Key stage 2 SATs results have been delayed by more than a week following weeks of glitches and errors with Pearson’s marking and data systems. The government is considering cancelling the exams giant’s contract, after it confirmed results will be delivered on 16 July, rather than 7 July. Schools Week has documented how markers faced being huge technical issues with the online marking platform. It has led to calls for the £180 million SATs contract to be nationalised and awarded to a public sector organisation, rather than outsourced to private companies. Despite extending internal deadlines, Pearson maintained repeatedly that results would not be held up. A spokesperson said: “Pearson is announcing a delay in the delivery of SATs results, which will now be delivered on 16 July. “This delay is 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. “We know how important SATs are to pupils, parents, teachers, and schools. Pearson is responsible for this delay, and we are sorry that this year’s results have not been delivered to the original timetable.” The spokesperson said the company apologised “unreservedly for the disruption caused to our government partners, teachers, and families. “We also want to thank markers who also have been affected by the technical issue with our SATs marking platform. Their hard work and patience have been critical to this process. “Our priority is ensuring that every school and pupil receive complete and accurate results. We have a plan to complete the remaining work, and our teams are working around the clock to deliver the remaining pupil data. “This issue is specific to this year’s SATs delivery process. Pearson’s GCSEs, A-Levels, and vocational qualifications operate through separate systems and processes and are not affected.” ‘Exploring all options’ Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “I know how hard children, teachers, and parents work towards key stage 2 assessments. “I also know that this delay in results will be deeply frustrating for schools planning their pupils’ move to secondary, for parents and carers eager to understand what their children have achieved, and for pupils themselves who deserve a record of their achievements. “Pearson have rightly taken full responsibility for the delay and apologised to schools and families. My priority is now getting results to schools as quickly as possible, and my department is playing an active role in resolving the technical failings that Pearson have overseen.” The DfE said it would be “exploring all options for recourse, including financial penalties and cancellation of the contract agreed between Pearson and the previous government, alongside conducting a thorough review into how such a serious failing has occurred”. Pearson alerted the Standards and Testing Agency last night that it wouldn’t be able to return results to schools next week. Their contract included an 18 month transitional period, to help develop the systems they needed. Although results will be delayed, STA has enough representative data to continue with the standards maintenance process this week. ‘Questions to answer’ Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said the delay was “completely unacceptable. “Schools will have made careful plans for results day and it is totally unfair to land this on them at the last-minute. Paul Whiteman “The kind of issues arising from a change in contract supplier should be entirely foreseeable, and although we repeatedly highlighted the risks to the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) we were reassured that everything was on track. “Clearly, though, something has gone badly wrong and Pearson has questions to answer. We would expect serious consequences to follow.” He said that given reports of issues with marking and with the end of term approaching, “it is vital not only that the situation is resolved as quickly as possible, but also that accurate results are returned. “Schools must be given cast-iron assurances that the results they receive are reliable.” Whiteman pointed out schools were held to an “extremely high standard when it comes to test administration. “Small errors can result in serious consequences for school leaders, and the same should be expected of Pearson and everyone responsible for test and exam results.” Glitches Schools Week revealed how two weeks ago markers scrambled to get through tens of thousands of questions after an already-extended deadline passed. Pearson called on maths markers to help get through the outstanding grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) tests, in what was described as an “omnishambles”. The first year of Capita’s SATs contract was also plagued with problems. Schools Week investigations found that in 2022 thousands of papers went missing, markers were locked out of training and there were excessive helpline waiting times. An Ofqual report from 2023 also found that there were technical issues with marking and results, but not to the same extent as the previous year. Pearson had been responsible for marking SATs before Capita took over the contract. In 2008, ETS Europe was ordered to pay back £24.1 million of nearly £40 million it received to run the testing process after late deliver of results. The government then oversaw the delivery of 30,000 results. This year’s issues have prompted renewed calls for the assessments to be brought into the public sector. Darren Northcott, national official for education for teachers’ union NASUWT, previously said: “We would be very concerned by any failures in the system of administrating these tests. “They are high-stakes assessments for schools under the current school accountability regime and there have been similar failures in the past. “We have always been clear that if the government wishes to conduct these assessments, they should be seen as a core function of the state and carried out by an organisation located within the public sector.” It comes after the government published new guidance on reducing outsourcing. Central government departments with more than £100 million in annual contract spend will create five-year road maps to “rebuild their in-house capabilities”. When existing contracts end, officials will also check if those services should be run directly by the public sector instead of automatically hiring private companies.