ABSTRACT
The desire to submit to public examination is endemic to English education. Examinations are fair game in the hunt for educational scapegoats; they appear to have few friends even within the educational profession itself. Most students engage in some form of self-assessment, whereby they judge their progress through the school. Such assessments they usually keep to themselves. Attempts have been made to make use of self-assessment in a more explicit and formal manner, but at present they can be described as at best experimental. A powerful argument for the use of examinations as the main instrument for sorting students is that they are egalitarian: they are said to be the same for everyone whether they be socially advantaged or disadvantaged; it matters whether the candidates come from the upper or lower classes, inner city comprehensive or independent boarding-school; the questions are the same, the marking is the same and the certificates.
