The exam board apologizes for the delay in SAT results in England

Exams board Pearson has apologized after announcing that this year’s Sats results in England would be delayed by more than a week.

Pearson pushed for the results to be published between Tuesday 7 July and Thursday 16 July, saying the delay was due to “technical issues”.

The National Union of Teachers (NAHT) said that “something bad has happened”, and that “schools need to be given an ironclad assurance that their results are reliable”.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the delays were “extremely frustrating” for schools, parents and students and the Government was working to address the problem.

Pearson said there was no problem submitting GCSE, A-level and other qualifying results.

Paul Wightman, general secretary of the NAHT, said the delay in Sats was “absolutely unacceptable” and that it was “absolutely unfair” to impose it on schools at the last minute.

“Schools are at a very high level when it comes to test administration,” he said.

“Small mistakes can have serious consequences for school leaders, and if Pearson and test and exam results are held accountable, everyone should expect the same.”

Pepe D’Iasio, secretary-general of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the delay was a complete mess, which would inevitably force staff to work on holiday to complete end-of-year assessments.

He added: “Parents and children now have greater protection for these results, because of the stress they cause, through no fault of their own.”

It is the first time Pearson has offered the Key Stage 2 tests set by Year 6 students in England since changing the contract run by the Standards and Testing Agency for England (STA).

After raising concerns about the change with STA earlier, Whiteman said, “He made sure everything was on the right track.”

“Clearly something bad has happened and Pearson has questions to answer. We expect serious consequences,” he added.