Exams: Are they really a good reflection of academic ability?

[Happy-Go-Lucky]

I think exams are extremely poor methods of finding student's abilities. So much of it is luck. You can learn and be great at so much of the course, and then hardly any of it comes up in the exam. Similarly, some people strike lucky and only revise a couple of things which happen to come up. So often I have known pages and pages of facts and references, and ended up unable to use any of them just because they didn't suit the questions. It's rediculous. If a different question was asked, I could get brilliant marks, but I never strike lucky there. I think there should be many more questions to choose from, so are very much more likely to be able to write about something you really shine in. We are all specialising in different things, so we should be able to answer questions accordingly. Obviously there will always be a few people who are brilliant at everything and that's fine, but I'm talking about the rest of us. I frequently feel I've been cheated out of a good mark, getting an average one which I really feel does not reflect my effort and knowledge of the subject, simply because the exam focused on a couple of little areas which I did know stuff on, but I couldn't show off my abilities in.

Opinions?

[Rilla]

No


[hr]
“Stepwise methods abusers frequently would rather not think about their data, for reasons that are funny to describe over a second Guinness”

[exnihilo]

Yes.

[themanwiththehair]

I agree-especially when you factor in how a person reacts in an exam situation. For instance, someone who has done the entire course may get worse marks than someone who has done half simply because they cant handle the pressure-is this fair?

[princess]

I so agree with this thread, that is exactly what I feel like a lot of the time in exams!

[Haunted]

No

Edit: No, as in exams are bad

[Rilla]

[s]Haunted wrote on 19:19, 17th Jan 2005:
No

Edit: No, as in exams are bad


yes that's what i meant.
no, exams are bad.

they only measure how good your memory is. not how many original ideas you have, or how practical you are, or how you cope with problems and work in the "real world"


[hr]
“Stepwise methods abusers frequently would rather not think about their data, for reasons that are funny to describe over a second Guinness”

[Paranoid]

Considering last week after my lecturers harping on about how much detail they expect in our exam answers, I was left with SO much still to write and no time left to do it.

There is nothing more frustrating than knowing what you need to do and not being given the time to do it!

[Setsuna]

The one thing that gets me is the massive emphasis on how you do in a 3 hour exam. For my 3 senior honours courses last semester, I had masses of labs and tonnes of coursework, particularly in weeks 10 to 12, yet it all amounted to a paltry 33%. The stress associated with some of the reports was immense, particularly because results werent available for analysis until very late on.

Ive worked constantly since before christmas, but having sat my exams, I feel that they just werent a reflection of what I really knew.

I used to laugh at people that got so worked up about exams, but now I find that at in honours, the stress is really starting to get to me. I wake up on exam day with severe stomach cramps and ive even taken a panic attack in an exam which drastically reduced my chance of getting a first. There is nothing more frustrating than mental block in an exam when you know it.

The thing is, I KNOW im not the only person that stresses, I see people in exams looking like theyre ready to throw up, or people who have obviously beeing crying beforehand, people who I know are particularly dedicated and studious.

In conclusion - does it HAVE to be 66%?? The arts students I know seem to have less coursework, yet have 50% exams. argh.

Sorry. Ranting.

[exnihilo]

But you'll face pressure in the workplace too - surely better to get used to it at school and university? Where did all this exam stress appear from anyway? People always used to manage...

(ducks)

[Robo]

No, exams alone are certainly not a good measure of academic ability. it is more a measure of 'exam technique', and being able to predict what ur lecturer is likely to put in the exam. also all it takes is to have a headache on the day of the exam and ur grade automatically goes down by at least 10%.

They do however have their uses in scientific subjects, were problems sheets need to be used to assess a persons problem solving ability. however again being able to predict the lecturer and his style of questions is a massive advantage, and has nothing to do with academic ability.

i think the problem is in the weighting of modules, far greater emphasis should be placed on coursework. maybe 50-50?

[hr]"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." --Bertrand Russell

"There's not a doubt in my mind." --George W. Bush

[exnihilo]

Aren't most courses already 50-50?

[Happy-Go-Lucky]

[s]exnihilo wrote on 20:23, 17th Jan 2005:
Aren't most courses already 50-50?



No. Me and most of my biology classmates have it weighted 33% coursework, 66% exam.

[exnihilo]

I think I probably agree with weighting towards exams for sciences. Just because of the nature of how the information lends itself to assessment.

[Nell]

you should think yourself luck with 66 33, most of my modules are 100% exam. not great

[themanwiththehair]

hmmm....would tend to agree with the weighting for sciences. However, certainly in my experience, science (biology certainly) arent really based on your problem solving ability. They are just like most other subjects and based on the ability to remember lots of stuff and put it down on paper. Isnt really a great deal of thinking beyond a structural plan. So currently wouldnt agree with the 60% 40% we see in our exams right now:S

[Setsuna]

Exnihilo, I get the feeling you are/were an arts student.

Its not a case of 'Katy is AA and Tom is aa. What genotypes will their offspring be?'

You get a sentence question and you write an essay on it. Not only do you have to structure an argument, but you have to back it up with scientific fact and specific references and studies and their findings. You have to be able to recall the names of the people that carried out the study, the species names (usually completely unpronouncable), the year it was carried out. Thats just the start of it.

Its round about then the mental block kicks in.

100% exam assessment sounds hellish.

[exnihilo]

Apologies, no disrespect in any way meant to scientists. And, for what it's worth, I've been both Arts and Science in my time and am now broadly interdisciplinary.

[The Cellar Bar]

exams are/have been just one part of assessing ability. Essays and courseworks have always played in part in the overall picture. In fact, it used to be that essays overall going back to 1st year were used in the assessments made during Finals. It's never just a case of sink or swim on the basis of fluke or headache one afternoon.

And like exnihilo says a) they were survived before and b)they reflect some of the pressure experienced out dere in the big bad world. There are gonna be times when complaining of a headache or needing time to put some ideas together just ain't gonna be an option.

Essays and courseworks hone the skills of putting together something cogent, essentially in your own time. Exams are just a way of seeing if someone is capable of putting it altogether when someone else sets the pace they want the answers at. And to sound like a total and absolute cynic, a newer element is that it removes the ability to access the Web an all. It's you or nothing basically which shouldn't be any real pain if you want the letters after your name

[Iain]

To me it only works if the exam is fair, which is quite a big element. For example, physics last year I failed the second semester. My coursework was running at around 80%. The exam was basically so evil that it stretched us all to our limits - in some exams you get that feeling that anyone can pass with average work but it takes someone good to get the top grades - here, no; and that's just a tad unfair!

Someone can have their Psychology dissert. on "Resultant stress of the exam situation and its affects on candidate performance." I look forward to reading.

In answer to the post, then - no, I don't think so. Give us questions with the books in front and we'd be getting fairer reflections - that's how it can work in many real life cases!