Cambridge University Press Local Examinations …assets.cambridge.org/97805217/09422/frontmatter/9780521709422... · Cambridge examinations in the Straits Settlements (A/LB 1/2) 47

E X A M I N I N G T H E WO R L D

Examinations are deeply embedded in our culture and governthe career prospects of millions of people around the world. TheUniversity of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, nowCambridge Assessment, was at the forefront of introducing pub-lic examinations for schools with the aim of raising standardsin education. Examining the World explains how the organisa-tion, established in 1858, has evolved into a world authority onassessment with three distinct areas of operation: internationalexaminations, UK examinations and English examinations forSpeakers of Other Languages. This is the first full-length his-tory of the organisation, describing the development of its exam-inations from the early days to their present form, by authorsassociated with Cambridge Assessment and other parts of theUniversity. It sets the history of the Cambridge Local Examina-tions Syndicate in its institutional context as a department of theUniversity and in the immense changes which have taken placein examining in the UK and the wider world.

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E X A M I N I N G

T H E W O R L DA HIST ORY OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

LOCAL EXAMINATIONS SYNDICATE

EDITED BY

SANDRA RABANTrinity Hall, Cambridge






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C© The University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate 2008

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no reproduction of any part may take place withoutthe written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2008

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

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The views expressed in this book are those of the authors of therespective chapters and not necessarily those of

Cambridge Assessment.






To all Cambridge candidatespast and present and future






Contents

List of illustrations page ixList of contributors xiiForeword xiiiSimon Lebus

List of abbreviations xv

Introduction 1

Sandra Raban

1 The University 12

Elisabeth Leedham-Green

2 Cambridge Local Examinations 1858–1945 36

Andrew Watts

3 Home examinations after 1945 71

Helen and John Patrick

4 International examinations after 1945 106

Greg Lacey

5 English language examinations 131

Peter Falvey

6 Research and development 158

Gillian Cooke






viii Contents

Appendices

1 Chronology 179

2 Secretaries of the Syndicate 182

Bibliography 183

Index 189






Illustrations

1 Simon Lebus, Group Chief Executive, CambridgeAssessment, 2002 (photograph by Bruce Robertson,Cameo Photography) page xiv

2 HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, Chancellor of the University,with John Reddaway, the Secretary, and Jim Jones, theOperations Manager, at the Syndicate in 1993 (UCLESAnnual Review, 1993) 3

3 The Rugby Centre box taken to examinations by the PresidingExaminer and the abacus which was used in examinationprocessing until 1976 (photograph by Nigel Luckhurst) 10

4 George Downing Liveing, Honorary Secretary from 1861 to1862 (Cambridge Assessment) 15

5 George Forrest Browne, Secretary from 1870 to 1892(Cambridge Assessment) 19

6 John Neville Keynes, Secretary from 1892 to 1910(Cambridge Assessment) 20

7 Michael Halstead, Chief Executive from 1993 to 2002, visitingGarden International School, Kuala Lumpur (UCLESAnnual Review, 1997) 24

8 Frank Wild, Secretary from 1972 to 1983 (CambridgeAssessment) 27

9 Early examination processing: the punch card room at 1 MillLane in the late 1950s or early 1960s (M/P 3/2; photograph byCambridge Daily News) 29

10 The Data Centre at Cambridge, 2006 (photograph by NigelLuckhurst) 30

11 Syndicate Buildings, Mill Lane, Cambridge, 1886 (M/P 5/2) 3212 Syndicate Buildings, 1 Hills Road, Cambridge, on the site of

the Perse School for Boys, 1965 (M/P 5/3; photograph byHenk Snoek) 33

13 1 Regent Street, Cambridge, formerly British TelecomOffices, 2007 (photograph by Nigel Luckhurst) 34

14 9 Hills Road, Cambridge, formerly S. Cambridgeshire DistrictCouncil Offices, 2007 (photograph by Nigel Luckhurst) 34






x List of illustrations

15 John Reddaway, Secretary of the Syndicate, receiving theQueen’s Award for Export Achievement from James Crowden,Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, 1992 (M/P 4/2) 35

