National curriculum assessments: join our expert review panels
How to participate in review panels for developing the key stage 1 (KS1) and key stage 2 (KS2) tests, phonics screening check and reception baseline assessment (RBA).
Get involved in supporting the development of national curriculum assessments by joining our expert review panels. Your professional expertise and insights will be instrumental in shaping future test content and enhancing pupils’ test experiences nationwide - and it’s a great opportunity to expand your CPD portfolio.
We are looking for teachers and other education professionals to join our expert review panels. Review panellists are essential to ensure that the optional KS1 tests, statutory KS2 tests (commonly known as SATs), phonics screening check and RBA are fair, accurate and reflective of current classroom practice.
1. What is a review panellist
As a panellist, you will play a vital role in maintaining the quality and validity of national curriculum assessments. Your experience will provide invaluable insight that will help ensure assessment content is appropriate, accessible and relevant.
What will you do
You will be involved in reviewing assessment materials for the optional KS1 tests, statutory KS2 tests, phonics screening check and RBA. Your responsibilities may include:
- providing feedback on the appropriateness, difficulty and format of assessment questions
- ensuring the assessments accurately reflect the intended curriculum content
- identifying any potential fairness or accessibility issues
As a panel member, you will need to be available for approximately 2 to 4 days a year. Depending on the panel type, this may include reviewing materials remotely or in person.
If we ask you to attend meetings, we will reimburse you for reasonable expenses and pay either your school for supply cover or you directly. If we ask you to review materials in advance, we will also pay you a preparation fee.
“Gaining an insight into how the tests are put together was fascinating, having administered the end result many times. It was great that such an emphasis is now placed on diversity and inclusion so that the tests are reflective of all children and their lived experiences. Personally, it was exciting to take part in the panel at the DfE and I really enjoyed the day working with colleagues from across the sector.”
Expert review panellist
You can find more information about the different panels and assessment review processes in section 3.
2. How to become a review panellist
Who can apply
We need teachers and other education professionals from a wide range of schools and geographical areas, who represent our diverse society, to form our:
- teacher panels, who focus on real world classroom experience and how assessments align with current teaching practices
- test and assessment review groups, who focus on the technical accuracy, consistency, and subject-specific aspects of the assessments
Teacher panels are made up of practising teachers and those who have left the profession within the last 3 years, to ensure relevant experience of current teaching practise – in particular:
- teachers who have experience of teaching the target age group for the assessment
- English and mathematics subject coordinators
- lead practitioners
- senior leaders such as deputy headteachers or headteachers
- special educational needs co-ordinators
- heads of year or key stage leads
- heads of subject or subject leads
Test and assessment review groups are made up of:
- subject specialists
- local authority subject leads or advisors
- multi-academy trust subject leads or advisors
- educational consultants
- experienced senior teachers, deputy headteachers or headteachers
- advanced skills teachers or assessment leads
- specialist leaders of education
- academics specialising in a relevant area of education or subject discipline
- initial teacher training providers
If you are a teacher administering assessments at your school, you can still take part in expert review panels and continue to administer the assessments, as we highly value your experience. We expect all panellists to sign and adhere to a confidentiality agreement, which helps protect sensitive information and keep test content secure.
Chris Ryan, Caia Image on iStock.
How to apply
If you are interested in taking part, please submit your details via our short expert review panel survey.
The survey will be open periodically and should take you less than 5 minutes to complete.
What happens next
Please note that submitting your details does not guarantee a place, and you may not hear back from us for a while.
We regularly review the full list of submissions and make selections throughout the year to ensure our panels are diverse and cover all the required areas of expertise. This means that we may contact candidates with opportunities very soon, or at any time within 5 years of their application.
If you are selected, we will:
- send you a formal invitation to attend a panel meeting
- provide you with clear guidance about the panel’s purpose, scope and desired outcomes
- ask you to sign a confidentiality agreement to protect sensitive information
If you are unable to participate in a specific review, you will remain on our database for potential future opportunities – we will securely store your details for 5 years. However, you can ask us to change or remove your details at any time.
You can find more information about how we use your personal data in the Department for Education’s personal information charter.
3. The assessment review process
The review process involves independent quality assurance of assessment materials. It is critical to the validity evidence that supports the assessments.
Questions and mark schemes are reviewed throughout the development process in a series of external panels to ensure they assess the content domain of the assessment appropriately.
Initial reviews take place before questions are trialled in schools, to review and comment on their suitability, identify possible issues and suggest improvements. A final review takes place at the end of the development process, to review the suitability of the assessment.
Teacher panel
The teacher panel gives feedback on assessment materials. We ask panellists to comment on:
- how the questions reflect current classroom practice
- whether the materials are of appropriate difficulty for the age group and attainment range
- whether the materials are a suitable assessment of the content domain of the assessment
- the format, design and layout of questions
- any improvements that would enable a fairer assessment
The teacher panel gets access to the assessment materials on the day of the meeting, to reflect the experience of opening the materials in school on the day the assessment is first administered.
Test and assessment review groups
The test and assessment review groups are designed primarily to gather feedback on:
- the technical accuracy of the content
- whether the content domain references are accurate
- the complexity of the concepts being assessed
- the ability of the questions to be marked consistently
Each group gets access to the assessment materials a week before the meeting, to complete an advance review of the questions.
4. Inclusion reviews
Inclusion reviews are conducted to assess the accessibility of assessments. They are carried out by experienced diversity specialists and experts in the education of pupils with special educational needs and English as an additional language.
We procure these specialists through a Department for Education (DfE) framework. If you are interested in one of these roles, you can look out for upcoming opportunities on Contracts Finder and sign up for our assessment updates to ensure you receive the latest information.
5. Further information
If you have any questions about becoming an expert review panellist, please contact STA.expert@education.gov.uk.
Updates to this page
Last updated 1 October 2024 + show all updates
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Added clarification that teachers who administer assessments at their school can still take part in expert review panels and continue to administer the assessments.
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Updated information on the application process and restructured the information on the page.
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Removed deadline date as the survey will remain open to allow applications to be sent throughout the year.
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First published.