Examinations are considered a vital part of the process of learning in all stages of education especially in Higher Education However, nowadays the subject of their abolition has been a matter of controversy among teachers, parents, students and of course academic societies all over the world. This is mainly due to the fact that examinations may be considered as a psychological stressful condition for the students while at times, it is suggested that results may not be objective due to various direct or indirect factors.
Being informal or formal tests or evaluations, examinations actually intend to measure a number of aspects: knowledge, skills, aptitude competences etc. For this purpose a variety of activities and ways are used: they may be administered verbally, they may be a pen and paper exam, they may be directed through research and statistics, the list is endless.
The question, however, still remains. Should exams be totally abandoned? According to University of Macquarie’s arts dean, John Simons, ‘Students would probably achieve more of their potential if they were freed from the pressure of examinations.’ (Simons, 2011, p 3). In my opinion this is neither applicable nor sensible. Through exams students are given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge on the subjects they study and their ability to use and present this knowledge whenever and under any circumstances this knowledge is needed. Life is getting more demanding every day and students in Higher Education are required to obtain as many qualifications as possible and be prepared to be tested when looking for a job or when they should either sustain a position or claim for a promotion. Here is that examinations are coming to assist students since they allow students understand whether they are going to be able to deal with work demand in the future.
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On the other hand, strengths and weaknesses of students may be assessed through exams, thus assisting students to focus on overcoming their weaknesses. The major criticism against exams in Higher Education tend to relate to either the misuse or overuse of exams, as well as the fact that they may have a negative impact on students’ psychology. ‘Test anxiety is considered a serious issue in the field of education and relates to the extent to which individuals find examinations threatening ‘(Spielberger & Vagg, 1995).
It is indeed true that for many students anxiety related to negative results is very common. Students may feel depressed, present low self-esteem, or low self-confidence even have physical symptoms of trebling etc. Moreover, sleeping and eating habits can be negatively impacted (Jernelov et al 2009). Unfortunately life is quite demanding and stressful in our days, so people and especially students should learn how to cope with these difficulties. Positive impact may be a motivation for students and helpful in their future working life.
On the light of the above I am inclined to believe that an entire abolishment of examinations is not desirable in Higher Education. What should be better might be a different approach of assessing examinations, preparing students for a demanding future life through the use of different tasks such as presentations, research reports, creative responses, essays, reflective journals and so forth. Exams do promote learning in various ways., for example they teach them how to be organised, how to get the most from what they are taught and how to treat stress in order to motivate and strengthen themselves.
