Race for Ignorance

The mother country is leading the way to dumbed-down education. What is it now? Spelling doesn't count on English tests. Link to The Telegraph. Opening paragraphs:

Skool xams definitly aint what they used to be. Concern about the nation's spelling abilities may have spawned a best-selling book and a television series, but for today's pupils, ignorance of "i before e except after c" is no barrier to success.

Examiners marking an English test taken by 600,000 14-year-olds have been told not to deduct marks for incorrect spelling on the main writing paper, worth nearly a third of the overall marks.