May be a kerfuffle over SATS marking this year...

[PortAndLemon]

This year (thinking specifically of Maths KS2, but I suspect it applies more generally) markers have been told that in addition to marking, they need to manually enter marks for each paper onto an online database at the question level. Typically a marker will have something like 450 papers with around 45 questions or part questions per paper, so that's a fair bit of extra work. They also have to sit a standardisation exercise after every 80 papers they mark.

None of this is bad, exactly, but (of course) the amount a marker gets paid per paper marked has not increased at all.

Oh, and the elapsed time within which they need to complete all their marking has been reduced to roughly half of what it was last year.

I know of several markers who have elected not to do it this year after learning of the new deal (and given that I don't know huge numbers of markers, that's a significant proportion ).

I wonder whether there will be an issue nationwide with getting all the papers marked and graded within the official deadlines?

If so, then you heard it here first . If not, then -- say, look, an aeroplane!

Yes, heard this about the English KS3 SATs too. Senior examiner has been heard saying he won't be surpised of whole system collapses. If it does, media will thrash it to death, coupled with the recent discussions by MPs and famous writers, etc about SATs being bad for pupils. Hurrah!

Yes - the English KS3 marking looks as if it will be even more shambolic than usual - and it's normally pretty awful. No wonder they can get fewer and fewer teachers to consider becoming markers - and then they wonder why the marking is so inconsistent.

Good, hopefully the whole system will collapse and we can get rid of SATS once and for all!

I applied to do English KS3 marking, signed the contract and was waiting for confirmation of my 10th May marking meeting in Birmingham (I'm in West Mids). 6 days before the meeting I got a letter saying meeting was in Bolton and I had to be there at 9am on the 10th.
I didn't go - it was too short notice to travel that distnace when I am working every weekday and my dh is working away mon-fri. Rang them and explained. No real response, just 'Oh'.

Interestingly, the senior marker who was leading the meeting I should have attended emailed me to ask if ETS (the company 'organising' the marking) had contacted me to offer any different training dates (they haven't). He said loads had dropped out at the last minute. It is an absolute shambles.

Well, we didn't receive ours back at the right time last year, so another delay wouldn't be a huge shock. We had to send our reports out with the Teacher Assessment but no test score. And then post again (more waste - 60 extra envelopes) a week or so later.
Yes, part of me hopes that the whole system collapses giving us more ammunition to get them abolished for next year BUT, now we (and more importantly the kids) have done all the hard work, in a way we'd like to see the results! I think . Depends what they are, of course....

I know of someone who was asked to go 200 miles for a meeting Slouchy. Needless to say, he resigned.

Reading this is comforting!

Hi Slouchy Sorry you were messed about so royally but it seems typical of the shambolic organisation of the marking for these awful tests.

Yes, it would be very disheartening for all the pupils involved to have their test results buggered up, BUT this will possibly be the spur many parents and headteachers need to stand their ground and refuse to take part in this process. If the system collapses, all we will be left with is the teacher assessment, which is, after all, what is the most accurate reflection of a child's progress. No-one is advocating no assessment or no tests; it's just the nature of these tests, their administration and the false nature of their results (teaching 'to the test' rather than teaching sets of transferable skills).

I would be so happy if they abolished SATS before my dd1 takes them in two years
fingers crossed

same here, harpsi. Dd1 is 6 now and really enjoying school. It breaks my heart to think of her taking these tests and wasting valuable time in lessons going through those tenuous tasks instead of what she' been doing this week: weeding in the school garden; keeping a 'bean diary' plotting the progress of her runner beans; making a collage out of lentils; reading fantastic texts that make her laugh and stimulate her imagination, etc etc.

Of course, a good school will do this alongside the academic work too, but the curriculum for the end of KS testing is so prescriptive that it inevitably takes up precious time.