ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to analytical and discursive, rather than prescriptive; at the same time, it points to alternative courses of action and their likely consequences. Perhaps quite so inescapable as death, they form, none the less, part of the experience of most people in the developed countries and increasingly in the developing countries. Examinations span all levels of education and nearly all countries, and most of the crucial issues are common to them all. All of them have contributed to my admiration for the high standards of technical competence and administration which the officers of examination boards maintain. The intention is to provoke a balanced discussion among a variety of people who have an interest: from those who are concerned with determining policy and practice through those responsible for the administration to those at the receiving end, teachers, students and parents.
