§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the cost of the National Testing System for fourteen-year-olds, (i) in total and (ii) broken down into costs for(a) printing, (b) postage of the test papers, (c) payments to the external markers and (d) fees charged by the company which processes the results, in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [21294]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThe estimated overall costs of implementing the 1997 tests for 14-year-olds in English, mathematics and science was some £13.4 million. This included:(a) printing costs of around £1.6 million; (b) distribution costs of around £0.6 million; and (c) external marking costs of around £9.4 million. Fees paid to the data collection agency for processing the national results are commercially sensitive, but national data collection costs, which include this fee and other associated costs, were around £0.4 million.