The nature of the British educational system is that specialization comes much earlier than in the U.S. By the time a student reaches 14, she has already chosen a specific number of subjects, usually nine or ten, to study for the Ordinary Levels. While some two-thirds of the population fail to reach the A-Levels, you do not mention the large number of vocational institutions and training programs catering to those people. There is even a direct alternative program to the A-Levels being offered in some schools focusing on vocational skills. To assume that nothing is being done for all the majority of people not taking the A-Levels, and for the even greater number not entering university, is unthinkable. You mention that a British columnist said that is everyone received a degree then it would be of no vlaue; this columnist has captured the ideology behind the British system.

For those who do reach the A-Levels, "ensuring consistency" among the eight boards has never been a problem. While it is true that standardization, as in the SATs, is impossible in the British system, there is hardly any inconsistency. All the boards offer course suitable for the level of learning they are meant for, and they ensure that they are on par with the others in difficulty. The differences between many of the boards on any given subject, especially the major ones, are slight: that a board should choose Thermodynamics and not Electronics as a component for 16-year-olds hardly compromises the quality of education or the standard of the tests.

- Kin Choonh Tan