16 A letter from candidate 4733, c. 1890s (PP/JNK 1/3) 3817 Certificate for the Senior Local Examination, 1919. Note that

it was issued by the Local Examinations and LecturesSyndicate and bore the Vice-Chancellor’s signature (A/C 2/2) 46

18 Letter of 8 July 1891 concerning the establishment ofCambridge examinations in the Straits Settlements (A/LB 1/2) 47

19 Cutting from the Journal of Education 1893 criticising theEnglish Literature paper in the Higher Local Examination forthat year (PP/JNK 2/2) 51

20 A board from the exhibition sent to Paris in 1900 showing thegrowth of colonial examinations (M/PE 1; photograph byNigel Luckhurst) 56

21 English History paper for overseas candidates for the JuniorExamination, December 1940 (Bound Volume 1940) 64

22 Standard setting for the Sudan, 1955 (M/P 1/4; photograph byRamsey and Muspratt Studios, Cambridge) 67

23 School Certificate Question Paper for July 1928, Hygiene andObject Drawing (Bound Volume 1928) 72

24 Walter Nalder Williams, Secretary from 1921 to 1945(Cambridge Assessment) 74

25 Former warehouse, Combine House, Harvest Way,Cambridge, 2004 (photograph by Cameo Photography) 81

26 Pre-computerised examination processing in the 1950s (M/P3/2; photograph by Cambridge Daily News) 89

27 A level Performing Art students at Joseph ChamberlainCollege, 1989 (UCLES Annual Report, 1990) 98

28 The Craft Hall at 1 Hills Road during Art marking, 1980s(M/P 5/8; photograph by Peter Askem) 101

29 Progress House, Coventry, 2004 (photograph by CameoPhotography) 103

30 Report from Sime Road Internment Camp, Malaya, 1945(A/WWII 1/3) 108

31 Offices of the West African Examinations Council, Lagos,1964 (M/P 1/7) 111

32 Home Economics examination at St Mary’s School, Kuching,Sarawak, 1956 (M/P 1/6) 112

33 Craftwork examination at the Teachers’ Training College atNasinu, Fiji, 1956 (M/P 1/6) 113

34 Celebrations for the 20th anniversary of IGCSE, Cambridge2005 (Cambridge International Examinations; photograph byNigel Luckhurst) 115






List of illustrations xi

35 Caribbean Secondary Schools Conference, 1955 (M/P 1/5) 11836 UCLES examination papers arriving in Zimbabwe and being

sorted for despatch to the regions under the supervision of theZimbabwe Ministry of Education and Syndicate staff, 1993(UCLES Annual Review, 1993) 121

37 David Barrett, Syndicate subject officer, visiting TemasekJunior College, Singapore, 1992 (UCLES Annual Review,1992) 125

38 Bahamas examination room, 1948 (M/P 1/2) 12639 Meeting between local examinations officers and John Sadler

from the Syndicate’s International Division in the Bahamas,1992 (UCLES Annual Review, 1992) 127

40 Students studying science in Brunei (UCLES Annual Review,1992) 128

41 Victoria International School, Tanzania, 1993 (UCLESAnnual Review, 1994) 129

42 Students studying for the Cambridge First Certificate inEnglish at EF International School, Hills Road, Cambridge,2007 (photograph by Nigel Luckhurst) 135

43 Letter explaining the absence of Indian POWs from theexamination from Miss E. Herdman, British Red Cross. toJ. O. Roach, June 1945 (PP/JOR 1/1a xxvi) 136

44 Certificate of Proficiency in English paper on British Life andInstitutions, December 1964 (Bound Volume 1964) 138

45 Jack Roach, Assistant Secretary from 1925 to 1945(Cambridge Assessment) 145

46 EFL examination in Rome, 1956 (M/P 1/3) 14647 IELTS in China, 2006 (photograph from British Council

Beijing, provided by Sarah Deverell) 15148 Cutting from the Journal of Education 1893 concerning the

dangers to health of examination timetables (PP/JNK 2/2) 16249 Joseph Lloyd Brereton, Secretary from 1945 to 1961

