Y6 SPAG test published online

[Arkwright]

Another blunder by the government. The test was published online in error by the test company Pearson. It was published onto the marking website early.

[smellyboot]

How more incompetent can they get?

[meditrina]

Placed into a password protected area, apparently.

Have the contents actually been compromised?

[rollonthesummer]

Have SATs papers ever been leaked before??!

[Arkwright]

Only the markers could see it apparently. Yes the Y2 one was published and was cancelled.

[Katz]

Doesn't matter those markers could well be year 6 teachers or the parents grandparent, aunts etc. It shouldn't have been uploaded early.

The paper should be cancelled. If this was a GCSE or A level paper then it would be recalled and a new paper written.

[Katz]

They need to cancel it before the children sit it this morning. It would be worse for them to go through the test and it then not count because of this.

[titchy]

Me thinks Pearson have some subversive employees!

[ReallyTired]

"The paper should be cancelled. If this was a GCSE or A level paper then it would be recalled and a new paper written."

Its not GCSE or A-level. Key stage 2 SATs results do not have life changing consequences. I don't think its matters that much.

However Pearson are a bunch of numpies and should never be allowed to be in charge of exams in the UK again.

Many children have worked really ahrd for these tests and it would be cruel to cancel them. SATs give bright and hard working children, schools and teachers a chance to really shine.

[CoolforKittyCats]

So there is plenty of time ( until 20th may) for this to circulate

There is always a risk though when DC don't always take them at the same time.

[Dellarobia]

Apparently a marker deliberately leaked it

[titchy]

I suspected it was a subversive employee!

Pearson don't just do SATS by the way. They do GCSEs, A Levels BTECs and a whole host of other quaifications. I don't think there's any evidence they are any worse than any of the other exam boards.

[ReallyTired]

"Pearson don't just do SATS by the way. They do GCSEs, A Levels BTECs and a whole host of other quaifications. I don't think there's any evidence they are any worse than any of the other exam boards."

Pearson also organise professional exams. If they can't get school exams right do you really want them organising GCSE or A level exams?

I think that Pearson should lose the right to do any public exams in the UK after the recent fiascos. Obviously it is difficult for children who are in mid course, but you could say that Pearson are not licenced to do any recongised exam in the UK after 2019.

There needs to be some serious punishment and banning them as an exam board would not be out of proportion. I also think that if there was a rogue marker that he/she should face jail if the law allows.

[Letseatgrandma]

However Pearson are a bunch of numpies and should never be allowed to be in charge of exams in the UK again.

Yep!

[lookatmenow]

Totally agree with REALLYTIRED.

All of you who are in uproar over this, what difference do you think it would make to the child knowing all the answers to this test?

If they get higher marks in this one test than expected and it doesn't match up with their general body of work it's not going to count and this goes vice versus too remember, if a child is excelling in maths, and has a poor stats score, it won't go against him as high schools along with the primary school will look at the body of their work and put them in the right grade at high school.

Also remember that high schools do their own CATS testing in the first term to determine all children are in the correct sets.

[ReallyTired]

Most secondary schools also movement between sets. If little Tommy has cheated and can't cope with top set work then he will be moved down.

Given that it's the SPAG test that had leaked it makes little difference to Tommy as the likelihood is he will be in a mixed ablity group for English for year 7. Tommy will have to prove himself worthy of being in a high set in his lessons and homework.

[titchy]

Reallytired If they can't get school exams right do you really want them organising GCSE or A level exams?

You could say the same about all the exam boards. In fact you probably will when your child has a script re-marked and the grade changes! Everyone does!

My point is that pearson are no better and no worse than any of the others.

[ReallyTired]

"
You could say the same about all the exam boards. In fact you probably will when your child has a script re-marked and the grade changes! Everyone does!"

Mistakes with marking are understandable when you have thousands upon thousands of scripts. Its why exam boards have the facility to do remarks. It is very hard to avoid mistakes when you employ human beings. Certainly I think that exam board and examiners need to have targets to get the marking of scripts right first time.

To leak the exam paper is a more extreme leak than an examiner who has failed to add up the marks correctly because of tireness.

Pearson need to have better proceedures to protect the sercuity of the papers against rogue markers. Maybe better vetting and prehaps the law needs to be changed to enable rogue markers who diliberately leak content on to the web to be jailed.

[Katz]

The reason I said it should be cancelled is even if one child gets sight of the paper before that's not fair on the 59,999 who don't. If the number who saw it before goes up then this will begin to distort the results nationally.

However this really doesn't paint Pearsons in a good light even if it was rogue marker. Surely the paper shouldn't have been there yesterday for anyone to see.

[titchy]

Jail the rogue marker who leaked it? A little, err, extreme don't you think? This isn't North Korea you know.

[Katz]

but there should have been nothing for the rogue marker to leak.

the paper shouldn't have been visible at all before the test - Pearson's are wrong in essence the rogue marker is whistle blowing.

[Pancakeflipper]

Dear Rogue exam paper leaker,

Oooh arent you the naughty one. I tried to be cross about this when I read it this morning. But I could only roll my eyes as you added more drama to this comedy farce.

How long have you had the answers for? Do you know who has the maths ones and could you get them to PM me and I'll stick them on MN?

Why do you need the answers before the tests? Do you have children and will they get 100% in the English tests?

Hope you did it cos you thought it is ridiculous.
And good luck at finding a new job.

[titchy]

How in god's name do you think it's possible for no-one to see an exam paper before it's published?

Loads of people will have access to it, from those that set and moderate it, to the bloody printers.