Keep assessing

The present debate about maintaining educational standards misses one important point. It assumes that a one-off examination is a better way of gauging a candidate’s ability and attainment than continuous assessment.

The one-off exam is a lottery. The selected questions may not bring out the best in a candidate and the candidate may be feeling off colour on judgment day, not to mention normal stress.

Assessing the candidate’s work throughout the year is less likely to have these detrimental effects. What about ensuring that marking standards are comparable across the country? That could be achieved by central moderation of the teachers’ assessments.

I do not advocate the entire removal of the final exam, but several years of work and a young person’s whole future should not be determined by performance on a single day.

HENRY L PHILIP Grange Loan, Edinburgh

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