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Transparency data
2024 maladministration
report
Published 3 March 2025
Introduction
The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) has a statutory duty to investigate any
allegation concerning the accuracy of results, relating to the:
reception baseline assessment (RBA)
phonics screening check
key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests, including the multiplication tables
check (MTC) and teacher assessment
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2024 maladministration report
Standards
& Testing
Agency
Contents
Introduction
Numbers of schools participating in assessments
Changes to maladministration procedures
Breakdown of maladministration cases
Sources of reported maladministration cases
Breakdown of allegation types
Annulments and amendments to results
We investigate any concerns, alongside local authorities, in accordance with the
maladministration investigation procedures.
Maladministration refers to any act that could jeopardise the integrity, security or
confidentiality of the national curriculum assessments. This could refer to a range of
actions, including:
changes made to a pupil’s test script by someone other than the pupil
over-aiding of pupils by test administrators
inflation or deflation of teacher assessment judgements
pupils cheating
incorrectly opened test papers
This report:
details the numbers, sources and types of allegations of maladministration
reported to STA throughout the academic year 2023 to 2024
presents the numbers of amendments and annulments to results made in the
academic year 2023 to 2024
provides comparisons with the maladministration data in the academic year 2022
to 2023
Numbers of schools participating in
assessments
In the academic year 2023 to 2024, there were:
16,442 primary schools eligible to administer the RBA
16,538 state-funded mainstream primary schools with year 1 phonics screening
check results
16,353 primary schools that signed into the MTC service
16,393 state-funded mainstream primary schools with KS2 results
Establishments that make up primary schools with results are state schools,
academies, free schools, independent schools that opt in, special schools and pupil
referral units.
Changes to maladministration
procedures
Assessments at the end of key stage 1 (KS1) became non-statutory from the
academic year 2023 to 2024 onwards. STA no longer investigates or reports on any
allegation concerning the accuracy of optional KS1 test or teacher assessment
results, and there is no statutory duty to do so.
This does not include the phonics screening check, which remains statutory.
Breakdown of maladministration cases
The table below details the number of maladministration cases STA investigated.
Table 1 - Number of cases investigated (% against schools participating)
Year RBA Phonics MTC KS2* Total number
2023 24 (0.1%) 42 (0.2%) 21 (0.1%) 431 (2.6%) 579**
2024 23 (0.1%) 26 (0.2%) 14 (0.1%) 609 (3.7%) 672
*including teacher assessment
**including 61 cases at the end of KS1
Sources of reported maladministration
cases
Cases of alleged maladministration are reported to STA from several different
sources. Table 2 details these sources and the percentages of these against the
total number of cases received.
Table 2 - Sources of reported cases (% against schools participating)
Assessment Anonymous School* Marker Teacher Local
authority
Parent Other
RBA 0 (0%) 1
(0.01%)
0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 22
(0.13%)
Phonics 4 (0.02%) 16
(0.1%)
0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (0.04%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
MTC 0 (0%) 11
(0.07%)
0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1
(0.01%)
2
(0.01%)
KS2** 62 (0.38%) 229
(1.40%)
224
(1.37%)
15
(0.09%
45
(0.27%)
22
(0.13%)
12
(0.07%)
*School’s senior leadership team
**includes teacher assessment
Other sources include:
governing body
parent of another pupil
secondary school
Ofqual
Ofsted
family member of pupil
third party supplier
Breakdown of allegation types
The table below gives a breakdown of allegations by type and the percentage of
these against the total number of cases.
Table 3 - Allegation types (% against schools participating)
Allegation RBA Phonics MTC KS2
tests
KS2 teacher
assessment
Incorrect completion of
transcripts
0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 227
(1.38%)
0 (0%)
Test administrator over-
aiding pupils
0 (0%) 10
(0.06%)
1
(0.01%)
155
(0.95%)
0 (0%)
Unauthorised test
timetable variation
0 (0%) 1
(0.01%)
0 (0%) 88
(0.54%)
0 (0%)
Incorrect administration 9
(0.05%)
4
(0.02%)
10
(0.06%)
5
(0.03%)
0 (0%)
Wrongly opened test
packs
0 (0%) 1
(0.01%)
0 (0%) 27
(0.16%)
0 (0%)
Test security breach 2
(0.01%)
1
(0.01%)
0 (0%) 15
(0.09%)
0 (0%)
Unauthorised additional
time
0 (0%) 1
(0.01%)
0 (0%) 15
(0.09%)
0 (0%)
Incorrect completion of
RBA
12
(0.07%)
0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Displays not covered 0 (0%) 1
(0.01%)
1
(0.01%)
7
(0.04%)
0 (0%)
Changes to paper in
another hand
0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 7
(0.04%)
0 (0%)
Inappropriate storage of
tests
0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 7
(0.04%)
0 (0%)
Other 0 (0%) 7
(0.04%)
2
(0.01%)
52
(0.32%)
4 (0.02%)
Other allegation types include:
incorrect papers given to pupils
inappropriate room for the test or check
inappropriate coaching of pupils
inappropriate teacher assessment practices
Annulments and amendments to results
Following an investigation, if STA finds that the accuracy of a pupil’s results is in
doubt, we contact the school and ask it to provide any relevant information or
representations that may enable us to understand the situation. Following this, if we
conclude maladministration has occurred, STA may take the decision to annul or
amend results. STA communicates this decision to the school.
Where a school believes a pupil has gained an advantage because they have
cheated, the headteacher notifies STA of the incident on the Primary Assessment
Gateway. In doing this, they agree to either the removal of marks for the specific
questions where the pupil has gained an advantage or the annulment of the pupil’s
paper.
The table below gives a breakdown of annulments by type and the percentage of
these against the total number of cases. Pupils who gained an advantage because
of cheating are not included in this table.
In some cases, STA may conclude that maladministration has not occurred but there
remain residual concerns – for example, findings may suggest potential
inappropriate assistance. In those cases, STA will work with local authorities and
schools to help improve test administration processes for the next test cycle.
Table 4 – Annulments in at least one subject (% against schools participating)
Annulments RBA
2023
RBA
2024
Phonics
2023
Phonics
2024
MTC
2023
MTC
2024
KS2
tests
2023
KS2
tests
2024
Whole
cohort
0
(0%)
0
(0%)
1
(0.01%)
2
(0.01%)
0
(0%)
0
(0%)
1
(0.01%)
3
(0.02%)
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Partial cohort 0
(0%)
0
(0%)
4
(0.02%)
1
(0.01%)
0
(0%)
0
(0%)
3
(0.01%)
4
(0.02%)
Individual
pupil
0
(0%)
0
(0%)
1
(0.01%)
3
(0.02%)
0
(0%)
0
(0%)
29
(0.10%)
39
(0.24%)
Total
annulments
0
(0%)
0
(0%)
6
(0.03%)
6
(0.04%)
0
(0%)
0
(0%)
34
(0.20%)
46
(0.28%)
Pupils who gained an advantage because of cheating are not included in the table
above. There were 29 pupils with annulments due to notifications of cheating.
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2024 maladministration report : Published 3 March 2025

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