Corporate report

Standards and Testing Agency business plan: 2024 to 2026

Published 20 January 2025

Introduction to the Standards and Testing Agency

The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE). We are responsible for the development and delivery of national curriculum tests and assessments in England, under statutory instruments, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education. We are regulated by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) for our work on national curriculum assessments.

Gillian Hillier is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and, as Accounting Officer, is responsible for safeguarding the public funds we distribute.

Purpose and mission

DfE is the department for opportunity, working to deliver the Opportunity Mission which aims to eliminate the correlation between children and young people’s background and success. DfE does this by protecting children and ensuring the delivery of higher standards across education, training and care.

The Opportunity Mission has 4 pillars within DfE, focused on breaking down barriers to opportunity:

• Set every child up for the best start in life – delivering high quality early education and childcare to set every child up for success.
• Help every child achieve and thrive at school, through excellent teaching and high standards – including a focus on disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and disabilities, school absence, and attainment at the end of secondary school.
• Build skills for opportunity and growth so that every young person can follow the pathway that is right for them – measuring progress through the proportion of young people in education or employment with training, and through the number achieving higher level qualifications.
• Build family security – ensuring every child has a safe loving home, tackling child poverty and the barriers that mean too many families struggle to afford the essentials.

STA supports the Opportunity Mission by developing and delivering high quality assessments, which provide reliable and valid data on the achievements of individual pupils. We use this data to understand where additional support is required to improve pupil attainment.

Objectives

Our main objective is to provide an effective and robust testing, assessment and moderation system. The national curriculum assessments measure pupil attainment at key points during a pupil’s education. This data is used by DfE to hold schools to account. The current assessments are:

• reception baseline assessment
• phonics screening check
• end of key stage 1 (KS1) tests and teacher assessment (non-statutory)
• multiplication tables check
• end of key stage 2 (KS2) tests and teacher assessment
• the engagement model
• the pre-key stage standards

Structure

The agency has 3 divisions:

• Assessment Research and Development
• Assessment Operations and Services
• Assessment Digital Data and Technology

STA’s 3 divisions are responsible for different aspects of our work:

• Assessment Research and Development is responsible for test development research (including for digital test development), data analysis and the large-scale trialling of questions for future assessments.
• Assessment Operations and Services is responsible for assessment policy, delivery of live assessments and tests, management of the yellow label service, and management of the CEO’s office and STA’s commercial and finance function.
• Assessment Digital Data and Technology is responsible for managing the digital, data and technology capabilities in STA, including transformation as well as building and supporting digital services.

Our work

We are responsible for:

• developing and implementing primary assessment policy in England, aligning with ministerial priorities
• developing high quality and rigorous assessments in line with government policy
• executing operational delivery of the national curriculum assessments
• setting and maintaining test standards, including standards related to marking
• executing operational delivery of the yellow label service, which collects all GCSE, A Level, BTEC, Functional Skills, and T Level script packages from exam centres in England

Our test development process takes between 2 to 4 years to complete. It includes:

• external contractors and STA specialists writing test questions
• informal trialling of test materials at the origination stage to ensure texts are appropriate
• small scale trialling with 300 pupils completing each question, and larger scale trialling with at least 1,000 pupils completing each question – trialling occurs with a nationally representative sample of schools and pupils
• expert review panels including education practitioners and inclusion experts who review all test materials at least twice in a development cycle
• use of rigorous proofing processes and external curriculum advisors to quality assure our work
• trials and review panels analysing quantitative and qualitative evidence to inform construction of assessments
• setting a threshold to determine if a pupil met the expected standard in each subject and to ensure that expected standards are consistent over time
• developing modified versions of tests to enable pupils with differing needs to access them

Our operational delivery of live assessments includes working with a range of delivery partners to:

• enable schools to order standard and modified test materials, make specific arrangements for pupils to take the tests, and download results
• make standard versions of the optional KS1 test materials available for schools to download via the dedicated assessment administration portal and, where requested, print and distribute modified versions of the materials for schools to use

• print and distribute KS2 test materials to over 16,500 schools and collect completed KS2 test scripts for marking

