Examination of country's past dropped (4)
I believe the answer is:
oral
'examination' is the definition.
(I know that oral is a type of examination)
I don't understand the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for oral that I've seen before include "language exam" , "Unwritten examination" , "Relating to the mouth - exam" , "Mouth-related" , "Exam using speech" .)