Test Security and Administration Monitoring Visits by LA Representatives 2006

(Key Stages 2 and 3, and Year 7 Progress Tests)

You will probably be aware, from my letters in previous years, that the Local Authority has a statutory duty to carry out unannounced test security and monitoring visits to a sample of schools before, during and after the test weeks each summer.

In 2006, in accordance with National Assessment Agency (NAA) guidance, advisers from Norfolk Children's Services will visit a sample of schools in the period before the Key Stage 2 and 3 tests are due to be administered, as well as during and after the actual test sessions. (NAA is a subsidiary agency of QCA and has responsibility for national curriculum tests and for ensuring the smooth delivery and modernisation of the examinations system.)

At least 10% of Norfolk schools with Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 pupils will be visited (i.e. approximately 8 high schools, 30 primary schools and 2 special schools). The main purpose of the visits made before the test week is to check that the test paper packages are unopened and stored securely. A visit of this type will last approximately half an hour. The majority of visits will be made during the relevant Key Stage test week. The purpose of these visits is to check the security of test packages and to observe the administration of the tests. These will necessarily take longer and could last up to three hours. They will include monitoring of Year 7 progress tests where relevant.

Approximately 50% of schools will receive test materials before the Easter holidays. Clearly this lengthens the time that schools need to securely store the tests and includes a holiday period. Existing advice given in the 2006 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements booklets should be applied but schools may also want to review procedures and consider the vulnerability of some storage areas in light of the security risks presented when the school is closed. This may include avoiding the storage of papers in a room where IT equipment is stored as this type of equipment is often targeted during burglaries.

The advisers carrying out the monitoring visits will complete a record of the visit using the NAA monitoring form. As in previous years, we expect that, in the vast majority of cases, advisers will be able to record that they are confident about the security and test administration arrangements in every school visited. The completed form will be shown to the headteacher who may photocopy it, if they wish, for their own records.

If the adviser identifies any issues that cause concern, these will be discussed with the headteacher at the end of the visit so that, where necessary, appropriate alterations to the test procedures for any remaining tests can be made.

Headteachers and others responsible for test arrangements must ensure that great care is taken to follow precisely the information and guidance set out in the Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements. All high schools should give the Key Stage 3 statutory tests the same very high status that they give to the Key Stage 4 public exams and ensure that test security procedures are strictly followed.

Any cases of irregularity identified during the visits, or reported subsequently, will be reported to NAA who will investigate them. The Local Authority has a statutory duty to work with NAA in these cases and will normally carry out the preliminary investigation on their behalf. QCA/NAA has a responsibility to review the outcomes of these preliminary investigations, make further enquiries, where necessary, and determine what further action to take.

Maladministration and malpractice are viewed very seriously, and these, or any other action that affects pupils' test levels, may result in test results being annulled and withheld from the school, who may not then report them to parents. These results will also not be included in DfES Performance Tables.

Lessons have been learned from a very small number of incidents that occurred last year and these have been shared with schools through briefing sessions in March. However, if you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Chris Hemmings on 01603 433276 or by email to chris.hemmings@norfolk.gov.uk

These visits have a vital role to play in supporting and acknowledging the high professional standards that the vast majority of schools achieve in respect of these tests, and in maintaining public confidence. The advisers carrying out the visits are all experienced in this work, and have commented on the highly professional manner in which they have been received by schools in previous years. I look forward to a continuation of this positive professional collaboration in 2006 for the benefit of all Norfolk's schools, their teachers and pupils.