Schools Week<\/em> there were issues with that training system.<\/p>\n\u201cWhen you put your mark in, because the system was glitching, it either changed the mark you’d submitted, or glitched, and then automatically added another mark in for the next question, which was wrong [\u2026]\u00a0and then meant you failed to qualify to mark on that question.<\/p>\n
\u201cI managed to only qualify on three questions in about three or four hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Frustrating’ issues<\/h2>\n On 19 May, Pearson emailed a number of markers who had failed due to issues with the system.<\/p>\n
In it, the company said it had reset the training and extended the deadline for completing it to 20 May.<\/p>\n
Pearson sent another email on 23 May, which said the deadline had been extended again to that date.<\/p>\n
The marker said the glitches continued when marking real exam scripts, but that he was not aware of incorrect marks being allocated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m getting roughly an error on the system for every about 30 to 40 questions I do, it will then glitch out. So it kicks me out of the system, and I have to go and log back in, which is frustrating.”<\/p>\n
He added that he could only access two thirds of his marking allocation because not all his questions had been reset.<\/p>\n
Pearson sent markers an email on 22 May, extending the deadline for 35 per cent of papers to be marked to 27 May. The original deadline was 24 May.<\/p>\n
‘Some markers have experienced issues’<\/h2>\n The letter added that Pearson was aware \u201cthat some of you have experienced issues at times\u201d and that the company was \u201cworking hard behind the scenes\u201d to ensure the system was working.<\/p>\n
Pearson also created an online form at the end of last week for markers who still had questions that needed to be reset. It asked them to select they questions they needed to have reset.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Pearson said: “We are aware that some markers have experienced issues with the online marking system during the marking period.<\/p>\n
\u201cImprovements have been made to our system, and we are monitoring performance closely. We will continue to take steps where needed to support the marking process. We continue to provide regular updates and support to markers as the marking period progresses.<\/p>\n
Markers are not paid by the hour, but instead receive a quote based on how many responses they expect to mark.<\/p>\n
Results expected to be on time<\/h2>\n The anonymous marker said he had been allocated roughly 19,000 responses to mark from 21 questions.<\/p>\n
“I worked it out [\u2026] if you work solidly, you’d be [paid] something like \u00a37 an hour.”<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that the system had improved slightly last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I just worry it’s a bit too little, too late and they’re going to be playing catch up to try and make sure everything’s done in time.”<\/p>\n
A Pearson spokesperson said they expected results to be returned as planned\u00a0on 7 July.<\/p>\n
They also confirmed that there would be \u201cno financial penalties\u201d for markers who are \u201cunable to complete their full allocation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Markers are expected to complete their marking allocation within three weeks.<\/p>\n
Glitches follow issues with registration portal<\/h2>\n It comes after teachers reported issues with the online registration system during SATs week. It is also run by Pearson.<\/p>\n
Sarah Hannafin, head of policy for school leaders\u2019 union NAHT, said the issues were \u201cunacceptable\u201d, and that they would be sharing feedback with the Standards and Testing Agency to press for improvements.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough a fix was applied and the initial problems were resolved, the functionality of the system still needs to be improved.<\/p>\n
\u201cMembers report a more laborious and stressful process than completing a paper register was, and potentially more prone to errors.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Pearson spokesperson said that the portal \u201cexperienced a short period of slower performance\u201d on the Monday of SATs week, but that it was \u201cresolved quickly\u201d and did not reoccur.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe apologise for any inconvenience caused.\u00a0We\u2019ve been working closely with STA and\u00a0overall, we\u2019ve had positive feedback from schools on the new system, but we welcome all feedback as we consider enhancements.\u201d<\/p>\n
The SATs exam portal was previously overseen by Capita, with markers having previously reporting issues with their system<\/p>\n
A\u00a0government review\u00a0<\/a>had found Capita\u2019s first year overseeing the tests in 2022 caused \u201csignificant frustration and inconvenience\u201d to schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pearson says results will be delivered to schools on time, but some internal marking deadlines pushed back<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":316072,"featured_media":247139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[463,214],"post-theme":[2345],"class_list":["post-247136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-assessment","tag-marking","post-theme-assessment"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t