ABSTRACT
Whether or not educational standards have actually fallen in any general way remains an open question the answer to which depends on sub-questions such as, ‘What measures do you use for your standards?’ and ‘Does the claim refer to the whole population or just to an educated elite?’ We do not propose to pursue these questions here because (a) there is a clear public perception that standards have fallen and this perception has been assiduously fostered and then capitalised upon by politicians and then by those sections of the media who serve the politicians. The perception is a reality which needs to be addressed; and (b) what does it matter whether standards have fallen or not? There can be nothing wrong in striving for higher standards anyway.
