Why should we compensate ETS for the termination of a contract they failed to fulfil? They should be paying the QCA surely?
Is this another example by our incompetent government of reward for failure? No private company would allow another firm to take them to the cleaners like this! Pathetic!

Oxford Don, Oxford, UK

As an American teacher, I disagree with standardized testing--and ETS does overcharge for incompetent services. And EO, as for Americans not speaking YOUR language correctly--I've seen EastEnders. There's enough deterioration of the English language for all of us to enjoy some blame.

Shannon, Milford, Delaware, USA

What is it that prevents the British government from ever wording its contracts sensibly? Companies that do not deliver should not get paid, not a penny. And there should be no compensation for void contracts. Are there not enough lawyers in parliament and the Civil Service?

Rosemary , Germany,

Since when did Brits sink so low as to allow American-style contracts to be put in place. If the company failed to deliver, then they should be fired WITHOUT any compensation - that sucks of a total lack of accountability.

Richard Stevenson, Charlotte, USA

".. £156m contract.." So now we know how much these tests are costing! Money to burn! But not on pensioners living below the official poverty line!

S. Barraclough, Huddersfield, W. Yorkshire

In response to Bob Evans,

Being a not-for-profit, ETS does not SHOW a profit over the course of its fiscal year. The pointed question shouldn't be whether ETS shows a profit, but how does it compensate its executives and board? My guess is that these indivduals receive very handsome packages.

Radman, NYC,

This saga is yet another sign that Britain should not follow the footseps of the American Covboys. Privatization = Americanization. Essential public sector services should stay in public hands. What is happening at energy sector will happen in Education and in Hospitals, soon.
Ahmet

ahmet, london,

Well, margie from Australia, we have an Australian in charge of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which was responsible for hiring the American firm ETS. Does that answer your question?

ROJ, London, England

Why the hell are the Americans marking our Exam papers? They may be splendid people in many ways, but they don't even speak our language correctly.
EO

Eileen O Conor, Cordoba, Spain

Why is an American company having anything to do with British exams? I would have thought that the Britian could well handle that themselves. What is behind all this?

margie , victoria, australia

To clarify some of the uninformed remarks about the ETS.

1. ETS is a non-profit may only make enough to pay ALL of the organization's expenses.

2. ETS does not use its mailing list to sell guides.

3. Government failed on the contract by not meeting its terms.

Tis Balls' embarrassment for sure

Bob Evans, Anaheim, California

This happens too often with ETS & other test services in the US. They sell gov'ts a bill of goods. When their incompetence is exposed they wave their contracts, leaving teachers & students to cope. They add insult to injury by using collected data to sell study guides to the tests they've botched.

Elisabeth, Fort Worth, TX, United States

Rather than us compensating them they should be compensating us, the have clearly failed to deliver the service promised.

Stephen, St. Ives, England

The ETS is horrible, they have a monopoly on exam-marking in the States, and even though they're listed as "non-profit," they charge individual examinees HUNDREDS of dollars to take these exams, which for many of us are not optional. Then they charge us more money to ask what our marks were. Scam.

Amanda, York,

Madness. If the contract doesn't allow the company to be sacked for gross incompetence without receiving compensation, those responsible for drawing it up should be surcharged personally.

Myleena Billson, Leicester, England

I remember when Local Education Authorities administered the 11plus over the whole of England and Wales, year after year, with absolutely no problems; apart from some unhappy parents, of course.
The Civil Service is not an executive organisation. The sooner decentralisation begins, the better.

Tom Benford, Kyoto, Japan

For some time now the UK have been rewarding the mediocre and this is just another step down.

Stu Peters, Nova Scotia,

Why may ETS have to be compensated? Doesn't the contract with them contain provisions enabling their services to be terminated without compensation if they do not what they were hired to do? Or does it not contain any provisions specifying what they would do and to what standard?

Bruno Felton, London,

This is a joke, yet again we are rewarding failure

They did not do the job they were contracted to do so they should take the consequences

maybe we should be sacking the people who are making these contracts

A Bromley, Bridgend,