Is exam the best way to judge howmuch a student has learned??
By archangle
@archangle (82)
India
November 18, 2006 1:33pm CST
exams and test r needed. but is a 3 hour test is enough to judge howmuch a student has learned in the whole year. is being able to answer only the important questions is learning is all about. what would u suggest the best way is?
13 responses
@VKXY62 (1605)
• Australia
18 Nov 06
If I am requiring someone to do a particular job I want someone capable of doing that job. If you fail a test for that job, I will get someone else. It is to sort out those that understand and those that do not. You may be great at English and rotten at maths. Chances are you will be good at a job involving communications and not become a math teacher. Say I wanted to employ a blasting technician, am I going to pick the person that can't drill a hole and load a shot, or the person that can do it unattended and do it quickly?
Parents also like to know how their children are doing compared to the rest against a standard.
@archangle (82)
• India
18 Nov 06
u have cornered me. but what i really want to know is a test for 3 hour is enough to find out how much the student has learned???
lets say a student passed ur test and what happens if it was luck that he knew only those questions??? what if a good student fails by rotten luck by not knowing only those questions. there r other factors also. about health, problems at home during exams... these affect a good students performance for it has done me. and some times helped me also with luck in the exams i didnot prepare well.
@archangle (82)
• India
18 Nov 06
i have always thought projects and assignments r best methods. they really help us understand the subject and we can all the research and get different books to look up. the best part is we could copy out importants words, sentences, phraces etc.
@ashuaaaaa (783)
• Germany
18 Nov 06
i hate exams and one reason for me not performing good in exams was because i never understood how they can test my ability. i will say that there should not be any exams and schools should only help to develop the skills of the students.
@GardenGerty (157837)
• United States
18 Nov 06
Tests basically illustrate how good a test taker a student is, not how much they have really learned. I do not know any school that asks kids to collect their own portfolio, but it would be interesting if it did. The early childhood program I was in collected portfolios on all of the kids--samples of work, anecdotal information that showed what the children knew and under stood. Example, for math: Little Johnny sorted the cars he had by color, he had 2 red and 2 green. Then he said "two cars and two cars are four cars." We added the date we observed him do that. I wish we had time to collect info that way on all students, as it shows the presence of practical knowledge.
@archangle (82)
• India
18 Nov 06
i understand tests r important. they train us to work out difficult situations in life just like difficult problems in maths. it helps us to perform our best under pressure. but to me test looses its appeal when they grade or mark our answer scripts. and our whole career and life depends on it.
@browneyedwomen (1827)
• United States
18 Nov 06
I dont think soo I always froze up on tests or exams...I hated them cause I couldlnt concentrate...I could go into a different room with my teacher and tell him all teh answers better than filling it out on a piece of paper!
@bettafish (352)
• Singapore
19 Nov 06
Exam is not a good way to find out how well a person learn. Imagine taking a written paper for all the stuff one learns in a single subject over a period of time. Exam only sample bit and pieces of what is learnt.
A better way should be devised to check on learning. Projects, formative assessments, portfolios gives a better picture of one's learning.
@wmg2006 (5381)
• United States
19 Nov 06
No exams do not tell you anything! Most people memorize the stuff prior to the test to only forget it later. Open discussion or debate will monitor the amount of learning even if a student does not participate because they are shy they will still learn more. All humans learn more from discussion than any other way!
@emarie (5442)
• United States
19 Nov 06
i didn't like them i HS, but i think its someone what nessary. we needed to take a final test to graduate HS but not from grade to grade like i see at some schools. i think the grade you get every year combined with test scored should determine how much you learn.
