TlS
English society’s steadily growing demand for qualifications assured the Boards’
commercial success, particularly after the value of their O levels was enhanced by the
less esteemed Certificate of Secondary Education from 1965. During the 1960s and
1970s, with a low-level regulatory regime in the hands of the teacher-dominated
Schools Council, the examining boards faced a series of possible reforms to post-16
examinations, none of which came into effect. The Boards were left to carry out their
function undisturbed by change, although there was little doubt of the need to improve
young people’s levels of attainment.
Then, in the 1980s the Thatcher Government yielded to the longstanding pressure
from teachers and examining boards to replace the divisive structure of O-Ievel and
CSE with a single examination at 16+ which could accredit the whole (or rather 60%)
of the age group. The price the Boards paid for this concession was a major ratcheting
up of central control. The Schools Council was replaced by the Secondary
Examinations Council, whose members were appointed in the name of the Secretary
of State. All syllabuses and examinations for the new General Certificate of
Secondary Examination had to be vetted and approved by this new regulator. This is
clear evidence that for the first time, the Boards’ professional expertise was to be
subjected to the scrutiny of a state-appointed body.
In addition to this clear imposition of tightened central control, the indirect effects of
the change to GCSE were to have a cumulative impact on the power balance between
the Boards and their regulator. Improved attainment rates in the new examination
combined with economic pressures on youth employment opportunities led to a steady
increase in the post-16 staying-on rate. This created more pressure on the ‘gate-
keeping’ function of examinations as increased numbers aimed for higher education