Schools will have months to decide whether to appeal SATs tests after results were delayed amid weeks of technical glitches and errors. Exams giant Pearson confirmed last week that grades for the key stage 2 assessments had been pushed back nine days to July 16, having originally been scheduled for release today. Schools Week has documented how markers faced huge technical issues with the online marking platform. The deadline for reviews of marking or clerical errors was also delayed until the end of the month. But in an update today, the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) said it has extended this to 7 September “following feedback from schools”. “This is to allow review applications to take place after schools return from the holidays.” SATs guidance update The initial deadline for submitting marking review applications was 17 July, giving schools 10 days after the results were released to submit them. Schools were meant to learn the review outcomes on 9 September. But following the delays, it is not clear when this will happen. The STA will update its review guidance next week. This will include information on when schools will find out the outcome of marking reviews. The STA added: “We appreciate that schools have been waiting for these results and that this delay will be frustrating and inconvenient, especially as many schools will be making plans and preparations for the summer break.” Firm’s apology Schools Week revealed last month how markers scrambled to get through tens of thousands of questions after an already-extended deadline had passed. Pearson called on maths markers to help get through the outstanding grammar, punctuation and spelling tests, in what was described as an “omnishambles”. The firm told the STA it was experiencing issues with its systems at the end of May, but gave assurances it was confident these could be resolved, the Department for Education said. Pearson alerted the agency last week that it would not be able to return results to schools today. Pearson took responsibility for the delay, and has apologised “unreservedly for the disruption caused to our government partners, teachers, and families”. It said the delay was “the result of technical issues with the new SATs platform Pearson uses to support markers, along with technical issues in the transfer of data within the systems Pearson uses for SATs”. What will DfE do? Pearson was responsible for overseeing SATs marking before Capita took over the contract in 2022. There were also a number of issues under Capita. A Schools Week investigation from 2022 found that thousands of papers went missing, markers were locked out of training and helpline waiting times were excessive. This is the first year Pearson has been responsible for SATs since then, after it won back the £180 million contract in 2024. The DfE said it will explore a number of options, including cancelling the contract and financial penalties, “along with conducting a thorough review into how such a serious failing has occurred”.