Headteacher leaders are calling for a “proper review” of this year’s key stage 2 Sats reading paper as schools minister Nick Gibb remains tight-lipped over the “debacle”.
The reading paper, which Year 6 pupils sat at the beginning of the month, reportedly left even the most able pupils “broken” and in tears.
Mr Gibb said earlier this month that he would look at the reading paper when it was published.
However, while the paper was published almost two weeks ago, on 20 May, the Department for Education told Tes this week that it has “nothing further to add at the moment”.
More on this year’s Sats:
Mr Gibb said earlier this month that, while the Standards and Testing Agency had trialled this year’s reading paper before the pandemic and tested it last year, he would “certainly look at this because I know that there has been concern expressed by some schools, to make sure”.
Today, Tiffnie Harris, primary specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, told Tes: “It is frustrating that the debacle over this year’s reading paper remains unresolved.
“Nick Gibb has indicated that he intends to review the reading paper but we have not had any further information about the process that will take place.
“This needs to be conducted as a proper review with input from teachers and leaders, a timescale and a published outcome.”
Ms Harris said it was “perfectly obvious” that the reading paper that pupils sat earlier this month had been “far too difficult”.
“What clearly needs to happen is a proper process designed to learn lessons and prevent similar problems from occurring in the future. That really should not be too much to ask,” she said.
Earlier this month, Tes revealed that Capita had delayed the marking of papers by a week owing to “technical issues”.
