Pearson's technical issues have sparked a chaotic delay in the release of this year's Sats results for English pupils, leaving thousands on tenterhooks until at least Thursday, 16 July. The original deadline of Tuesday, 7 July, has been pushed back by over a week, and schools are now demanding answers from the exam board.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) is leading the charge against Pearson's handling of the situation, with General Secretary Paul Whiteman stating that 'something has gone badly wrong'. He noted that despite being initially reassured by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), he had raised concerns about the contract change in the first place.
Mr Whiteman highlighted the disparity between expectations for schools and Pearson itself, pointing out that minor errors in test administration can have severe consequences for schools. Meanwhile, Pearson is facing criticism for its own standards of technical competence after being left to deal with unforeseen 'technical issues'. The union is now demanding 'cast-iron assurances' that the results eventually received will be reliable and accurate.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson described the delay as 'deeply frustrating', confirming that the government is actively working to resolve the situation. Pearson, in a statement, apologised 'unreservedly' for the disruption and assured that other qualification results, such as GCSEs and A-levels, will be unaffected.
Concerns about the marking process itself have also emerged. A marker who wished to remain anonymous told the BBC in June that internal deadlines had been repeatedly postponed and technical problems forced her to work late into the night. She reported an incident where a mark she assigned was incorrectly attributed to a different question by the system, raising questions about the overall accuracy of the final results.