America's gift to the world when it comes to exams is the multiple-choice test, observed Barry McGaw of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development at a conference in Cambridge this week. "So the way to spot an intelligent American," McGaw said, is to see "who can spot the truth in one of four statements". The audience was left to draw its own conclusions about whether this was a less-than-veiled reference by the Australian to the present incumbent of the White House.