Knowing our pupils

Question such as these are typical of the debate currently sweeping the whole area of 16 + assessement and certification both in England and Scotland. The Schools Council, for example, have put forward a proposal for a common system of examining at 16 + to replace the GCE and CSE. This proposal has been rejected for the moment by the Minister of State for Education, Mrs Shirley Williams. In Scotland, a large and influential committee set up by the Secretary of State for Scotland under the Chairmanship of Mr J Dunning has been deliberating for many months on the form assessment and certification at 16 + should take. This article describes a contribution to this debate in outlining a way in which some of the problems in usefully assessing the young school‐leaver may be overcome.