What the Kent result tells you
Start with the grammar assessment decision, then read the numbers beside it. Kent’s results guidance describes three age-standardised scores—English, maths and reasoning—and their aggregate. Standardisation compares performance while allowing for age; it is not a percentage of questions answered correctly.
Subject scores
English, maths and reasoning each have a reported score.
The aggregate
The combined total must be read with the subject minimums.
The assessment
The result states whether the child is assessed suitable for grammar school.
For the 2025 test, the published standard was 332 overall, with no subject below 108. The 2026 test threshold is due in October 2026. Keep the test year and September entry year beside any figure you save: an older pass mark is not a new prediction.
Why the aggregate score is not the whole answer
Has the Kent standard been met?
Check the current result wording. Looking only at a high total can hide a subject score below the required minimum.
How does this school rank applicants?
Read the entry-year policy for the named school. A school can be oversubscribed even when a child has a suitable assessment.
Kent’s application guidance explains that a qualifying child must still have the school named on the application. Compare the actual rules for your chosen schools: an address or priority category can matter alongside, or instead of, a score ranking. See Kent grammar schools for the individual profiles and policy links.
Example
These fictional subject scores illustrate the published 2025 test rule only. They are not a calculator for the September 2026 test or a substitute for an assessment decision.
Worked examples
Why the total needs its subject scores
Both numerical requirements are met
The total reaches 332 and every subject is at least 108 under the 2025 rule. School allocation remains a separate decision.
Check the school applicationHistorical rule, fictional results. The 2026 test threshold is not yet published.
What to check before using the score on the CAF
- Save the full result
Keep the subject scores, aggregate and assessment wording together. If a number appears inconsistent, ask the council about the result communication rather than comparing it with a remembered practice-paper percentage.
- Read each school’s 2027 policy
Identify your child’s category, any address requirement and the tie-break. Check the daily journey separately: a strong score does not shorten a trip from Dartford to West Kent.
- Apply through your home authority
Include all state-school preferences on one CAF, even when they cross council boundaries. Order them by preference; our CAF order explanation shows how this works.
- Keep alternatives in the application
If the assessment is not suitable, Kent says a grammar preference can still be named but will be refused on offer day, with an appeal route afterwards. Read the Kent appeals guide and include realistic non-selective preferences.
Common questions
A few more answers
What is the Kent Test pass mark for 2027 entry?
The threshold for the September 2026 test is due to be published in October 2026. The published 2025 test standard was at least 332 overall and at least 108 in every subject; those are historical figures, not a confirmed 2027-entry threshold.
Can a high total compensate for a low subject score?
A total alone cannot show that both the aggregate and subject minimums have been met. Read the full result and the official grammar assessment decision.
Is a Kent Test pass a guaranteed grammar school place?
No. Schools rank eligible applications using their own admissions criteria. A qualifying assessment does not remove catchment, category, score-ranking or distance rules.
Can we use a Kent result for Medway or Bexley?
These are separate selective assessment routes. A Kent result does not replace the required Medway or Bexley test; check the route accepted by each school.
Official sources
Checked 28 Sept 2026