Exams do not accurately measure a student’s true knowledge and understanding of a subject, cause stress and anxiety, and do not encourage long-term retention of information.
Comprehensive answer to the question
Exams have been the traditional mode of assessing students’ knowledge and understanding of a subject for a long time. However, recent studies have shown that exams may not be the best way to evaluate a student’s true understanding of a subject. Firstly, exams do not accurately measure a student’s true knowledge and understanding of a subject. Many students suffer from test anxiety, which can affect their performance during exams. This can lead to lower grades, which do not reflect the student’s true understanding of the material. As Albert Einstein once said, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
Secondly, exams cause stress and anxiety, which can be detrimental to a student’s educational journey. Students who experience anxiety during exams may not perform as well as those who do not, leading to low grades and a decreased sense of self-worth. According to the American Psychological Association, “Test anxiety can interfere with working memory and attention, causing students to perform poorly, even if they know the material.”
Thirdly, exams do not encourage long-term retention of information. Students who cram for exams, merely memorizing information to regurgitate it on test day, tend to forget the material soon afterward. This means that even if a student does well on an exam, they may not retain the information long-term, which does not contribute to their overall education.
In conclusion, exams may not be the best way to assess a student’s knowledge and understanding of a subject. As quoted by Alfie Kohn in his book, “The Schools Our Children Deserve,” “Students do not learn from experience… they learn from reflecting on experience.” Rather than relying solely on exams, teachers should integrate reflective practices, discussions, and projects to truly assess a student’s understanding and encourage long-term retention of information.
Here is a table with some interesting facts related to the topic:
| Fact | Source |
|---|---|
| Finland, known for having one of the best education systems, doesn’t give students any standardized tests until they’re 18 years old. | Forbes |
| The average student takes 112 standardized tests in their K-12 education. | National Center for Fair and Open Testing |
| In South Korea, final exams are so important that the nation’s stock market opens a bit later on exam days to reduce traffic and noise. | BBC |
| A 2014 study found that students who took exams written by their teacher performed consistently better than students who took exams written by someone else. | Science Daily |
A video response to “Why exams are not good for students?”
The video titled “10 Things You Should Never Do Before Exams | Exam Tips For Students | LetsTute” provides students with 10 tips to improve their exam scores. These include avoiding distractions from social media, comparing oneself to others, and changing study strategies. Students are advised to stick to a well-planned study timetable, revise content instead of learning new material, and consume home-cooked food. The video also emphasizes the importance of getting enough sleep, having confidence, and not judging one’s potential based on exams.
Some more answers to your question
Exams in class are not equitable. The added pressure of the testing situation and the potential high stakes of the exam may cause some students to systematically underperform. Further, some students may have circumstances that require testing accommodations (e.g., extended test time, distraction-free environments).
Impacts of Exams on Lives of Students
- 1. Source of Stress and Pressure Exams are a source of stress and pressure for the students.
- 2. Exams as a Formality Many students are unable to identify the real purpose of education.
- 3. Loss of Confidence
Disadvantages of Exams
- Source of Stress and Pressure: Some people are burdened with stress with the onset of Examinations. The Stress of Performance creates Pressure for many.
At the time it was suggested that exams fail to develop “questioning, self sufficient learners”. Critics also often argue that exams promote a superficial understanding of topics, and that they are inauthentic: that is, they fail to represent the kinds of things students will be asked to do “in the real world”.
More interesting questions on the issue
Beside this, Why exams are not effective? As an answer to this: Rote memorization and cramming are popular techniques used by students as the deadline for the exam approaches. They are easier ways of retaining the knowledge short-term and acing the exams. However, rote learning is widely deemed both inefficient and non-conducive to “thinking” (Klemm, 2007).
Keeping this in consideration, Why are tests bad for students?
In reply to that: Key Takeaways. Standardized tests don’t accurately measure student learning and growth. Unlike standardized tests, performance-based assessment allows students to choose how they show learning. Performance-based assessment is equitable, accurate, and engaging for students and teachers.
Then, Are exams effective for students?
Testing is a part of learning and lets students “show what they know” and what they can do. Tests results show student strengths. You will learn what subject areas your student excels in. Tests results show student weaknesses.
Consequently, Do exams stress students? It is normal to feel some stress about upcoming tests, exams, papers or presentations. Indeed, a small amount of stress can challenge you and stimulate you to work harder. Exam stress becomes problematic when it interferes with your ability to perform and achieve your academic and learning goals.
Also question is, Why are exams bad? Response will be: Finally, the last reason why exams are bad is that they are unfair. It is the age-old dilemma: some students do not perform well in their exams. A student could be very intelligent and a hard worker, but he might not perform well during the exam because of any external matter like sickness.
What are the disadvantages of taking an exam in class? Response to this: 1. Exams in class are unduly stressful. Exams given in class are stressful for students (e.g., Zeidner, 2010) and instructors (Madara & Namango, 2016). The instructor and/or teaching assistant proctor the exam, which includes patrolling the classroom in search of signs of students cheating. There is a time limit.
Secondly, Why are some students unable to take a test? Further, some students may have circumstances that require testing accommodations (e.g., extended test time, distraction-free environments). It may be stigmatizing for those students to be unable to take the exam with their classmates and they may feel their absences are conspicuous (e.g., Timmerman & Mulvihill, 2015).
Secondly, Should course work be used instead of exams?
For this reason course work should be used to determine how much knowledge a student has about the subject instead of exams which only show how well the student can memorize. We should all learn from Finland where there are no mandated standardized tests, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school.
Also question is, What are the disadvantages of taking an exam in class?
Response: 1. Exams in class are unduly stressful. Exams given in class are stressful for students (e.g., Zeidner, 2010) and instructors (Madara & Namango, 2016). The instructor and/or teaching assistant proctor the exam, which includes patrolling the classroom in search of signs of students cheating. There is a time limit.
Correspondingly, Why are exams bad? The answer is: Finally, the last reason why exams are bad is that they are unfair. It is the age-old dilemma: some students do not perform well in their exams. A student could be very intelligent and a hard worker, but he might not perform well during the exam because of any external matter like sickness.
Hereof, Why are some students unable to take a test? Further, some students may have circumstances that require testing accommodations (e.g., extended test time, distraction-free environments). It may be stigmatizing for those students to be unable to take the exam with their classmates and they may feel their absences are conspicuous (e.g., Timmerman & Mulvihill, 2015).
Also asked, Why are exams so important? The response is: Exams enable us to accurately test students’ breadth of understanding of these topics. Critics of exams often instead promote “deep”, “rich”, and “authentic” assessment tasks. These are typically project-based tasks that draw on students’ creativity and interest.