Ling Xuan & Fan Xi ( 4C )

2. Are exams in our education system a curse or a blessing?

We believe that exams in our education system are a curse because they contradict the purpose of education. The goal of education should be to teach our children how to think, not what to memorise in order to get a good grade in an examination. The Huffington Post supports our thesis, stating that "students are flooded with isolated facts that are forgotten once the pencil is put down, never again revisited as curriculum and instructional focus shifts to the next test". The above emphasizes the fact that curriculum in our education system revolves around throwing students material to memorize, and scoring well every test is all that matters, instead of learning how to solve problems and think critically, which is what education should be about. Also, in " Standardized Teaching and Its Victims", it is mentioned that standardized-test scores often measure superficial thinking. This means that exams assess students on shallow learning, not on whether education has fulfilled its purpose. Hence, we believe that examinations are a curse because they contradict the purpose of education.
However, exams in our education system might be a blessing because they serve as a feedback mechanism for teachers. For example, if there is a specific topic that students do poorly on, teachers will be able to tell from their exam results, and place more emphasis on what the students are weak in, thus aiding their improvement. Without examinations as a form of assessment that evaluates students' learning and understanding, there is no gauge that exists for teachers to know the progress of their students. Hence, examinations might also be a blessing.