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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Exam head quits over Sats fiasco | Exam head quits over Sats fiasco |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has resigned from his post. | The head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has resigned from his post. |
| Dr Ken Boston said he was "taking responsibility" following this summer's Sats fiasco, which left thousands of children without their exam results. | Dr Ken Boston said he was "taking responsibility" following this summer's Sats fiasco, which left thousands of children without their exam results. |
| His resignation comes just days before an independent inquiry into what went wrong is due to be published. | His resignation comes just days before an independent inquiry into what went wrong is due to be published. |
| The National Assessment Agency, part of the QCA, is responsible for the national curriculum tests in England. | The National Assessment Agency, part of the QCA, is responsible for the national curriculum tests in England. |
| Delivery failure | Delivery failure |
| All children in England sit the exams at the end of "key stages" in their schooling, aged 7 and 11. | |
| This year's results were due out before the children left school but they were delayed for a number of reasons. | This year's results were due out before the children left school but they were delayed for a number of reasons. |
| The US contractor responsible for the marking, Educational Testing Services or ETS, was sacked in August and has since been fined £19.5m. | The US contractor responsible for the marking, Educational Testing Services or ETS, was sacked in August and has since been fined £19.5m. |
| The tests fiasco last summer was a major failure, and he [Ken Boston] should have resigned at the time Chris Woodhead, former chief inspector of schools | The tests fiasco last summer was a major failure, and he [Ken Boston] should have resigned at the time Chris Woodhead, former chief inspector of schools |
| The inquiry into the fiasco was carried out by former Ofsted chief inspector, Lord Sutherland, and it is due to be published on Tuesday. | The inquiry into the fiasco was carried out by former Ofsted chief inspector, Lord Sutherland, and it is due to be published on Tuesday. |
| In a statement, Dr Boston said: "I have reflected since the summer on the delivery failure and on the difficulties associated with key stage testing. | In a statement, Dr Boston said: "I have reflected since the summer on the delivery failure and on the difficulties associated with key stage testing. |
| "In my 40-year career as a public servant, I have always believed in public bodies and public officials taking responsibility when things go wrong." | "In my 40-year career as a public servant, I have always believed in public bodies and public officials taking responsibility when things go wrong." |
| He added it would in the authority's interests "to find new leadership" and repeated his apology to pupils, teachers and parents. | He added it would in the authority's interests "to find new leadership" and repeated his apology to pupils, teachers and parents. |
| Unmanageable system | Unmanageable system |
| Teachers and lecturers' leaders rallied to support Dr Boston. | Teachers and lecturers' leaders rallied to support Dr Boston. |
| Dr John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told BBC News that the crisis had not been the departing QCA head's fault. | Dr John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told BBC News that the crisis had not been the departing QCA head's fault. |
| "We have a government system of testing and exams in England, which Mr Boston described soon after his arrival as a cottage industry and I think it's still his belief that it's a cottage industry in severe need of reform," he said. | "We have a government system of testing and exams in England, which Mr Boston described soon after his arrival as a cottage industry and I think it's still his belief that it's a cottage industry in severe need of reform," he said. |
| "But that's a political question, the reform of testing, not a question for Ken Boston of the QCA. He's done a really good job. He's taken the work of the QCA to new levels". | "But that's a political question, the reform of testing, not a question for Ken Boston of the QCA. He's done a really good job. He's taken the work of the QCA to new levels". |
| Christine Blower, acting general secretary of the National Union of Teachers said Dr Boston had been a victim of "the government's policy on testing and assessment." | Christine Blower, acting general secretary of the National Union of Teachers said Dr Boston had been a victim of "the government's policy on testing and assessment." |
| "It's a real blow for Ken Boston to go," she said. | "It's a real blow for Ken Boston to go," she said. |
| "He was independent [and] set up a sensible curriculum and assessment policy. He has been the victim of an entirely unviable, unwieldy and unmanageable system." | "He was independent [and] set up a sensible curriculum and assessment policy. He has been the victim of an entirely unviable, unwieldy and unmanageable system." |
| But the former chief inspector of schools, Chris Woodhead, told the BBC he should have resigned earlier. | But the former chief inspector of schools, Chris Woodhead, told the BBC he should have resigned earlier. |
| "The tests fiasco last summer was a major failure, and he together with his own chairman should have resigned at the time," he said. | "The tests fiasco last summer was a major failure, and he together with his own chairman should have resigned at the time," he said. |
| "But I have to say his departure solves nothing. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has become a bloated irrelevance." | "But I have to say his departure solves nothing. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has become a bloated irrelevance." |