SATS exams – must do better

Last updated 09:22, Saturday, 19 July 2008

As our school children begin their summer holiday many have been left with the uncertainty of not knowing the results of their Sats.

Both pupils and teachers put in a lot of preparation for the tests and it is unacceptable that there have been so many difficulties surrounding their marking.

The private firm hired to deal with the marking has apologised but this isn’t good enough.

Ultimately our school children and those in the teaching profession have all been let down by the Government who have failed not only to make sure that pupils receive their results on time but that we will actually be able to rely on the results when they do arrive.

Reports of unmarked papers being sent back to schools, marking errors, papers not being picked up from schools in time and barely qualified markers have all raised questions about the reliability of the company who have been given a five-year contract by the Government.

These exams were taken in May and to keep children hanging on for so long is disgraceful.

Teachers and parents are now left with having to console children eagerly awaiting their results.

Our children are heavily tested as it is and problems such as this need to be dealt with swiftly if we are ever to have faith in the system again.