It was not until as late as 1990 that testing controversially moved away from being wholly exam-based to a mix of exam and course work. This was in an effort both to aid girls who were seen as under-performers in exams and to establish a more scientific measure of general intelligence. These progressive, albeit limited, measures were bitterly resented by sections of the British establishment who have seized on the latest exam results to vent their prejudices once again. Business also has cause for concern. Almost 30 years after sex equality was formally established in the workplace, women continue to be paid just two-thirds of men's wages.
Industry is geared to capitalising on such inequalities.
With women forming an ever-greater proportion of the work force, such differentials guarantee a plentiful supply of cheaper female labour and act to depress both sexes' wage rates. Underlying many of the public pronouncements is a rarely voiced fear of the political implications of the growing social divide expressed in this year's exam results. The concentration on gender serves to obscure the fact that differences in educational attainment between the sexes are relatively minor. Those taking A-level examinations are already a minority, being students deemed to be high achievers based on their GCSE results. Whatever the relative performance of boys and girls, the major determinant in exam outcomes is still social class.