Are educational standards rising or falling? it's a question frequently asked by parents and employers and just as frequently criticised by members of the teaching profession who feel that the arguments used to support both sides are often based on inadequate and inaccurate information.
Barry Turner examines some of the current methods of assessing standards and asks whether our de. mands for ' proof ' of good teaching are likely to lead to satisfactory conclusions or to the sort of testing mania that has swept the United States, leaving in its wake strikes, lawsuits and confusion about the aims of education.
Research by MARY LEWISOHN Producer JENNY de YONG