ABSTRACT
The sampling procedure was designed to obtain a representative cross section of all pupils in each school who were taking the Ordinary level examination. When the departures from the set procedure were discovered it was necessary to assess the extent and direction of the effects. For financial reasons and to maintain harmonious relations with the schools it was impossible to send a cohort of specialists into each of the schools to assess the standard of the teaching. For the boys the background of the schools and the nature of their intake resembled closely those of the girls. The boys' schools were usually in urban areas while the co-educational were mainly in rural areas or small towns, the intake of the boys' schools being appreciably more selective than that of the co-educational schools.
