Some argue that exams are the only way that students can really be tested in their knowledge of a subject and teach crucial life skills. In the UK, the average student will sit their GCSEs at 16 and then their A-Levels at 18, both of which can massively impact an individual’s future.
A well known impact of exams is the massive stress that this places on young people, with many developing mental health problems because of them. The results are susceptible to inequality; it is common for richer and more privileged children having private tuitions and better quality learning in private schools and so creating a gap between the rich and poor. It often leads to students just cramming for their tests and often forgetting the information as soon as they have completed the test, making the time they have spent learning things useless.
But in countries such as Finland, there are no mandated exams apart from one exam before they leave school for university and the success of this is shown in the fact that 93% of Fins graduate from school and the gap between the best performing and worst performing students is low.
The teaching quality in Finland is also extremely high, with teachers having a much more personal approach to teaching which is helped by smaller schools. And finally, in the UK, much of our grading system is set up to be like a competition, with grade boundaries depending on the results of other people. This ensures that a certain amount of people will fail and clearly illustrates the disadvantage of prioritising competition over cooperation.
Not only does this approach help to avoid the stress that comes with exams, but it also decreases inequality and is more representative of a student’s actual abilities and knowledge.
For all the latest Education News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
