John Marks - Telegraph Many others only co-operated when we promised them anonymity. Our most striking finding, from our sample of more than 2,000 schools, was that children's chances of getting good results so vital to their future careers varied dramatically from school to school, even between schools of the same type in similar areas.  In 1992 the Department of Education published A-level and GCSE results for all state schools, and performance tables have since become a regular annual feature in the press. John Marks was born in Marylebone, London, on June 18 1934, the son of a lorry driver, and educated at Kingsbury County Grammar School, from where he won an open scholarship to Sidney Sussex, Cambridge, to read Natural Sciences - he was the first member of his family to go to university. After graduating he worked as a research scientist at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston (1955-57), then took a Certificate in Education at Cambridge . For two years Marks taught Maths and Physics at his old school before taking a PhD in Nuclear Physics at Middlesex Hospital Medical School. From 1964 to 1966 he lectured in Mathematics and Physics at Regional University, Orebro, Sweden. He then accepted a post at the Polytechnic of North London , which was developing a reputation for political activism and student disruption. It was the beginning of Marks's dissatisfaction with the direction British education was taking, and in 1975 he published a book, with Keith Jacka and Caroline Cox, Rape of Reason - the Corruption of the Polytechnic of North London. Marks continued to teach there for 20 years, with a break in 1975-76 to take a Diploma in History and Philosophy of Science at his old Cambridge college, Sidney Sussex. In the early 1980s he decided to take early retirement to concentrate on his work with the Educational Research Trust. A prolific writer, he contributed to many papers for think tanks and periodicals. His books included Science and the Making of the Modern World (1983), and (both with Caroline Cox) The 'West," Islam and Islamism: Is ideological Islam compatible with liberal democracy? (2003) and This Immoral Trade: Slavery in the 21st Century (2006). He wrote articles for a number of publications, including The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Times Higher Educational Supplement and New Scientist . Marks served as secretary of the Education Study Group at the Centre for Policy Studies from 1980 and as administrator of the National Council for Educational Standards (1980-83). He was also a member of the Schools Examination and Assessment Council (1990-93) and the National Curriculum Council (1992-93). For many years he taught at the Open University , and he was Professor of Education at Buckingham University. He was appointed OBE in 1994. John Marks married, in 1963, Finola Butler, who survives him with their son and two daughters. John Marks, born June 18 1934, died February 18 2012