The English Examining Boards: Their route from independence to government outsourcing agencies

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the ability of the organisation to fulfil its central role in providing reliable and valid
results for English students.

As indicated above, much has been written about the impact of change on any
organisation. The risks were well known to the first Director General of AQA. She
was a veteran of the 1987 merging of five CSE boards to form the Northern
Examining Association (NEA) for the GCSE followed n 1992 by the merger of NEA
with the Joint Matriculation Board (JMB) to form the Northern Examination and
Assesment Board (NEAB). These experiences had taught her that mergers were never
a simple process. Despite her evident concern to ease the process for staff, tensions
developed. The instability resulting from these tensions had real consequences for an
organisation whose only real asset is the skill of its staff.

From the emergence of AQA as a Joint Venture in November 1998, staff were
uncertain about their future and many were convinced that there was a north∕south
power struggle involved under the surface. When after 16 months AEB and NEAB,
having bought out City & Guilds’ GCSE provision to ensure their survival, agreed to
merge into a single organisation, any relief at this resolution was tempered by the
need to create a new staffing structure for the new organisation. Experienced and
long-serving staff were faced with deciding whether to apply for posts within the new
staffing structure, for which they had to undergo competitive interviews, often
involving employees from an organisation which they had always seen as a
competitor. While the new structure was taking shape, people had to Ieam to adapt to
new procedures. The two organisations had developed different approaches to
virtually every aspect of the examinations process. While it was readily agreed that
the principle of ‘best practice’ would guide the new organisation, in reality staff found

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