Qualifications and examinations system
As the regulator, we oversee the qualifications and examinations system in England to make sure that it is fair, provides value for money and meets the needs of learners and employers.
In this section you can find out more about our regulatory role, exam fees, qualifications frameworks and the qualifications market. We've also included a page of interesting facts and figures - did you know, for example, that delivering the national curriculum tests involves producing and distributing test papers equivalent to 237 million sheets of A4?
National curriculum key stages
The national curriculum is organised into blocks of years called 'key stages'. 'Foundation stage' covers education for children before they reach five (compulsory school age).
Test development process
Develop questions
Experts begin to develop test questions almost two and half years before your child sits the tests
Questions trialled
About 18 months before your child takes the test, the questions are trialled by pupils in a small number of schools, revised and then tested again
Papers printed
Once the questions are ready, the test papers are sent to print at secure printers, to keep them confidential, just as they are with GCSE and A level exam papers
Papers delivered
Throughout the last two weeks of April around 10 million papers are delivered to all around 25,000 key stage 2 and 3 schools across England, ready for the tests.
Sitting the exams
Once your child has taken their tests, the papers are sent to independent, external markers for grading
Results and progress
When the results are returned to the schools, your child's teacher will inform you about how your child is progressing at school and at what level they are working at