Key stage 2 SATs results have been delayed by nine days 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 July 16, rather than July 7. Schools Week has documented how markers faced 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 a private company. Despite extending internal deadlines, Pearson maintained repeatedly that results would not be held up. But a spokesperson said today: “Pearson is announcing a delay in the delivery of SATs results, which will now be delivered on July 16. “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.” Apologises ‘unreservedly’ 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.” Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said she knew how hard children, teachers, and parents worked 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 has 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 has 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”. STA alerted Pearson alerted the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) last night that it would not be able to return results to schools next week. Its contract included an 18-month transitional period, to help develop the systems it needed. The firm made STA aware they were experiencing some issues with their systems at the end of May, but gave assurances they were confident it could be resolved, the Department for Education said. DfE officials said they worked hard to try and retain the 7 July date and committed a “huge amount of hours by officials” to support Pearson. Although results will be delayed, the STA had enough representative data to continue with the standards maintenance process this week. In an email to schools Phillipson said that as a result of the delay, the deadline for schools to apply for reviews of marking or clerical errors will move back to July 24. She also recognised “that for schools in Leicester and Leicestershire, this means that results will not be returned until after the end of the summer term”. Paul Whiteman Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the 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. “The kind of issues arising from a change in contract supplier should be entirely foreseeable, and although we repeatedly highlighted the risks to the 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.” Assurances wanted He said that given reports of issues with marking and with the end of term approaching, it was vital the situation was resolved as quickly as possible and that accurate results were returned. “Schools must be given cast-iron assurances that the results they receive are reliable.” Phillipson insisted the delay was “not due to any concerns about the quality of the tests or the accuracy of results. “Test papers have been marked in line with usual processes and the standards maintenance process, which ensures results remain comparable with previous years, has been completed.” Schools Week revealed how two weeks ago 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 (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. Ofqual called today’s delay “deeply disappointing. It will be frustrating for schools, parents and pupils. “We note Pearson’s statement accepting responsibility for the issues that have affected this year’s results timetable.” Pearson had been responsible for marking SATs before Capita took over the contract in 2022. It took over again in 2024. Return to public sector In 2008, ETS Europe was ordered to pay back £24.1 million of nearly £40 million it received to run testing after the late delivery 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, a national official for education for the 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.