvement. See our last-minute revision guide for a structured two-week plan.
Sources
- Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58.
- Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of Instruction: Research-based strategies that all teachers should know. American Educator, 36(1), 12–19, 39.
- Education Endowment Foundation (2024). Teaching and Learning Toolkit. educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk
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