The ways in which examination standards are conceptualised and operationalised differently across nations has not been given sufficient attention. The international literature on standard-setting has been dominated by the psychometrics tradition. Broader conceptualisations of examination standards have been discussed in the literature in England,…

From September 2015, schools in England will be teaching new A-level science specifications that have been developed by examination boards to encompass new higher levels of demand developed by the Department for Education. Integral to these new specifications is a radical change to the contribution of practical science to the A-level grade of the…

Well before the examinations grade crisis of 2012, Michael Gove had set out clear intentions for reforming public examinations. Though he claimed to be improving examinations and assessment by replicating practices that took place in high-performing countries and thus improving the ability of the UK economy to "compete", this…

Michael Gove has made examination reform a marked feature of his period as Education Secretary in the coalition government, although he has not always found it easy to bring about the changes he feels so strongly about, in the face of widespread opposition from teachers and educationists. This article seeks to analyse the Education Secretary's…

This paper aims to tell how the Russian national examination in mathematics (the Uniform State Examination or USE) has been conducted most recently. The author must say at once that the history of the system of secondary school graduation examinations or even the history of the USE will be covered only to the small degree that is necessary for…

This article describes the structure and rationale for an open-book approach in professional accountancy examinations. The concept of knowledge management and the recognition that some knowledge ought to be embedded in the minds of professional accountants while other knowledge ought to be readily accessible and capable of application forms the…

One of the first tasks in developing the academic achievement indicator for the Plan-Canadian Education Indicators Program was to survey each province and territory about existing student assessment and examination practices. Survey results are reported. There is considerable diversity in Canadian assessment and evaluation practices because…

The Grade 12 Diploma Examinations Program of the Alberta (Canada) schools has three main purposes: to certify the level of individual student achievement in selected grade-12 courses; to ensure that province-wide standards of achievement are maintained; and to report individual and group results. Eight grade-12 courses have diploma examinations…

Since 1960 most of the countries in middle Africa have gained their independence and are confronting the great problems of nation building and economic development. The entire region shows both a popular enthusiasm for education and a conviction among leaders that education is a key to economic and social development. This bulletin has been…