SATS cheating - by the Head!

Oh I didn't know there was a phone number. I shall call that about what my daughter saw.

I don't care how much pressure someone is under, we have to draw the line at cheating (and indeed at putting so much pressure on children that it harms their wellbeing)

It's very tricky. As an ex-primary HT and now a Chair of Governors I’ve been thinking about this overnight.

There's no doubt this was out-and-out cheating. The administration guidance for SATs says specifically that adults must not indicate in any way whether a child's answer is correct or not. Whether or not one approves of SATs is neither here nor there; primary schools are judged on them and it is infuriating for other local schools if one cheats and thus gains an advantage over them in parents' eyes by dishonestly making themselves out to be better than they are. (Quite apart from the implications for the child in their secondary school and the disgraceful action of a headteacher teaching a child that cheating in an exam is acceptable.)

I do have some sympathy for a headteacher in that position, perhaps under enormous pressure. I can absolutely understand it if they smile at a child when they see a correct answer, for instance - but actually rubbing out a wrong answer is another level of cheating. It is highly unlikely that your child is the only one the HT has ever "helped" in this way, and if not stopped they will probably continue to cheat in the future.

You are brave to have decided to talk to the HT - but what if they just deny it, and say your child misunderstood, was just given the rubber in case they needed it, etc., which is what they will probably say?

One option could be for you to phone the SATs Maladministration Helpline 03003033013, where there is nothing to stop you speaking anonymously if you wanted to. It is unlikely that there would be severe consequences for the HT as there would be no concrete proof, but the ensuing events might give the HT enough of a shock for them to never do it again. Good luck - whatever you decide to do, I’d be very interested to hear about it!

May be was used because at the moment we have a ten year olds version of what’s happened.

I wonder if it’s the same junior school/head teacher that I mentioned at my kids junior school.

The head teacher at my childs junior school got sacked for tinkering with the sats results. Not sure how she did it but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility. I was oblivious TIL it was in the local paper.

but in terms of motivation, is it not so patents are drawn to the school as it will advertise the results. Child’s primary school is in the catchment for the selective grammar and good sats may indicate good 11 plus results.

Honestly, I think you need to stop being so dramatic.
You haven't "been put" in any position. It's really just not that deep.

Chat to your child, explain it wasn't right but just let it go.
We all know it happens, we all know it isn't right but it's down to the ridiculous education system we have and the pressure schools are under.

I think really you are enjoying the drama and the sense of power you feel you have.

Cheating in GCSES which affect children's life chances I could understand someone taking this seriously but SATS, no, just let it go and move on.

Test guidance.

The recommendation for having at least two test administrators in each test room during Key Stage 2 (KS2) SATs is outlined in the official guidance provided by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA). This measure ensures that headteachers can have confidence in the integrity of test administration.GOV.UK+3GOV.UK+3Schools Week+3
Specifically, the guidance states:

“STA recommends having at least 2 test administrators in each test room, so the headteacher can have confidence in the integrity of test administration.”

This recommendation is part of a broader set of guidelines aimed at maintaining the security and proper conduct of the tests. The presence of multiple administrators helps ensure that any issues can be promptly addressed and that test conditions are consistently upheld.

Full guidance here:GOV.UK
👉 Key stage 2 test administration guidance - GOV.UK
This document provides detailed instructions and is essential for headteachers and staff involved in the administration of KS2 assessments.

They were v stupid to do this.
They will deny it if you approach them.
You will then be in the same dilemma.
The results of the whole year group may be withdrawn.
The school will sack the HT.
There will be a big investigation.
It basically won't be pretty.

If you are OK with this then fine. If not drop it. Once you open your mouth it will be out of your control.

I wouid check with parents of other chikdren to be 100% sure. Children often make things up and then get carried away.

if you believe that it did happen then go to the Chair of Governors not the Head.

Common sense and LA/ union guidance defines this further. This is LA guidance.

