Measuring educational standards

Every Summer, when English public examination results appear there is a debate within the media about whether ‘educational standards’ are changing. The above remarks are typical; the first reflects the suspicions of those who believe in a professional conspiracy to prove that standards of performance are rising, and the second reflects a politician’s determination to pretend that everything has been for the best since his party assumed power. In late Summer 2002 the chairman of the examinations oversight quango, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), was effectively sacked over allegations that he had sanctioned a downgrading of A level examination grades in order to maintain comparability with the previous year’s results (Guardian, 27.09.2002).