A teacher who wanted to expose cheating in school tests has decided not to, for fear of the consequences.

The would-be whistleblower has decided to keep quiet, even though the tests watchdog, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), has promised anonymity.

The teacher had explained how an infants school - in the south-east of England - had been retesting a significant number of its seven year olds to ensure their grades improved.

BBC News Online was given details of how this was done - without being told the name of the school.

The teacher initially wanted to put an end to the "unfair" way results were being "made up so that targets are met".

Job reference

The teacher's union - the NASUWT - advised going to the local education authority under the whistleblowing provisions intended to protect people exposing wrongdoing in public services.

But the teacher then got cold feet about the possible fallout, not least in terms of getting a reference for future work, and decided to do nothing.

The QCA - which recently denied that cheating was widespread or increasing - said there was a professional obligation on someone finding malpractice to report it to them.

Jackie Bawden of the QCA said: "It is grossly unfair to make sweeping allegations that undermine teachers' integrity without providing full details.

Jackie Baldwin: "No evidence that cheating is any more widespread"

"We would stress that we have absolutely no evidence that cheating is any more widespread this year than in previous years.

"If a person suspects that the tests have not been administered according to published arrangements, he or she must contact us with the details of the case. We cannot investigate anonymous allegations.

"QCA will ensure that the name of that person is not disclosed and, once reported, they are unlikely to be contacted again."

Pressures

The general secretary of the NASUWT, Eamonn O'Kane, said the case illustrated again the pressures some head teachers felt themselves to be under.

"Cheating can never be excused," he said.

"But this case and a few others recently demonstrate the tremendous pressure that's upon schools and head teachers in particular.

"We have to ask ourselves whether that is so great that it is causing this sort of behaviour, which years ago would have been regarded as unimaginable."

This is even though test results from infants schools are not published except in each school's annual report to parents - the league tables use the results of tests taken by 11 year olds.

Comparisons

But the seven year olds' results also go into an annual report which every school gets each autumn from the inspectorate, Ofsted, known as a performance and assessment report or Panda.

This compares the school's results with all other schools nationally and with schools in supposedly similar social circumstances - on the basis of the take-up of free school meals.

Those comparisons are used by Ofsted inspectors in forming judgements about a school's progress.

Some schools persuade more of their parents who are on low incomes to take up the offer of free meals - thereby boosting the school into the next performance bracket. That is entirely legitimate.

Head teachers and deputies might also have targets to meet, agreed with their governing bodies, on which performance bonuses depend - another incentive for ensuring their pupils do well.

Random checks

The tests are marked internally.

Most schools are required to have the administration and marking audited only once every four years.

Local education authorities will have informed schools by 27 February if they were going to have their results audited this year.

Authorities also carry out a number of random checks.

Schools are warned about these at least two days in advance.

In Wales the education minister has abolished the tests at age seven.