Sats marking scheme ‘trying to catch children out’, heads warn

The marking scheme for the key stage 2 Sats reading assessment is “rigid” and feels like it is “trying to catch children out”, a union has warned.

The NAHT school leaders’ union told Tes that it had highlighted concerns about the marking scheme to the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) after last year’s assessment, but that issues remained and were costing pupils marks.

Primary school pupils took the test in May. After marking was underway, heads raised concerns with Tes about the framework used for grading the assessment.

Sats marking scheme ‘unfair’ for pupils

Sarah Hannafin, the NAHT’s head of policy, said the union had “repeatedly” raised concerns about the marking of the assessment.

“We have heard examples of pupils not receiving marks even where they demonstrate understanding because they haven’t answered in a particular narrowly defined way,” she said.

“The scores children get in these tests can have a huge impact on their confidence. It feels at times as though the mark scheme is trying to catch children out.”

The union has urged the STA to “abandon this rigid approach”, saying that giving more credit for partial understanding would ensure pupils’ hard work is recognised, Ms Hannafin said.

Ed Seeley, headteacher at Edgewood Primary and Nursery School in Nottinghamshire and an NAHT member, said the reading test was not a “reliable indicator” of pupils’ understanding.

He told Tes that the marking framework “unfairly penalises” pupils at times, and that even when they demonstrate their understanding, their answers may be discounted on “really picky grounds”.

‘Not determining children’s understanding’

According to the NAHT, examples of this include questions rewarding answers such as “someone to help you learn”, but not “someone to help you”. Similarly, the union notes, a child saying spending their “favourite hour of the week” with their grandad would be rewarded - but if they omit the phrase “of the week” they may receive zero marks.

Mr Seeley said: “I think the fundamental thing for us is it feels like the reading test now is not actually really determining pupils’ understanding.”

A spokesperson for the STA told Tes that large-scale national trials inform the agency about pupils’ responses to questions, and that this information is accounted for in the development of marking schemes and training materials.

The STA maintains that to ensure reliability, “marking lines have to be clear, consistent and fair” and that it has added additional checks after meeting with the NAHT.

In correspondence seen by Tes, one Sats marker said that it had become increasingly clear that the reading assessment framework does not reflect pupils’ understanding, and that it is outdated.

The marker said that children should not be subjected to the testing because it risks undermining their confidence and misrepresenting their capabilities.

Key stage 2 Sats results will be available to primary schools on Tuesday 7 July.