ABSTRACT
It is important to distinguish between two distinct meanings to which the term ‘standard’ is put in the context of public examinations. Either the term can apply to the general level of attainment of a cohort/group of students (e.g. ‘the standard of students’ English is not what it was ten years ago’), or it can apply to the criteria for performance demanded by examiners at specific grades in an examination (e.g. ‘English is easier than mathematics’). It is with the latter definition that this chapter is concerned. The second part of the chapter pro vides a brief outline of how a comparability geography study was organized, an overview of its findings and raises a number of issues for further consideration.
