Overview
This is an interactive analysis of the proportion of question categories in KS2 Maths papers. The key categories are Year Group, Topic, Strand, and their combinations.
By default, the analysis:
- Uses papers 1, 2, and 3 from each available series between 2016 and 2025 (2020 and 2021 had no papers).
- Counts marks (so a 2-mark question is weighted twice as much as a 1-mark question).
These settings, plus cosmetic options, can be changed via the gear icon.
Tables
The Year Group & Topic table splits data by combinations such as Year 6 Expressions. The total row/column shows pure topic or pure year-group totals. By default, tooltips show unabbreviated labels.
Each cell is shown as a percentage relative to the selected denominator mode:
- Year Group % — e.g. Year 6 Expressions marks as a proportion of all Year 6 marks.
- Topic % (default) — e.g. Year 6 Expressions marks as a proportion of all Expressions marks.
- Strand % — e.g. Year 6 Expressions marks as a proportion of all Algebra marks.
- Total % — e.g. Year 6 Expressions marks as a proportion of all marks.
The Year Group & Strand table works the same way (for example, Year 6 Algebra).
Example: if Year 6 Expressions has 50 marks and Expressions has 200 marks in total, then Topic % is 50/200 = 25%.
You can export all table variations together with the Excel button. Changing filters/settings can produce different table values.
Mosaic and Spine Plots
These are visual representations of the same data used in the tables.
- The Year Group spine shows proportions by height.
- The Topic and Strand spines show proportions by width.
- The Mosaic combines year group and topic: lightness varies by year group, and topic colours are grouped by strand.
For the Year 6 Expressions mosaic box:
- Height = Year 6 Expressions as a proportion of all Expressions (Topic % for mosaic box).
- Width = Expressions as a proportion of all marks (Total % for topic spine box).
- Area = Year 6 Expressions as a proportion of all marks (Total % for mosaic box).
By default, tooltips show these and other relevant percentages (aligned with the tables). Settings let you show/hide percentages in Mosaic/Topic labels and toggle borders/tooltips.
You can export these plots as SVG or PDF, or open a larger view in a new tab for easier reading, full names, and printing.
Time Series
Click any Mosaic or Spine box to open the Time Series card. It shows relevant percentages over time plus a summary table (including averages and standard deviations).
Standard deviation describes spread around the mean. Larger values (especially relative to the mean) indicate more variation over time; smaller values indicate more stability.
By default:
- Y-axis scales to the data (you can switch to fixed 0% to 100%).
- Multiple lines are shown as separate plots where applicable (you can switch to a combined plot).
You can export the Time Series card as SVG or PDF.