The O Grade of the Scottish Certificate of Education

S ummary . The O grade of the Scottish Certificate of Education was introduced in 1962 as a certificate appropriate for those in the top 30 per cent of the age‐group who had completed at least four years of secondary education. The number of subject presentations has risen from about 177,000 to over 246,000 in the first seven years—and it has been observed that pupils of under‐average ability have been among the successful candidates. This has raised questions ( a ) on the relation between the ability measured by a verbal reasoning quotient and success in O grade examinations, and ( b ) on the standard of the examinations. The article contains a brief review of the history of certificates of this type in Scotland, a theoretical and practical study of the VRQ as predictor of success and of the relation between standard of examination and likelihood of success by under‐average pupils, and an account of the performance of some of these pupils. The results show that the VRQ is a moderately good predictor of success; that successes by under‐average pupils are compatible with this: but that recent interpretations of ‘a reasonable prospect of success' will, if accepted, require major alterations in pass‐marks

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