• recruit, train and provide ongoing quality assurance of over 4,500 markers for KS2 tests
• arrange the marking of 3.9 million KS2 test scripts to ensure the successful return of results to pupils and schools
• manage the yellow label service, involving the collection and delivery of approximately one million general qualification exam script packages from exam centres across England
• deliver the reception baseline assessment to over 600,000 pupils
• enable schools to administer the multiplication tables check and to download pupil results
• develop training materials and provide quality assurance processes for local authorities to train 4,500 school staff, ensuring accurate and consistent KS2 teacher assessment data

Our digital transformation work includes:

• establishing and managing STA’s transformation programme
• managing the complete lifecycle of STA’s technology systems, from development through to retirement
• providing digital, data and technology services to the rest of the agency
• defining data standards and ensuring their use
• procuring digital services

We also:

• provide guidance to schools to ensure all pupils can be assessed accurately and fairly, including those working below the level of the national curriculum tests and assessments
• investigate allegations of maladministration to ensure pupils are not being given an unfair advantage over others and to protect the integrity of the results
• manage and fund the yellow label service, which provides exam centres in England with a single secure method for despatching packages of completed exam scripts for marking – there are no charges payable either by exam centres (schools, sixth forms, further education colleges, and work-based learning providers) or by the organisations which award the qualification for this service

Priorities for 2024 and beyond

Digital

From September 2025, schools will use STA’s digital assessment service to administer the reception baseline assessment. Schools will need 2 devices to complete the assessment. One device will be used by the teacher to administer the assessment, and the pupil will need to use a separate touchscreen device to respond to some of the questions. 

STA will continue to look for opportunities to make greater use of technology to support our work, including in the development and delivery of assessments. This will build on our experience of developing and delivering the multiplication tables check and the reception baseline assessment.

Future assessment services

STA completed the Test Operations Service 2025 procurement in April 2024 to manage the future delivery of the phonics screening check, optional KS1 tests, and statutory KS2 tests and teacher assessment, on our behalf. The contract was awarded to Pearson Education Limited, and we are working together to transition to a new service for the 2025 to 2026 test cycle onward.

Curriculum and assessment review

The government initiated a curriculum and assessment review, led by Professor Becky Francis, in September 2024. The scope includes a review of national curriculum assessments across the first 3 key stages, with considerations on potential recommendations for change.

A call for evidence to gather views from the sector launched on 25 September 2024 and closed on 22 November 2024. An interim report is expected in early 2025 and a full report in the autumn 2025. Following this, ministers will evaluate the findings and determine what reforms or changes may be required. 

STA teams responsible for test development, assessment policy and inclusion met the review panel to provide an overview of existing evidence on assessment and expect to receive further commissions where the panel ask for further evidence or analysis of potential options for change.

Our people

Our people are the key to our success. They are skilled, energetic, motivated and dedicated to their roles. They care about STA’s objectives and believe in what they do.

We want STA to be the best place to work in government, where staff are passionate about and motivated to be the best at what we do, putting the interests of children at the heart of all our work. We will make this happen by:

• striving to achieve the highest quality in everything we do, whilst working at pace and providing value for money
• celebrating successes and learning from things which could have gone better
• prioritising our learning and development
• valuing the wellbeing of ourselves and others
• promoting diversity and inclusivity, in our staffing and in our work
• having a zero tolerance for behaviour which is not inclusive, or which is bullying, harassing or discriminatory
• working closely and effectively with our users, stakeholders and delivery partners, in DfE and beyond
• making STA a happy place where we are all proud to work

STA follows the principles set out in the Civil Service People Plan. We regularly engage staff in discussions about important issues facing the agency through our ‘contact networks’. These conversations provide staff with an opportunity to have their say and to continue to shape the agency for the future. Outcomes from ‘contact networks’, along with themes from other ongoing monitoring and feedback (such as the exit survey) are reported to our Executive Management Board, for consideration by the senior leadership team. 

