ASCL comment on use of 2022 SATs and GCSE results by Ofsted

Commenting on the government’s confirmation that Ofsted will use results from this year’s SATs and GCSEs to judge the impact of school curriculums, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“It makes no sense whatsoever for Ofsted to use data from this year’s SATs and GCSEs to judge schools.

“The pandemic has had a prolonged and serious impact on schools and has done so to a greatly varying extent with some schools more badly affected by staff and pupil absence than others. This means that there cannot possibly be a level playing field in results from tests and exams and it is unfair and potentially damaging to judge schools on the basis of this data.

“It is all very well to say that inspectors will be sensitive to the use of the data and will be aware of the uneven impact of the pandemic, but if the data is that unreliable it would surely make more sense not to use it at all.”