Is there a fresh shock in store when the Sats fiasco is over?
Published at 11:28, Tuesday, 22 July 2008 Headteachers must have thought that the silly season had arrived early when they were given the news that the Key Stage Two and Three results would be late. Sats may not be popular with the teaching profession, but schools do spend many hours preparing their pupils and the children do put in a great deal of hard work. Obviously the contract was awarded to a company that was unprepared to cope with the task and the Government was warned that there would be problems with the marking and with the timetable for delivery of the results. This contract is worth some £154 million, which is a staggering amount to spend on just part of the entire examination system. So I sincerely hope that the Government levies the maximum penalty on the contractors, if only to recognise the sheer disappointment, inconvenience and frustration caused to a million or more pupils and their schools by this significant cock-up. However, this must not mask the significance of