Diversity and inclusion

STA aspires to the values of being:

• included and feeling safe to bring our whole self to work, to help improve our own wellbeing and the wellbeing of our colleagues
• supported and treated with kindness, fairness and respect
• involved in decisions which affect us and our teams

STA regularly reviews our processes for employing staff from diverse backgrounds. For example, we ensure representation of different groups on appointment panels. We also have 3 conversation points within the year about every member of staff, to ensure we reward staff from all characteristics and backgrounds. Consideration of diversity and inclusion issues is embedded in many processes, including:

• agency away days
• all-staff discussions
• governance meetings
• in the services we deliver to schools, including test development and test administration

National curriculum assessments

STA publishes the assessment and reporting arrangements annually. They set out the statutory requirements for national curriculum assessments and reporting for the academic year. They include:

• important dates
• an overview of the tests and checks
• security and administration arrangements
• what schools need to do to enable pupils (including those with differing needs) to access the tests and checks
• teacher assessment processes and related responsibilities for schools and local authorities
• how pupils’ achievements will be reported to schools and parents
• information about maladministration

The assessments within STA’s remit are listed below:

Key stage	Assessments
Early years foundation stage	Statutory reception baseline assessment
KS1	Statutory phonics screening check, optional KS1 national curriculum tests and teacher assessment
KS2	Statutory multiplication tables check, statutory KS2 national curriculum tests and teacher assessment

Reception baseline assessment

The reception baseline assessment is a short, task-based, on-entry assessment. Schools are required to administer the assessment within the first six weeks of pupils starting reception. The purpose of the reception baseline assessment is to provide the baseline for primary school progress measures from the academic year 2027 to 2028 onwards. The measures will show the progress pupils in a school make from reception until the end of KS2.

Phonics screening check

The phonics screening check confirms that all children in year 1 have learned phonic decoding to an appropriate standard. Children who have not reached this standard should receive extra support from their school to improve their decoding skills and will then have another opportunity to take the check in year 2. 

Optional key stage 1 national curriculum tests

STA develops national curriculum tests for administration at the end of KS1 in:

• English grammar, punctuation and spelling
• English reading
• mathematics

The KS1 national curriculum tests listed above are non-statutory, meaning they are optional for schools to administer. The purpose of these optional tests is to give schools access to materials to support the evaluation of pupil achievement and help them understand where pupils need additional support as they transition into KS2.

Multiplication tables check

The multiplication tables check determines whether year 4 pupils can fluently recall their multiplication tables. Although the check will help schools to identify pupils who require additional support, it is not intended as a diagnostic tool and there is no expected standard. 

Key stage 2 national curriculum tests

Statutory tests are administered at the end of KS2 in:

• English grammar, punctuation and spelling
• English reading
• mathematics

The main purpose of the KS2 tests is to ascertain what pupils have achieved in relation to the attainment targets outlined in the national curriculum (2014). The main intended uses of the outcomes as set out in the Bew Report (2011) and the consultation document on primary assessment and accountability (2017) are to: 

• hold schools accountable for the attainment and progress made by their pupils
• inform parents and secondary schools about the performance of individual pupils
• enable benchmarking between schools, as well as monitoring performance locally and nationally

Teacher assessment

Teacher assessment frameworks are available in a range of subjects to enable teachers to make reliable and valid judgments on pupil performance:

• The KS1 non-statutory teacher assessment frameworks cover English reading, English writing, mathematics and science.
• The KS2 teacher assessment frameworks cover English writing and science only.

Teacher assessment is optional at KS1 and statutory at KS2.

Teachers make judgements based on a comprehensive range of evidence from across the curriculum and an understanding of a pupil’s performance in an individual subject over a specific period. This approach helps teachers and parents gauge a pupil’s abilities in relation to national expectations. The teacher assessment frameworks include ‘pupil can’ statements, which serve as performance indicators. These statements provide a snapshot of a pupil’s attainment at the end of each key stage, describing what a pupil working at that standard should be able to do.

In addition to the KS1 and KS2 teacher assessment frameworks, there are alternative frameworks available to support schools in assessing pupils working below the standard of the national curriculum. This includes the:

• pre-key stage standards for the optional KS1 and statutory KS2 assessments for pupils engaged in subject-specific study
• engagement model for pupils not engaged in subject-specific study

The purpose of the pre-key stage standards and the engagement model is to understand the attainment and progress of pupils who are working below the level of the national curriculum tests and assessments. Pupils assessed using these frameworks usually include those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), English as an additional language (EAL), or those who have not completed the relevant programmes of study.  

