Year 6 pupils and their parents have been "badly let down" by a "completely unacceptable" delay to their SATs results, teacher unions have stated, reigniting questions over the future of the national tests.
Exam board Pearson, contracted to mark the assessments, announced on Thursday that Key Stage 2 results will be delayed by over a week, from July 7 to July 16. The postponement follows "technical issues" with marking and transferring data.
Pupils in England sit these SATs in the summer of Year 6 to test whether they have met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. These results are often used as a key metric in holding primary schools to account.
The Department for Education (DfE) is considering potential financial penalties or even cancelling the £180 million contract – which was agreed with the previous government – as well as a review into the failing.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “I know how hard children, teachers, and parents work towards Key Stage 2 assessments.
“I also know that this delay in results will be deeply frustrating for schools planning their pupils’ move to secondary, for parents and carers eager to understand what their children have achieved, and for pupils themselves who deserve a record of their achievements.”
She added that Pearson has “rightly” taken full responsibility and that the DfE is “playing an active role” in resolving the technical issues.
Unions branded the delay as a “fiasco” and a “complete shambles”, particularly as it is landing in the final weeks of the school year.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “This delay is completely unacceptable.
“Schools will have made careful plans for results day and it is totally unfair to land this on them at the last-minute, especially when teachers are expected to produce end of term reports for pupils and parents are waiting for results.
“We would expect serious consequences to follow.
“Given reports of issues with marking, and with the end of term approaching, it is vital not only that the the situation is resolved as quickly as possible, but also that accurate results are returned. Schools must be given cast-iron assurances that the results they receive are reliable.”
He said the incident should be investigated, adding: “Pupils, parents and schools have been badly let down.
“Given the fiasco around the marking and return of results, we once again question the whole purpose of these outdated tests.”
The Association of School and College Leaders said delays will see teachers working through holiday periods.
General secretary Pepe Di’Iasio said: “This is nothing short of a complete shambles.
“Parents and children now face an increased wait for these results, with all the anxiety this entails, through no fault of their own.
“A significant number of schools will have finished for the summer by the time the results are available, and those that haven’t will be on the verge of doing so.
“This will inevitably mean staff working through holiday periods to finalise end of year assessments and reports, which has implications for their wellbeing and really is the last thing needed at the end of a busy academic year.”
He said schools should be given more than eight days to apply for reviews of marking and called for a full inquiry.
“Bearing in mind the problems that have plagued this exam series, how costly and time-consuming SATs can be, and the proposed introduction of additional tests at KS3, we also need to think about what place, if any, KS2 tests should have within the wider landscape going forward,” Mr Di’Iasio added.
Campaign group More Than a Score said the announcement highlights the “flawed system” of SATs assessments.
“This delay is another demonstration of a flawed system which places too much emphasis on end of year 6 exams,” a spokesperson said.
“In response to this fiasco, Bridget Phillipson is talking about pupils who deserve a record of their achievements but fails to spare a thought for the approximately 40% of pupils who will leave primary with a badge of failure in SATs despite being full of potential. These will disproportionately be children with SEND or from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“The £180 million contact awarded to Pearson would be much better spent on developing a system that is fair to pupils and schools, and puts children’s love of learning first.”
Pearson said the delay is the result of technical issues with a marking platform and in the transfer of data within the systems it uses for the tests.
“We know how important SATs are to pupils, parents, teachers, and schools. Pearson is responsible for this delay, and we are sorry that this year’s results have not been delivered to the original timetable,” a spokesperson said.
“We apologise unreservedly for the disruption caused to our government partners, teachers, and families.”
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