Exams or no exams?

Exams or no exams?? Ha, I thought this was a rather interesting take on the need for exam.... Don't rule out exams

By Ignatius Low / Feb 1 2009Even at the grand old age of 36, I have recurring dreams about school.

In the dream, I'm either in junior college or university. The exams are two weeks away and panic seizes me when I realise there are one or two exam subjects that I have completely failed to prepare for.

According to books that explain dreams, to dream about being unprepared for an exam signifies some sort of insecurity, fear of not being able to meet expectations, or a fear of failure.

I would classify this recurring dream as a nightmare because in it, I'm genuinely unsettled and worried.

But there is always a silver lining.

The exam is always some days away and so, I tell myself in the dream, all is not lost.

I may not score well, but with some last minute mugging, I should be able to pass.

It's this dream that I immediately thought of when I read that a new government committee is doing away with the usual two big exams each year for Primary 1 and Primary 2 pupils.

Instead, there will be 'mini-tests' all year round, a system that's supposed to nurture students who 'enjoy learning all the time'.

It's the latest in a series of moves, not just in Singapore but worldwide, to shift the emphasis from exams to continual assessments.

The rationale for this seems sound. In systems where exams count for everything, students become stressed because everything hinges on their performance at the final hour.

Some students cannot take the pressure and crumble, often ruining what should have been a perfectly bright future. So putting all the emphasis on exams is unhealthy and rightfully so.

But the pendulum seems to have swung to the other extreme. More than ever before, there is talk of doing away with exams altogether.

I don't know about you but I find the gathering consensus to kill exams somewhat alarming. By taking the emphasis away from any one particular thing, we run the risk of putting the emphasis on every single thing.

This will fundamentally alter the equilibrium of the universe as far as school life goes.

First, consider the fact that exams work well for people who are, by nature, famously 'last minute''.

The fact is that the world is made up of plodders - hardworking types who do well consistently; and slackers - people who take it easy most of the time and burn the midnight oil at the end.

Taking away exams just shifts the advantage from slackers to plodders.

Why on earth should this be? Why should the tortoise, in the famous children's fable, win the race just because he's been more consistent than the hare?

I was brought up to believe that you should win the race by any means. If you're a slacker who prefers to sprint at the end, well that's just your style.

Now, I recognise that there are many students who cannot take the stresses of the exam cycle. But think of the equally numerous masses that thrive on it.

Many students like the fact that they can relax, play computer games and hang out in town during the normal weeks of school term, only to shut themselves in study rooms or at home when the exams draw near.

When I was a kid, I wasted many glorious hours listening to records, watching movies in town and going bowling.

Imagine if you couldn't go bowling with your friends because your homework for the next day will count towards your grade. And the next day's, and the day after that - endlessly sapping away your youth. Horrors!

Besides, the average student isn't a clear-cut plodder or a slacker. He's usually a combination of the two.

He's usually a plodder with subjects he loves - savouring every lab session, tutorial, assessment and project.

The subjects he hates, he tends to be quite 'last minute' about. Here, exams help him paper over a bad or indifferent performance all year round - a second reason why they are important.

When I was in school, I hated Mathematics. Throughout secondary school and college, I routinely skipped lectures and paid scant attention in tutorials.

Then with one month left to the exams, I would photocopy the best notes I could buy for good money from the neatest notetaker in school.

And then I would really suffer, trying to take in 10 lessons' worth of material in one. I had to practise on past '10-year series' questions like there was no tomorrow.

It didn't matter that I didn't understand what I was doing. What mattered was that I managed to memorise the steps needed to solve the equations just in the nick of time, and because of that, I passed.

I was also very bad at Chinese. So I used to memorise 10 Chinese proverbs and twist my essay in every way possible so I could use them in the exam essays and impress the examiners.

Imagine if every week's essay counted towards my grade. I would actually have to be good at the stuff.

A final reason why exams are important is that they typically represent the biggest events in a student's life.

And climbing that Everest each year is something that builds character.

If you think about it, exams are really a test run in project management at a young age. Students have to plan when to start preparing for exams and sort out their notes.

They have to manage the stepping up of their study time and the stepping down of their social engagements.

And in the end, exams were never just about the results.

It's the priceless moments spent bonding with your friends as you go through tough times.

It's the laughter and the tears (indeed the slight hysteria) as you recite by heart useless facts you know you will never again use.

It's the emotional blackmail that gets you that new gadget or holiday from your parents when you do well.

It's pooling everyone's collective wisdom to 'spot' the right exam questions, and it's the taste of victory or the agony of defeat as you compare answers after the exam.

To me, these are precious memories and life skills that you carry into adulthood. Do away with exams and all this will disappear.

Let's think twice before fundamentally changing our school systems. Exams have their place in the lives of students, as much as the tests and homework that constitute continual assessment.

Long live exams.