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By: K Myrna Keerthi, 3/7.
Examinations are defined as a formal test of a person’s knowledge or proficiency in a subject or skill. It is conducted globally across many school systems. Disguised as a harmless method of mastering a certain subject, examinations can cause unwanted stress and even be impractical. After going through an estimated twenty years of their lives in school, the countless examinations students sit through become a meaningless yearly exercise. These examinations will not determine how well they will survive in the workforce. Along with that, examinations are not for everybody. A person can be gifted in areas other than academics. Forcing them to squeeze into the narrow mould that is examinations would not do the student’s true ability justice. However, it can be argued that examinations have been in place for a long time and have been largely successful. Even so, some people get left behind as a result. As such, I agree to a large extent that examinations are not an accurate measure of a student’s ability.
Firstly, examinations do not test the skill of a student for its real-world applications. To become a doctor, students must be able to get through the rigours of a competitive academic field. There are many academic qualifications that must be attained before becoming a doctor. However, examinations do not prepare them for the emotional aspect of being a doctor. Emotions run high when you have a person’s life in your hands. Being able to manage and control them requires someone who is mentally strong. Even if you are exemplary in your examinations and are able to graduate with a medical degree, if you do not have the heart and mind to serve others, being a doctor becomes pointless. In a scenario that a patient is in a critical condition, you must not crumble under the pressure but rise to the occasion. Hence, in the real world, examinations do not measure a student’s ability.
Secondly, examinations can be a poor indicator of one’s true skill and talent. People have different strengths and talents. Academic achievement is only one way a student can show their abilities. Generalising and stating that examinations are the only way that students can measure their ability is completely untrue. For example, a student may be very talented in singing. However, some Singaporean parents seem to have the mentality of “Academics first, passion second.” As a result, if their child is not particularly good in academics, it is highly likely that they would not take the child’s interest or passion seriously. Because of this, their talent gets suppressed due to the lack of support. The emphasis on doing well in examinations is so great that if the student does poorly in their examinations, they are on the path of failure. Doing poorly in their examinations will not result in them losing their abilities. Sadly, they might find that showcasing their talents would inevitably prove to be futile.
However, examinations have been practised for many decades. Generations after generations can remember a time when they sat for an examination. Certain jobs require certain levels of academic achievements and others do not. This causes some to be at a disadvantage. Currently, in the over-competitive workforce, employers may want to hire people with certain qualifications that may not be needed. For example, to obtain the simple job of a receptionist, two people head for an interview. One of them has exceptional communication skills but graduated from a less widely recognised university. The other is mediocre in communicating but has graduated from the most prestigious university in the entire country. The latter would more likely be hired. Hence, we can conclude that people who have the skill may not get hired as education is more favoured during employment.
The process of conducting examinations still has a long way to go in terms of being more accurate. There are gaps that need to be filled to maximise the effectiveness of them. Examinations can be more realistic. Instead of making a student memorise the textbook and regurgitate the information out, we can get them to do a more hands-on examination. They can be the practical version of what they learn in the classroom. Students should also be able to choose a subject if it interests them. As of now, music is not a subject offered in the O-level examinations. It and many other subjects should be available to every student. To conclude, using the same system to test very diverse and unique individuals is not an accurate measure of measuring their ability.
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