§ Mr. Chopeasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on the conclusions of the second report of the National Council for Educational Standards on standards in English schools, a copy of which has been sent to him.
§ Mr. Macleanasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the conclusions of the latest survey by the National Council for Educational Standards, a copy of which has been sent to him, in so far as it affects Government policy towards comprehensive schools.
§ Sir Keith JosephI welcome the report of this further study examining various factors affecting examination performance in schools arid confirming the strong statistical association between that performance and social background. The study highlights wide differences in examination results both between types of school—selective and non-selective—and different schools of the same kind. The suggested focus for future research is not inconsistent with the decision I announced last November about the nature of research which the Department might be willing to fund if suitable proposals were submitted.
As the authors state, the findings are capable of a variety of interpretations, the issues are very complex and the inferences drawn tentative. It will take a little time to study in detail the report and its findings.