Update on National Curriculum Test delivery

15 August 2008
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, has today written to the Chair of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee, Barry Sheerman, to update him on developments in relation to National Curriculum tests.

A copy of his letter to Mr Sheerman follows below.
Barry Sheerman MP
Chairman of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee
House of Commons
SW1A 0AA

Dear Barry
In my statement to the House on 22 July I made a commitment to provide regular updates throughout the summer on progress with the marking and publication of national curriculum tests and results. I am writing today to inform you that this morning the contract between QCA and ETS Europe has been dissolved with immediate effect. I enclose a copy of their joint statement, which is also available at www.qca.org.uk
As I said in my statement to the House on 22 July, the contractual discussions have legally been a matter for QCA and ETS Europe. It was very important and in the public interest that QCA was able to conclude those discussions in a timely, orderly and rigorous fashion, in order to safeguard the interests of pupils, schools and taxpayers. My department has sought to ensure that due process has been followed throughout, that the public purse is protected, and in particular that all procedures relating to the settlement are carried out in accordance with HM Treasury guidelines on the proper use and return of public funds.
Ken Boston has written to me to set out the terms of the agreement he has reached with ETS Europe to terminate the contract, and I attach a copy of his letter. In his letter he says that the full effect of this settlement is that contractual costs to the end of the 2008 test cycle were £39.6 million, of which £24.1 million has therefore been recovered. ETS Europe had received £35 million from QCA, but will now make a repayment to QCA of £19.5 million, along with the cancellation of all outstanding and anticipated invoices for work done with an estimated value of £4.6 million. In addition, there will be no payments made by QCA to ETS Europe for any future years of the contract, which had a total value of £156 million over five years.
Therefore, ETS Europe are [IS] both forfeiting the opportunity of substantial future earnings, and will now repay a very substantial part of the fee they were [IT WAS] expecting for this year’s work. Today’s settlement is within parameters approved by DCSF’s accounting officer and HM Treasury, as Ken Boston’s letter makes clear.
The National Assessment Agency (NAA) has now taken over the management of the completion of the 2008 test cycle including the publishing of outstanding results, the reviews process, and the process of returning all scripts to schools, as well as any residual marking. As part of their termination agreement, ETS Europe will continue to cooperate with the NAA and QCA in this regard.
There is no immediate change for schools in terms of how to raise queries, access results, or return scripts, until further notice. QCA and the Department are communicating this to schools today. Details on requesting reviews and an operational update from NAA in the light of today's announcement can be found on NAA's website, and QCA's chief executive will be writing to all head teachers before the start of next term to give further details. I will of course continue to update you accordingly over the coming weeks.
In my letter of last week I informed you about a data processing issue that had caused some records to indicate pupils as absent incorrectly. QCA have [HAS] advised me that data for pupils incorrectly marked as absent during the processing of results have now been removed from the national figures. On this basis I am advised by QCA that 99% of Key Stage 2 results are now available to schools. At Key Stage 3, 95% of results are now available overall, with 93% available in English, 97% available in maths and 96% available in science.
It is important that we learn the lessons of this year’s delays, including for the 2009 test cycle. This is why Lord Sutherland’s inquiry has been established. QCA has indicated to me that, in order to ensure the findings of his inquiry can be properly reflected in future years, they propose to procure for the delivery of 2009 tests as a single year contract. I have invited Lord Sutherland, and he has agreed, to contribute any relevant advice he can on the specification of this tender, on the understanding that his full report will inform future years. QCA has also indicated to me that they propose to work along the lines of tenders in previous years where this will help ensure the secure and timely delivery of the 2009 results.
I am copying this letter to the Speaker, and to Michael Gove MP and David Laws MP. I have also placed a copy in both libraries of the House.
Yours sincerely
ED BALLS MP

Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'
QCA has also issued a statement today. Please see http://qca.org.uk/
For a copy of the letter from Ken Boston to Ed Balls [CLICK HERE]
Contact DetailsPublic Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Press Notice 2008/0175

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