| Exam-Oriented Education, Love It or Hate It! | |
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| Mar 13, 2006 22:57 |   |
 | I would venture to say, we are living in a society that, more often than not, the result of the examination decides people's future. We are more or less judged by a certain piece of paper/ papers especially when we look for a job. A single piece of paper becomes the Lightness unbelievably Unbearable of Being... Are only children/youths in China facing the problem? |
| Mar 13, 2006 23:44 | #1 |
| No, not only people in China are facing this "problem" - Singapore too. Am quite sure it is similar in most other Asian countries where education is prized. When applying for a job, how does the company assess the applicant's ability/capability ? It has to be on his paper qualifications unless they are taking in experienced personnel. It is only after joining the company that an employee can be assessed based on his working abilities, etc. Some reputable companies also prefer to take in students of certain prestigious colleges/ universities only - another instrument to judge an applicant's capability. In some companies, even the career potential of an employee is assessed at the interview stage - ie whether they can become CEO or an office assistant. Once it is determined, the lucky (or capable) ones will have his career path charted. Hard luck for the ones assessed with average potentials. In most cases the staff doesn't know his assessed potential. So he can keep on slogging, thinking and hoping that he would become a CEO 1 day - which will never happen !! |
| Mar 13, 2006 23:49 | #2 |
| I Think that's the reason that fake-diplomas/ certifications are so rampant! |
| Jun 30, 2009 21:21 | #3 |
| GUEST13324 | The most fundamental problem with an exam-oriented education system is that examinations distort students’ motivation and learning by over-emphasising the importance of the scores as outcomes and measures of students’ abilities (Paris, S., 1995). Exams can redefine students’ goal for learning in counterproductive ways that make the outcome more important than learning as inquiry, reflection, and process. Research on academic motivation indicates that a focus on extrinsic goals (such as exam scores) and task completion (such as getting through the exam) undermines intrinsic motivation, interest, and persistence (Ames and Archer, 1988). In contrast, when students have mastery goals and take pride in their efforts and accomplishments, they use better strategies and display more self-regulated learning (Pintrich and DeGroot, 1990). When high test-scores become the goal rather than self-regulated learning, students invest disproportionate value and effort in exams. Actually, for many students, the consequences of testing are neutral or negative, ranging from the innocuous lack of feedback to negative feedback about one’s competency. |
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