There has been a significant rise in the number of pupils receiving incorrect marks in key stage 2 Sats, Tes can reveal.
The figures are a “cause for concern” and “further evidence of a Sats system beset with problems this year”, according to a union leader.
There are 5,272 pupils who are known to have been assigned an incorrect grade after taking Sats in May - 22 per cent more than in 2019, the last time the assessments took place.
This equates to a 20 per cent increase in the proportion of pupils who had marks changed following a review, according to figures from the Standards and Testing Agency, obtained by Tes.
This year, 0.85 per cent of Year 6 Sats pupils had a mark change as a result of a marking review, up from 0.71 per cent in 2019.
Commenting on today’s figures, James Bowen, director of policy at the NAHT school leaders’ union, said it was “further evidence of a Sats system beset with problems this year”.
He added: “While incorrect marks have unfortunately always been a feature of the system, a 22 per cent increase has to be cause for real concern.
“This feels like the latest in a long line of failings with Sats administration this year, which has included problems with the helpline and a big jump in missing papers. All these problems must be fixed if teachers and leaders can retain confidence in the system.”
Checking system a ‘farce’
At the end of September, the Department for Education’s Sats checking system was labelled a “farce” amid fears that problems, which prevented leaders from accessing the data, could lead to incorrect results being used by Ofsted to inform school grading.
It meant that some school leaders missed out on the chance to check that the Sats data the DfE holds for their school was correct before it was shared with the watchdog.
In March, the DfE revealed that Ofsted will use this year’s Sats data to judge schools’ curriculum delivery, a decision that was met with concern from the sector.
Sats 2022: widening disadvantage gap
Last month, government data revealed the disadvantage gap at primary school had increased to its widest level since 2012.
The disadvantage gap index rose to 3.21 in 2022, up from 2.91 in 2019, the highest figure since 2012, when the gap was 3.23.
The DfE and Capita have been contacted for comment on today’s figures.
