As many of us know, the examination season is well under way, with GCSE's coming to a close, AS exams all but finished and A2 exams continuing till the end of the month.
On a personal level, I've already undertaken five exams, with three more to come over the next two weeks. Having been involved in the Impossible Question scandal, it threw us all a little, and then on Friday, the third of the Business Studies exams was one of the worst I have ever sat, and that will probably be that in terms of gaining a university place.
But as we have all suffered in our lifetimes, exam seasons are the most stressful, time-consuming periods of time you will ever undertake. Especially in recent years, so much rests on doing well in these exams. For example, a bad exam, like I had, will now force my hand into paying three times as much money to the government to gain a degree I need to do well in my chosen career path. It's a very cruel, vicious circle.
Put it this way - one of my teachers knows one of the Chief Examiners very well, and asks him every year how he can do this to kids when he himself hated exams. 'Exams are necessary to improve education.' How can he set exams, when he hates them too?
It begs the question - why do we still have exams?
About 18 months ago, Denmark's education system trialled the use of the internet within examinations. They figured that in the 21st century, all information needed was accessible via an ethernet cable and an internet service provider. Those who took the exams said they found it tough, as the questions were made more difficult. But there was a sense of calm in the pre-exam build-up, and then in the exam hall too. So why not embrace the technology available to us?
Or what about snap exams? Revision is supposedly the refreshing of what you have already learnt. So why does everyone who revises every hour of every day feel that they're learning certain points for the first time? Surely a snap exam - one that is just handed to you with no warning - is the best option to test what you actually know, rather than what you have taught yourself? That way, not only do we test raw knowledge, but the testing of the education system becomes more realistic, and we can see where the faults are in specific centres' departments.
The final option we have available is to ditch them altogether, and use the likes of coursework and practical exams to assess students across the academic year, rather than allowing for two weeks at the end of your schooling life to define what you will become. Coursework allows for high grades to be attained through the use of skills learned throughout the 14 years you spend in school, rather than in the six weeks beforehand when you cram before an exam.
Exams, in their current format, are not what will help educate the young adults of the UK. We will soon learn that fact when our candidates are overlooked for students from Asia and Scandinavia. Until we bring our education system into the 21st century, the stress and heartbreak students feel before and after exams will shadow the grades achieved come August 18th. There needs to be a change to make sure we remain the most employable nation in the world.
Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com
No comments:
Post a Comment