Dear Editor,

The standards of education have changed all over the world. People do what they perceive as best at the time. This holds true for students, teachers and assessors of education. There is a gradient from the general expectations of students to teachers and from teachers to national educational monitors. And standards of assessment have also changed.

I remember former MP and Minister in the PNC/UF coalition Government Randolph Cheeks describing in 1970 how difficult it was to pass English Language at the London GCE O’Level. He said it was an achievement for anyone on the Corentyne just to pass; and people were aware that jobs in the then relatively well-paid Civil Service depended heavily on being successful in this subject. Almost all of his students at St. Stanislaus College passed English that year. There was one A among them, a great feat in those times, because in the entire country there was only one other distinction at that exam.

In 1971, however, his students accounted for 6 distinctions, and the number of passes and distinctions increased tremendously ever after throughout the country. I knew that an eminent teacher like Mr. Cheeks had not changed his methods of teaching, and I asked him 5 years later what was the reason for the sudden drastic rise in grades. Was it perhaps that London implemented the examination of English as a foreign language, as he had said they were considering doing? He gave the question considerable thought. When he finally answered, he said, “I don’t know. I really and truly don’t know.”

As a Maths teacher, I was aware that ‘Modern Maths’ was foisted upon students in England around 1971 and then on us, so perhaps the examining Boards took the opportunity to make English easier to pass. Whatever the reason, it was obvious that the standards had changed.

What standards of assessment did the 1964 UNESCO Educational Survey Mission cited by Henry Jeffrey in SN 2010-03-17 use to assess primary school education? Was it like the one that assessed pre-1971 English? I would indeed be grateful if Dr. Jeffrey, with his evident access to such material, could shed some light on this issue. It would be a real contribution to understanding the educational climate that affects all our lives.

In the meantime I will continue to use the quality of output by the average primary school graduate of the 1950s and 60s, as I remember it, as a basis for comparison of the quality of output of such graduates today.

Yours faithfully,
Alfred Bhulai