Examinations And Education

In this fast-paced technological society, mainstream modern education still depends on the 'old-fashioned' method - the examination system of testing and evaluation of learning. In fact, it has become more indispensable, being a tool which evaluates pupils' abilities without the presence of textbooks and other 'help buttons'. Every one who has had some form of formal education would have undergone an examination. The result of the examination would then be used the key to assessing the pupil's understanding of a subject. Although its growing importance is recognized by many, the examination system is also subjected to increasing criticism for being an inadequate and unfair tool to measure a pupil's success.

Individuals who want to do away with the examination system reason that its existence encourages the wrong behavior of pupils who focus on getting high grades rather than acquiring knowledge. These pupils will not be motivated to innovate nor strive for creativity. Instead, they become bookworms who regurgitate facts and concepts without knowledge of applying them to work and improving life for humanity. Education is more than a tool that enables pupils to make a livelihood in their later years. It also shapes their characters and the way they live their lives. However, it is believed the present examination system has drawn pupils further away from these sacred purposes.

If there is any regret a pupil should have, it would have to be this: memorizing chunks of information of a subject in preparation for an examination and then forgetting them once the examination is over. Certainly, what can be a greater waste than this?

On the flip side of the coin, examinations must have its set of benefits; even famous scientists of our times such as Marie Curie and Thomas Edison have taken examinations in the course of schooling.

Evidently, what makes people successful is not the examination system but the attitude one has towards learning. There is a temptation for some students to embrace a nonchalant attitude towards the examination system as they are the group of pupils who fare better in practicum than written theory. Of this lot of students, there could be a Marie Curie or Thomas Edison - one who is not apt at scoring in an examination.

A fair suggestion would be for the examination system to be further improved instead of removing it altogether. After all, removing a stone in one's path does not take away the possibility of an accident.