LONDON -- Summer is examination season in Britain with results posted in mid-August. These are important for young people as entry to university, especially a more prestigious one, depends on the results they achieve.
This year the proportion of young people achieving high grades has risen once again. This has inevitably raised the question of whether standards of setting and marking have declined or, as many teachers and government ministers argue, the high standards are the result of improvements in teaching.
It has also been suggested that higher grades have been achieved by students taking allegedly easier subjects such as psychology and media studies. A basic problem with the English examination system is that pupils specialize too early and do not have to cover an adequate range of subjects. There is now pressure on British schools to adopt a system similar to that of the international baccalaureate prevailing in France and other continental countries.