This volume is based on the research of DR W. Gareth Evans into state secondary schools in Wales from 1896-2000. At the time of his death in 2000, he had covered the period of 1896 to 1970. This is an original, comprehensive study of the history of external examinations in the schools of Wales during the twentieth century, based on documents that have never previously been analysed. The aim of the book is to demonstrate how the present system of external examinations has developed in Wales over the last century and illustrates the inherent difficulty of making judgments about standards in schools, past and present.