| Abstract: | European education systems are faced with the necessity to re-think curriculum and examinations for the 16–19 age group as a result of the raising of the school leaving age in many countries and the increasing numbers of those voluntarily staying on at school. The paper critically reviews methods of pupil assessment at the beginning, during and at the end of the second cycle of secondary education. It notes a trend towards more global assessment based on a mixture of external and internal, periodic and terminal, subjective and objective tests. It discusses these findings in the light of the restricted number of university places available and the demand for “open entry” and suggests that a reform of higher education itself might contribute to a better fit between social demand and opportunities for higher education. |
