Types of Examination

IN ENGLAND 340. In schoolsthere are two types of examination:

(1) school examinations

These are set and marked by the staff of the school con­cerned, to assess the children's progress. They are sometimes held at the end of each term, but more often only once, at the end of the school year. If they are held at the end of term, they may be called end-of-term examinations.End-of-year examination is not common, however. Summer examinationsis more often used in this sense.

(2) public examinations

These are set and marked by public examining boards. Those who pass these examinations are awarded certificates which are officially recognised as qualifications for entry to further and higher education, and for various jobs. They are:

the General Certificate of Education,usually called the GCE.This was introduced in 1951, replacing the School Certificate.It is an academic type of examination, taken in two quite separate stages:

Ordinary level ('0'level), usually taken at 15-16

Advanced level('A' level),usually taken at 17-18 Places in higher educational establishments are awarded main­ly on 'A' level results (see unit 120).

the Certificate of Secondary Education,usually called the CSE. This was introduced in 1965 to cater for less academic pupils, who found the GCE too difficult, and either failed it or did not even take it, thus leaving school with no certifi­cate of any kind. The CSE is usually taken at 15-16.

A link between the CSE and GCE 'O' level is provided by the recognition of a grade 1 (see unit 356) in the CSE as equi­valent to a pass at 'O' level.

During the past few years various plans have been put forward for a unified system of public examinations for schools. One of these involves the introduction of a new examination, the Certificate of Extended Education(CEE), for those pupils

who stay on at school after taking GCE 'O' level or CSE, but for whom 'A' level is too academic. Pilot examinations have been in existence for some years now, but in spite of wide­spread support for this examination from schools, the DES has still not come to a decision to recognise it. The latest pro­posals are for some kind of common examination at 16 + to replace the separate GCE 'O' level and CSE, with the GCE 'A' level remaining as it is (although possibly under another name, if 'O' level disappears).

341. In universitiesthere are:

(1) sessional examinations,often called simply sessionals.

These examinations are held once a year, at the end of the session, or academic year (see unit 195), to assess the students' progress. The results do not affect their final qualification. If examinations are held in the middle of the session, they are called mid-sessional examinations or mid-sessionals.

(2) final/degree examinations

These are often called finalsin non-formal style. They are longer examinations, very carefully set and conducted, and on the results of which degrees are awarded. Although most of the examiners are from the university concerned, there is also an external examiner,often called an outside examiner, from another university, to ensure objectivity.

In the case of modern languages the traditional type of degree examination usually consists of 8-10 written papers of approximately three hours and an oral examination.

342. In colleges there are:

(1) college/internal examinations,to assess the students' pro­
gress, set and marked by the staff and not affecting the final
qualification;

(2) public/external examinations,on the basis of which qual­
ifications are awarded. There are naturally many different
examinations for different professions, for example:

the Teacher's Certificate,

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 1261