English Language Test Papers [antikvár]

Although the process is in somé cases not yet completeP examining authorities generally have taken steps to re-model their syllabuses and papers in accordance with the change from the former General School Certificate to the General Certificate of Education. These Test Papers are planned to meet these changes and in particular the raising of the standard to the former Matriculation level. Most of the exercises will prove to be comfortably within the scope of the average candidate and somé should test the powers of the more able ones. Although a public examination eventually settles into a fixed pattern, in the wide field of English Language there will always be minor differences from year to year In difficulty and in the type of question. Examining authorities alsó differ ín the emphasis they place on the kinds of exercise commonly set. These Tests, we hope, will offer a reasonable variety of the types of question that the candidate may expect to find in the London and other " O " level examinations. The subject matter embraces a wide field including the Arts and Science ; and among the authors of the extracts we have included somé of the leading writers of the day. In an examination which offers separate passages for sumraarizing and for testing understanding in detail, we suggest that the difference between the two sorts of extract should be, ín short, "penny plain, twopence coloured". But to attempt too rigid a distinction would incur the danger, which is commonly recognised, of producing an examination too hard or too specialised to serve as a qualifying paper. Accordíngly, ín these Tests somé of the extracts we have used for the '' Summary'' question (No. 2) could have served for the '' Comprehension " passage (No. 3), and vice-versa. No passages for summarizing are included, however, which are based mainly on descriptions of natural scenery or of humán appearance and character, because these usually depend for their effect on distinctions too fine for pupils at this stage to evaluate. It should be borne in mind that the amount of reading matter in an examination paper is not necessarily an indication of its difficulty. The contours of an argument often stand out more clearly in a long, unabridged passage than in a short one which may have been condensed for examination purposes. Moreover, passages which provide an adequate rangé of "comprehension" questions at this