§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the initial total cost was, including production, printing, marking and moderation of(a) KS1 SATS, (b) KS2 SATS, (c) KS3 SATS, (d) GCSE, (e) AS, (f) A Level and (g) A2 for all schools for 2002–03. [175404]
§ Mr. Miliband[holding answer 24 May 2004]: The breakdown of expenditure for the Key Stage 1,2 and 3 National Curriculum tests (commonly referred to as SATS) for all schools for 2002–03 are shown in the table.
£million Area of work KS1 KS2 KS3 Test development, pre-testing and level setting 0.6 1.35 1.5 Paper and printing 0.5 0.75 1 Test distribution 0.5 0.6 0.6 Marking — 9.4 9 Data collection — 0.9 0.9 Total 1.6 13 13 Notes: 1. Key Stage 1 tests are marked and moderated locally and so the figures arc unavailable for that expenditure. 2. Moderation at Key Stage 2 and 3 is involved in the marking costs—it is not possible to disaggregate the figure. 3. The figure for marking at Key Stage 2 is higher than Key Stage 3 as there are approximately 5 per cent. more pupils. 4. The figures relate to the test cycle and not a financial year. As part of the work to modernise the examinations systems, announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 17 November 2003, Official Report, column 25WS, we are seeking to improve our understanding of costs of the examinations system. Work to estimate the total costs incurred by the awarding bodies, rather than simply the fees they charge, shows that they spend a total of some £280 million a year on general examinations (principally GCSEs and GCEs) taken by students in schools and colleges in England.