Each year the National Assessment Agency (NAA) evaluates the national curriculum tests at key stages 1, 2 and 3. This year the evaluation was extended to include evaluation of the service delivery for key stage 2 and 3 tests. The contract for the 2005 evaluation was awarded to Social and Market Strategic Research Ltd.

The evaluation was based on the views of a representative sample of 600 schools at each key stage. For the evaluation of the tests, schools were asked to respond to a range of questions covering the content of the tests, the level of difficulty of test questions and the accuracy of marking. For service delivery, the evaluation included the processes around the test orders, receipt of scripts and marker materials, as well as the communications and support received from NAA.

When comparing the data for similar questions on test content with previous years, the 2005 findings suggest that in most cases schools are more confident that NAA is producing tests that reflect the national curriculum, are pitched at the right level and engage the pupils they are intended for. The findings also suggest that the service provided by NAA has improved considerably over the past year and that schools feel they are well supported. However, there are areas where schools have suggested improvements and these will be considered by the relevant teams as NAA seeks to improve services provided to schools.