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

2 How did the successive changes to the examinations structure affect their roɪe?

3 What evidence is there of a shift in control from the examining boards to the
state?

In deference to the view of a writer who suggests that “all histories are motivated,
whether they are grand narratives or small stories...” (Simpson 2005: 25), I
acknowledge that I have been motivated in this research by my view that these
organisations merit scrutiny, central as they are to the qualifications structure which
so profoundly affects the life chances of the nation’s young people.

My interest in the English examining boards can be traced back to the 1970s, when I
began teaching in the English secondary system. My initial response was incredulity
(the typical reaction of those who arrive from abroad) at the eccentricity of a national
qualifications system provided by a group of independent and competing boards. This
interest developed after I became a teacher representative on one examining board,
progressing through a variety of roles for over twenty years. Research for a Master’s
dissertation (Sturgis 2000) revealed the paucity of attention the Boards' had received
from the academic community, and suggested the area as one worthy of further
investigation.

During my long connection with one examining board, my views about the system
were gradually altering from initial suspicion to a reluctant acknowledgement of its
merits. At the same time I was aware of the increasing restrictions being imposed on
the Board by central regulation. Eventually this gradual and almost surreptitious
change presented a natural focus for my research. Had I been aware at the outset of
the risks inherent in embarking on a doctoral thesis in such an under-researched field,
I might have sought a more well-trodden path. Certainly during the course of my work

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