Markers of year 6 SATs have been slowed down in their work because of persistent “glitches” in the online system they use. This is the first time education giant Pearson has managed SATs tests in several years after it won back a contract worth up to £180 million from Capita. Emails seen by Schools Week show internal marking deadlines have been delayed because of the glitches, but Pearson has insisted results will still be delivered to schools on time. Pupils sat their KS2 SATs between Monday 11 and Thursday 14 May. Before marking real SATs scripts, markers had to undertake training which involved marking a set already marked by Pearson. Markers who failed to issue the same mark are locked out from marking the same question in real papers. A specialist maths marker, who wished to remain anonymous, told Schools Week there were issues with that training system. “When you put your mark in, because the system was glitching, it either changed the mark you’d submitted, or glitched, and then automatically added another mark in for the next question, which was wrong […] and then meant you failed to qualify to mark on that question. “I managed to only qualify on three questions in about three or four hours.” ‘Frustrating’ issues On 19 May, Pearson emailed a number of markers who had failed due to issues with the system. In it, the company said it had reset the training and extended the deadline for completing it to 20 May. Pearson sent another email on 23 May, which said the deadline had been extended again to that date. The marker said the glitches continued when marking real exam scripts, but that he was not aware of incorrect marks being allocated. “I’m getting roughly an error on the system for every about 30 to 40 questions I do, it will then glitch out. So it kicks me out of the system, and I have to go and log back in, which is frustrating.” He added that he could only access two thirds of his marking allocation because not all his questions had been reset. Pearson sent markers an email on 22 May, extending the deadline for 35 per cent of papers to be marked to 27 May. The original deadline was 24 May. ‘Some markers have experienced issues’ The letter added that Pearson was aware “that some of you have experienced issues at times” and that the company was “working hard behind the scenes” to ensure the system was working. Pearson also created an online form at the end of last week for markers who still had questions that needed to be reset. It asked them to select they questions they needed to have reset. A spokesperson for Pearson said: “We are aware that some markers have experienced issues with the online marking system during the marking period. “Improvements have been made to our system, and we are monitoring performance closely. We will continue to take steps where needed to support the marking process. We continue to provide regular updates and support to markers as the marking period progresses. Markers are not paid by the hour, but instead receive a quote based on how many responses they expect to mark. Results expected to be on time The anonymous marker said he had been allocated roughly 19,000 responses to mark from 21 questions. “I worked it out […] if you work solidly, you’d be [paid] something like £7 an hour.” He acknowledged that the system had improved slightly last week. “But I just worry it’s a bit too little, too late and they’re going to be playing catch up to try and make sure everything’s done in time.” A Pearson spokesperson said they expected results to be returned as planned on 7 July. They also confirmed that there would be “no financial penalties” for markers who are “unable to complete their full allocation”. Markers are expected to complete their marking allocation within three weeks. Glitches follow issues with registration portal It comes after teachers reported issues with the online registration system during SATs week. It is also run by Pearson. Sarah Hannafin, head of policy for school leaders’ union NAHT, said the issues were “unacceptable”, and that they would be sharing feedback with the Standards and Testing Agency to press for improvements. “Although a fix was applied and the initial problems were resolved, the functionality of the system still needs to be improved. “Members report a more laborious and stressful process than completing a paper register was, and potentially more prone to errors.” A Pearson spokesperson said that the portal “experienced a short period of slower performance” on the Monday of SATs week, but that it was “resolved quickly” and did not reoccur. “We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We’ve been working closely with STA and overall, we’ve had positive feedback from schools on the new system, but we welcome all feedback as we consider enhancements.” The SATs exam portal was previously overseen by Capita, with markers having previously reporting issues with their system A government review had found Capita’s first year overseeing the tests in 2022 caused “significant frustration and inconvenience” to schools.