Publication of assessment data

STA is not responsible for the publication of national curriculum assessment data, however, we do provide assessment data to DfE. This data enables DfE to release official attainment statistics, measure primary school progress, and compile school performance tables for accountability purposes.

National curriculum assessment attainment data is published on the Explore education statistics website.

Attainment data for the phonics screening check, the multiplication tables check, and the end of KS2 tests and assessments is published at both national and local authority level. School-level attainment data for these assessments is also shared with schools, academy trusts, local authorities, Ofsted and DfE Regional Directors through the Analyse School Performance service. KS2 school-level data is also published on the Compare school and college performance website and used to calculate the key stage 4 school progress measure, ‘Progress 8’.

Data is not published for the reception baseline assessment, pre-key stage standards or engagement model. However, DfE uses data from these assessments to calculate school performance measures.

Setting standards

STA’s CEO has a specific, fully delegated role with respect to test standards and standard setting and maintenance. Operating independently from DfE and government ministers, the CEO signs off the national curriculum tests’ content and the setting and maintenance of standards to ensure confidence in the validity of test outcomes.

The standards maintenance process includes the review of statistical evidence to ensure standards that were set in the first year of a new assessment are maintained for future years. This is carried out in the presence of Ofqual as well as teacher and school leader trade union representatives.

Key performance indicators

STA has 8 key performance indicators to measure delivery. These indicators are at the centre of a framework which is used to monitor our performance.

Area of delivery	Measure
Provision of KS2 results	99.9% of schools assessing pupils must receive a complete set of results data, containing a correct test result (not withstanding any marking or process reviews) for every test taken by a pupil, by an agreed date.
Return of KS2 test scripts to schools	Schools assessing pupils must receive a complete set of test scripts with complete test outcomes on the date of return of results.
National curriculum assessments helpline service	85% of all enquiries received must be resolved at first contact.
Systems to support schools	The school assessment administration portal is available for at least 99.8% of the time.
Yellow label service	99.9% of packages containing completed test scripts are delivered to scanning bureaus by the third working day after collection from exam centres.
Provision of reception baseline assessment data	The scores of the reception baseline assessment must be 100% accurate for each pupil by an agreed date.
Provision of reception baseline assessment platform	The system will be available to 99.8% of schools from 8am until 5pm, Monday to Friday during term time.
Provision of reception baseline assessment resources to schools	100% of orders placed within the ordering window are delivered to schools.

Assurance

Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual)

Ofqual regulates all aspects of the development and delivery of national assessments and publishes an annual report which explains how national tests and assessments are regulated.

Ofqual’s objectives, as set out in its regulatory framework for national assessments, are to promote standards and confidence in national assessments. Its primary function is to keep all aspects of national assessments under review.

Ofqual’s regulation also seeks to provide independent assurance about the robustness of STA’s processes, and to identify risks to validity that can be addressed by STA to improve the quality of assessments over time. Further, Ofqual has a duty to report to the Secretary of State for Education if it believes there is, or is likely to be, a significant failing in national curriculum assessment arrangements in relation to achieving one or more of the specified purposes.

Government Internal Audit Agency

STA receives internal audit and assurance services from the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA). GIAA provides independent objective assurance and a consulting service designed to add value and improve an organisation’s operations.

Internal audit activity adds value to the organisation when it considers strategies, objectives and risks. This also provides objective and relevant assurance, and contributes to the effectiveness and efficiency of governance, risk management and control processes.

External audit

STA is audited annually by the National Audit Office on behalf of the Comptroller and Auditor General. 

Risk management

STA has a risk management framework which is maintained and overseen by our Executive Management Board. The framework is based on the government’s risk management framework and HM Treasury’s Orange Book: Management of risk - Principles and Concepts, which include recognised sets of principles and processes for managing risk.

Risk appetite is the threshold, set by STA, which guides our decision making. It may be expressed using more than one threshold, depending on strategic priorities and objectives. STA’s risk appetite is cautious due to the statutory nature of the assessments and the value of the data to DfE.

