A Complete Mockery of the SATs

Does this not just make a complete mockery of the SATs?

Teachers at Ash Green Primary in Mixenden, West Yorkshire, knew it was unlikely 98% of the Year 6 pupils would have reaching the expected standard. Even worse, 70% were said to have reached the next level up. Checking the scripts, they saw the problem lay with the marking of writing.  An appeal resulted the scores going down to 83% and 20%.A total of 33 of the 53 pupils had their levels reduced.

Acting head teacher Mungo Sheppard said the exam board, Edexcel, had sent the school a £100 re-marking invoice for the 20 results it had not amended. The bill will go unpaid.

"We were really quite angry because the original results made a mockery of our teacher assessment. We had children who had been given 50 out of 50 for writing. I have never known that in 10 years here."

The school had confidence in its internal monitoring system - praised by Ofsted inspectors, who called the school "outstanding". The governors sanctioned an appeal.

Taken from the BBC.