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SATs Testing

There is no doubt in my mind that parents, teachers and pupils deserve better than the service that they have had in recent weeks from ETS Europe and from the QCA. I have said clearly that I very much regret what has happened and the inconvenience to schools and pupils. Indeed, I share the frustration and anger of teachers, children and parents that this should have happened. The QCA and ETS have both apologised. However, as I have said, this is a commercial and legal matter, and I will not say anything that either shifts responsibility or redress from where it should properly fall, or that would influence the outcome of the current contractual discussions. What I say in the House today has practical and financial consequences, and for me to indulge in the rhetoric and grandstanding of the hon. Gentleman would be ill-advised and against the public interest: I am not going to do that. I am happy to answer the many scattergun questions that the hon. Gentleman asked. It is important to answer them now, but we will also have the inquiry by Lord Sutherland, which I set up immediately and which will provide independent answers to all those questions. The hon. Gentleman asked about the length of time that the process will take. It will take so much time because it is important that we go through all that has happened and get it right. He might not have observed that the difference between this case and the Tomlinson inquiry in 2002 is that there was no contractual, legal or commercial issue at stake in the delivery of those tests. There is such an issue at stake in this case, and that is why it is important that things are handled carefully. Lord Sutherland has said that he wants to work to this timetable. I am happy to let him work to the timetable that he thinks is right to get to the heart of what has occurred. The hon. Gentleman asked me about the procurement process. That process was handled at arm's length from Ministers. At no point have Ministers seen the contracts drawn up between the QCA and ETS. At no point were Ministers consulted on those contracts—[Hon. Members: ““Why not?””] Opposition Members ask why not, but it is not possible for the Government to be accountable for the results of tests while at the same time being actively involved in the management of the marking of those tests. That would not command public confidence. That is why the right way, which is how this has been done for a number of years, is for the contract to be managed at arm's length by the QCA. That is what it did in this case. I am accountable to the House for schools policy, including the delivery of results. However, the responsibility for the delivery of those results is a matter for the QCA and ETS under contract. Lord Sutherland will look carefully at why that delivery did not happen. Clear processes were followed at the time, including the Office of Government Commerce's carrying out gateway reviews—at least one, carried out two years ago—to ensure that the contract was negotiated in line with the remit set by our Department and in line with best practice in order to deliver efficiency, value for money and the best procurement of the contract. Those processes were given a green light by the OGC and that was reported to Ministers. All the details of the procurement process, including the role played by Ministers and officials, will be considered by Lord Sutherland in his report. The reality of government is that Ministers do not interfere with the procurement and marking of tests and test results. We have stuck to that fundamental principle. Earlier this year, there were early difficulties with the marking and with some of the computer programmes for the test results. That was raised with our Department in advance of our exchanges in the House of Commons in May. They were raised in the House on that day, too. I immediately sought reassurances. In the following weeks, the Minister for Schools and Learners had a series of meetings. Contingencies were put in place for the delivery of those results. I had a meeting on 2 June with Ken Boston, the chief executive of the QCA, in which I was reassured that all the actions that we had asked for in the days after 19 May had been taken. We were assured that the actions in that period had got things on track. Despite a series of meetings in May and June, it was only on 1 July that the QCA brought to our attention the fact that the tests would not be delivered on time, because the marking was behind and because of problems with the flow of data to the computers on which they are presented. We immediately asked for that to be investigated by the QCA and, two days later, having satisfied ourselves that that was the position, we announced in a letter to the Select Committee, reporting to Parliament, the Library and Opposition spokesmen, that we would delay the publication of key stage 2 results until 15 June and the publication of key stage 3 results until later in that week. At that time, we announced the independent inquiry. We discussed the inquiry's terms of reference with Ofqual and with Lord Sutherland. That was published when I appeared before the Select Committee the following week. At the same time, Ofqual reassured me on 4 July, and has done since, that the quality of marking is at least as high as in previous years—although that is monitored closely—and that therefore it is appropriate for those results to be published in August. The final decision on publication will be made on the advice of the independent statistician in our Department and on the basis of the views of Ofqual in the coming days and weeks. The hon. Gentleman obviously does not know how the regime works in practice, but 10 million scripts are marked by over 1.2 million pupils in every year— ... The scripts are done by pupils, not marked by pupils; I am sorry about that faux pas. There are 1.2 million pupils and 10 million scripts, and every year there are some difficulties with the marking of those scripts. That is why we have an appeals process and why there are appeals every year. Of course, every year there are problems in the marking of the scripts and things get sorted out. The advice I have received from the QCA and others is that the volume of complaints received through the helplines has been similar to the volume received in recent years. Ofqual is looking at that, and Lord Sutherland will consider it. No evidence has been provided at this point to suggest that there is any reason to delay the publication of the marks. It would be the wrong thing to do for the future of testing in our country. As for the hon. Gentleman's comments about teenagers and cocktail waitresses marking tests, he has no evidence that any teenager or cocktail waitress has marked any test. If he wants to provide that information to Lord Sutherland's inquiry, I am sure that it will be considered. Once again, we will find that behind the rhetoric there is no substance in the hon. Gentleman's allegation. We have an independent inquiry. Sensitive contractual discussions are going on at the moment. All aspects of the matter will be considered closely. It is important that we take the right decisions this year so that we can secure confidence in the future of the testing regime. Rather than undermining confidence, the hon. Gentleman should support the work that we are doing with the independent inquiry. He should support the work that the QCA is doing in order to get the best outcome in these discussions. Rather than undermining confidence, he should act more like a statesman in these matters.