Risks must be:

• managed at the lowest appropriate level within our established governance arrangements
• systematically identified and assessed by each governance level
• articulated to show the potential cause of a risk and the proposed measures to address it
• managed within the defined risk appetite

Each risk has a named individual allocated to it. It is their responsibility to oversee the risk, countermeasures and contingency plans.

Agency-level risk management

There is a range of risks relevant to STA’s work, managed internally by agency officials.

Operational delivery risks include programme, project or business-as-usual risks that would jeopardise STA’s ability to successfully develop and deliver testing and assessment, to meet performance measures. Risks which could impact the successful delivery of the test cycle are continually monitored by their owners with oversight and escalation paths through established governance forums. These include, but are not limited to:

• security breach of test materials
• failure of subcontractors
• suppliers unable to meet their contractual obligations
• a failure of essential IT systems

Risks which could impact successful test development are monitored and carefully managed throughout the test development cycle. These include, but are not limited to:

• errors in test materials
• security breaches

Other risks include:

• corporate risks such as resourcing, delivery support arrangements and strategies
• strategic and reputational risks such as the top tier risk of potential failure of the primary assessment regime as well as boycotts of statutory assessments in schools
• digital delivery risks related to the performance of our new digital assessment platform and testing of the end-to-end service

Departmental-level risk management

DfE has several strategic risks that, if realised, will have an impact on the ability of the department to meet its strategic objectives, potentially causing irreparable damage to the reputation of the department, ministers or His Majesty’s government. STA owns and is responsible for one of these risks, namely the top tier risk that:

“Valid, reliable primary level tests (paper based or digital) are not delivered on time through efficient and effective processes and/or are not of sufficient quality, leading to concerns over the validity of assessment outcomes for individual pupils, schools or the whole English primary education system.”

This risk is managed by DfE’s Performance Risk and Resourcing Committee.

Risk review group

The role of STA’s risk review group is to:

• review and challenge management of current risks and issues across STA’s 3 divisions
• identify risks and issues to be escalated to the National Curriculum Assessments Board or Executive Management Board

The risk review group meets monthly in each division and is chaired by the risk manager. The objectives are to:

• improve identification, ownership, controls, active management and impact of risks
• reduce the number and handling of unexpected issues and near misses
• ensure STA’s risks and issues are managed in line with the departmental strategic risk management framework

To ensure risks are managed at the right level, operational and strategic risks are reviewed by our divisional risk review groups which are comprised of risk owners from each division. Actions and notes are circulated after each meeting for risk owners to improve their risk management and to update the record in PRIME^{[footnote 1]}. The National Curriculum Assessments Board receives a report documenting the main risks each month.

Risks escalated to STA’s National Curriculum Assessments Board (chaired by a Deputy Director) are considered by senior staff across the agency. Where the board members consider that the risk profile exceeds STA’s risk tolerances, it may be determined to be a strategic risk and escalated to Executive Management Board (chaired by the Chief Executive) to manage.

The Executive Management Board meets every 2 months, and its role is to:

• review STA’s management of DfE’s top tier risk on primary assessment
• review strategic, finance and resourcing risks
• oversee STA’s security arrangements

Concerns are then escalated to the STA Strategic Performance Review, which takes place quarterly and is chaired by the Director General of DfE’s Schools Group.

The Executive Management Board may also escalate risks to DfE’s Audit and Risk Committee, as appropriate. Matters for external escalation are reported to Ofqual, as appropriate.

Financial

STA’s set budgets for the financial year 2024 to 2025 are shown in the table below:

Area of spend	Budget
Admin	£2,883,000
Programme non-ringfenced	£50,020,000
Programme ringfenced	£1,094,000
Capital	£7,764,000
Total	£61,761,000

The final spend will not be known until the end of the financial year (31 March 2025). We publish information on final spend in the STA annual report and accounts for each financial year.

1. PRIME is an Enterprise Project Management solution designed for use within STA. It stands for ‘Portfolio Reporting and Information Management Environment’ and houses STA’s risk register. ↩