(Cambridge Assessment) 16750 Drosier House, Harvey Road, Cambridge, 2007. Former

offices of the Test Development and Research Unit(photograph by Nigel Luckhurst) 169

51 Awarding Meeting for the Singaporean N level Examination,2007 (photograph by Nigel Luckhurst) 175

Archival references are to the Cambridge Assessment Archive.

map

1 Countries (shaded) where Cambridge Assessment had centresin 2006 xvi






Contributors

Sandra Raban is Emeritus Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and aformer UCLES Syndic.

Elisabeth Leedham-Green is the former Deputy Keeper of theCambridge University Archives.

Andrew Watts has worked on national tests for 14-year-olds and theCambridge Assessment Network for Cambridge Assessment since 1992.

Helen Patrick is a former research officer and senior research consultantwith UCLES.

John Patrick is a historian and former teacher in the Aberdeen Collegeof Education.

Greg Lacey is the former History Subject Officer and Officer in Chargeof IGCSE with UCLES. He is currently a trainer and senior examiner withCambridge Assessment.

Peter Falvey is a former officer with the British Council and has spentsome years seconded to UCLES as an English Language specialist andteacher education adviser. He is currently a part-time consultant with Cam-bridge ESOL.

Gillian Cooke has been the Group Archivist with Cambridge Assess-ment since 1996.






Foreword

I am grateful to Sandra Raban and her fellow contributors who, withthe support of our Archivist Gillian Cooke, have put together thiscollection of essays to commemorate the 150th anniversary of theestablishment in 1858 of the University of Cambridge Local Exami-nations Syndicate, now known as Cambridge Assessment.

It is, of course, quite possible to be educated without being exam-ined, but the reality during the 150 years since the Syndicate’s foun-dation is that public examinations and the experience of them havebecome an almost universal phenomenon. The memory of the row ofdesks in the school room on a hot summer afternoon, the anxiety andanticipation and then the surge of adrenalin as the paper is turnedover, all these are part of the common currency of modern life, anexperience shared beyond culture, time and place.

Some of the credit for this (if credit is due) belongs to CambridgeAssessment. Now, 150 years after its establishment, it sets and marksover 8 million examinations in 150 countries around the world, theonly awarding body still owned by a university, and very much a globalforce in education. As such it serves the University’s educational out-reach, allowing Cambridge to engage with millions of learners aroundthe world and to impact positively on their education.

This has always been a hallmark of the Cambridge approach andis one of the reasons the Syndicate has survived for 150 years andstayed true to its original purpose. This book describes how thathas happened and how in the modern world, where we face theprospect of pen and paper exams finally giving way to computer-basedtests, Cambridge’s commitment to support all that is best in educa-tion means that it continues to be a progressive force, committed to






xiv Foreword

modernisation, at the forefront of innovation and, in all its endeav-ours, devoted to the service and promotion of learning.

Simon LebusGroup Chief Executive, Cambridge Assessment

1 Simon Lebus, Group Chief Executive, Cambridge Assessment, 2002(photograph by Bruce Robertson, Cameo Photography)






Abbreviat ions

A level Advanced level of the General Certificate of EducationA2 Second half of an A level qualification post-2000AS Advanced Supplementary Examination equivalent to half an A

levelCIE Cambridge International ExaminationsCPE Certificate of Proficiency in EnglishEFL English as a Foreign LanguageESOL English for Speakers of Other LanguagesFCE First Certificate in EnglishGCE General Certificate of EducationGCSE General Certificate of Secondary EducationIELTS International English Language Testing ServiceIGCSE International General Certificate of Secondary EducationLEA Local education authorityO level Ordinary level of the General Certificate of EducationOCR Oxford, Cambridge and RSA ExaminationsRSA Royal Society of ArtsUCLES University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate






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Cambridge University Press Local Examinations …assets.cambridge.org/97805217/09422/frontmatter/9780521709422... · Cambridge examinations in the Straits Settlements (A/LB 1/2) 47