ABSTRACT
First Published in 2005. Almost everywhere policies designed to broaden access to education and to promote equality of opportunity are now pursued. In consequence the importance of examinations grows, since success in them determines entry to higher education and thus to professional posts. They are therefore a major instrument of social mobility and promotion which affects social structure by applying criteria of selection nearly always accepted unconsciously and uncritically. The aim of this text in selecting Examinations as the theme of the 1969 WORLD YEAR BOOK, was to present a comparative analysis of the way in which examinations are devised, administered and assessed, to find out why we are examining, and to look at the ways in which we examine to see if these are efficient, relevant and reliable.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
section Section I|31 pages
General and Historical Aspects
section Section II|36 pages
Introduction: Examination Aims, Theories and Techniques
section Section III|40 pages
Introduction: Efficiency of Examinations
section Section IV|61 pages
Introduction: Organization and Structure in Different Countries
section Section V|64 pages
Introduction: Selection for Education by Examination
section Section VI|100 pages
Introduction: Economic and Social Effects of Examinations
section Section VII|35 pages
Introduction: Effects of Examinations on Education, Teachers, Pupils
section Section VIII|23 pages
Introduction: Trends and Future Prospects