§ Mr. Merlyn Reesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is aware of the national concern at the lack of uniformity between the standards 119W of the various General Certificate of Education examining boards; and if he will take action to ensure proper co-ordination.
§ Mr. CroslandI am aware of concern but cannot accept that there is evidence of enormous lack of uniformity. The Examining Boards concerned are investigating an instance of discrepancy in results which recently received wide publicity.
More generally, the Schools Council, which acts on my behalf as central coordinating authority for secondary school examinations, is actively pursuing investigations in a number of subjects. New general procedures for validation of standards are being explored by the Council in connection with the forthcoming introduction of the Certificate of Secondary Examination and the relevance of the results to examining for the G.C.E. will no doubt be considered by the Council and the Boards.