Any staff member administering tests on their own is left vulnerable to being accused of actions that may compromise the integrity of the tests:
• All staff to be in at least pairs wherever possible
• Consider accessing and utilising staff from across the school and include governors as part of invigilation, following training
• Consider a timetable variation if required, where the Y6 cohort can be split into smaller groups
• Use of school hall and larger space (whole school timetable can be reshaped for 4 days!)

If maladministration is under investigation by STA, a person invidulating or supporting alone is so vulnerable. We always explain this during monitoring. Schools are taking a risk of maladministration being upheld ( no other proof) on behalf of their staff if they are alone.

Just in general, I hate the idea that a person reporting wrongdoing is responsible for the consequences that then occur for the person who was responsible for the wrongdoing in the first place.
If OP chooses to report this, any consequences are the fault of the head.

So the Head only corrected your DC, no one else? Why on Earth would they do that

I agree. Some people are just strange. Ignore them, op.

Not commenting on your school or its circumstances. I don't know them. I'm commenting on the headteacher who IS cheating to falsely improve their school's published performance. That is why they are cheating. And any head who condones cheating in SATs is a disgrace. If your school has a genuine reason for lower performance then obviously it will be known and understood by those associated with the school. It's not a reason to condone cheating by a headteacher- or anyone in charge of educating children.

Our local secondary has an intake into Year 7 where at least a third of the children come from independent schools. No SATS in indies, so does this mean they’re irrelevant to that state secondary? I don’t really understand the point of SATS if not everyone actually takes them. Would love someone to explain them to me!

Yes. In secondary I have seen a girl sobbing because she wasn't meeting her targets and the teacher very patiently explaining how they were set from SATs and were fairly meaningless to try and comfort her that she was doing her best and that is good enough.

"May be" wrong? How can cheating in a public examination (in a way specifically prohibited in the administration guidance) not be wrong?

This happened back in 2012 at my DS's school. The school took the less academic kids into a separate room and just told them the answers. It's done to make the school look better.

I remember googling about this back then and it's honestly really common and I don't think Ofsted actually care.

we have to use Baseline tests taken when a child is 4 or 5 to decide whether a child is making expected progress throughout primary. It’s crazy!

Progress 8 doesn't measure pupils against target grades. Pupils may be assigned computer generated target grades from KS2 SATs results but they are nothing to do with how Progress 8 is calculated.

Progress 8 is measured after GCSE results are in and compares how students actually did in their GCSEs compared to other students who got the same score in their SATs. Progress 8 is a measure after the event, not a prediction before it and depends on how that cohort did in their GCSEs.

"Being kind"? Involving a child in cheating in a public examination, and teaching them that’s an acceptable thing to do, is "being kind"? Blimey.

Absolutely.

I just think that SATS are a complete and utter waste of time and the angst that some parents go through and put onto their children is ridiculous.

No one asks at a job interview how you did in your SATS.

Secondary schools move you around, do their own tests, find your place in your year group, not because of SATS.

The SATS are not a clear indicator of a school, when they aren’t a school that just has a September intake with no starters or influx of starters throughout a year.

So they are just not a fair representation of anything or anyone.

Maybe people are getting confused between 'predict' and 'target'.

SATs are used for target grades against which the secondary school is measured in Progress8 on a cohort level.

Whether the secondary school choose to share those targets with the students & parents is another matter.
Schools will also predict grades for individuals based on actual progress and attainment.

The problem with this kind of prior attainment data is that it is pretty accurate if used to predict the GCSE scores of whole cohorts of students, but not individuals. There are too many variables about an individual student, and data can be skewed by cheating headteachers or various other things.

But once measuring methods like this became a thing, they were soon used as a stick to beat teachers with, rather than to inform schools and government about more general, cohort-wide trends, and the blunt instrument data began to be believed over the actual expertise and knowledge of their classes that teachers have. In education these days, everything must be measured and tracked. As someome once said, weighing your pig every day doesn't make it fatter.

We have the same issue with large changes in school demographic between and in-years so it’s not a ‘fair’ representation.

So completely understand your point, and I’m not arguing for SATs but you can also say that not all schools have the same level of transience.