Before I begin, let me clarify the purpose of examinations and assessments.
The original purpose of examinations was to:
But in the current generation, exams are all about getting the marks and grades. No one cares about how much you understand the lesson that has been taught. It is all about mugging up the answers and writing all of it on the paper or answer sheet. The teachers have come up with a more lazier and easier way of correcting the papers by making an answer scheme, according to which they check the papers. Which in my opinion is wrong. Because, if the example of multicellular organism is written as dog/ape/fish by the student and the answer according to the scheme is human, the answer is marked as wrong, but is it still not correct?. However, this was just an example, hope you can relate, because it has happened a lot of times that the answer the student writes does not match the answer scheme, so, it is marked as incorrect, while the answer still may be correct.
Not only this, the present generation also faces a lot of pressure from their parents, and many, I am not saying all, but many parents still have that old fashioned mindset and think that their children should either be engineers or doctors. They believe that there is no future in any other field, it should only be Maths and Science.
And because of this they keep pushing their children towards the fields mentioned above, and the child is forced to study a subject that he/she has no interest in, because of which, stating the obvious they don't do really well. And the fear of 'what will my parents do to me?' develops, because of which they start resorting to unfair means in examinations. Now, you tell me, how is the student benefiting if he/she is copying their entire paper from the student sitting beside them? How does it help in judging their calibre?
The answer is simple, it is not.s
The present generation also faces the college cut offs, again, the parents start nagging the children. Apart from nagging they also pressurise the children. And I have seen many Indian parents say these very common lines "Arey, voh kumar saheb ke bete ko toh IIT mein admission milgaya. 97% laya tha, tu bhi padh liya kar. KYA BOLENGE KUMAR SAHEB VARNA!" which basically means that Mr. Kumar's son got admission in a very good college, with 97% marks, you should study more, what will people say if you don't.
What people do not understand is that the college cut offs exist for a reason.
Maybe they create the cut off based on the potential of the students,
if the student is capable of getting 97% in boards then he will be able to cope up with level of study they have in that particular college.
And this is the reason that so many coaching classes manage to earn so much money, when someone goes for admission in such classes, they don't guarantee that the student will pass with flying colours or top the class, because deep down they know that it is all based on the student's potential and his dedication and will to study the subject. So, the parents who don't bother asking their children on what subject they like, and send them to some coaching class and don't get the desired result, in my opinion are just wasting the precious time of their kids and their own hard earned money.
The coaching class is also a reason why students cheat in examinations. The pressure of proving yourself to your parents, teachers,and tutors is really difficult to deal with.
Also in my opinion the examinations should not be conducted once the chapter is taught and done with, and even if it is, they should be held once more, after the explanation of the chapter is done once again, so that the students who did not understand the chapter the first time, can understand it the second time. But instead the chapter is completely forgotten and the teachers move on. So, what exactly are they taking an examination for? To know how well the students can mug up the pages from the chapter? Or is it to know how well they understand what the teachers expect as an answer?
Therefore, I would like to conclude by asking you one last question, are you really satisfied with the pattern of examinations now? Is it enough to understand the calibre of students?
Disclaimer: all if the above is in my opinion and is not intended to violate or offend anyone. All of the above matter is original.
And once again is in my opinion and I do not intend to hurt anyone who reads this and their opinions and mindsets.
The original purpose of examinations was to:
- To understand whether or not the concepts taught to students in class are clear.
- To understand the true calibre of the student.
But in the current generation, exams are all about getting the marks and grades. No one cares about how much you understand the lesson that has been taught. It is all about mugging up the answers and writing all of it on the paper or answer sheet. The teachers have come up with a more lazier and easier way of correcting the papers by making an answer scheme, according to which they check the papers. Which in my opinion is wrong. Because, if the example of multicellular organism is written as dog/ape/fish by the student and the answer according to the scheme is human, the answer is marked as wrong, but is it still not correct?. However, this was just an example, hope you can relate, because it has happened a lot of times that the answer the student writes does not match the answer scheme, so, it is marked as incorrect, while the answer still may be correct.
Not only this, the present generation also faces a lot of pressure from their parents, and many, I am not saying all, but many parents still have that old fashioned mindset and think that their children should either be engineers or doctors. They believe that there is no future in any other field, it should only be Maths and Science.
And because of this they keep pushing their children towards the fields mentioned above, and the child is forced to study a subject that he/she has no interest in, because of which, stating the obvious they don't do really well. And the fear of 'what will my parents do to me?' develops, because of which they start resorting to unfair means in examinations. Now, you tell me, how is the student benefiting if he/she is copying their entire paper from the student sitting beside them? How does it help in judging their calibre?
The answer is simple, it is not.s
The present generation also faces the college cut offs, again, the parents start nagging the children. Apart from nagging they also pressurise the children. And I have seen many Indian parents say these very common lines "Arey, voh kumar saheb ke bete ko toh IIT mein admission milgaya. 97% laya tha, tu bhi padh liya kar. KYA BOLENGE KUMAR SAHEB VARNA!" which basically means that Mr. Kumar's son got admission in a very good college, with 97% marks, you should study more, what will people say if you don't.
What people do not understand is that the college cut offs exist for a reason.
Maybe they create the cut off based on the potential of the students,
if the student is capable of getting 97% in boards then he will be able to cope up with level of study they have in that particular college.
And this is the reason that so many coaching classes manage to earn so much money, when someone goes for admission in such classes, they don't guarantee that the student will pass with flying colours or top the class, because deep down they know that it is all based on the student's potential and his dedication and will to study the subject. So, the parents who don't bother asking their children on what subject they like, and send them to some coaching class and don't get the desired result, in my opinion are just wasting the precious time of their kids and their own hard earned money.
The coaching class is also a reason why students cheat in examinations. The pressure of proving yourself to your parents, teachers,and tutors is really difficult to deal with.
Also in my opinion the examinations should not be conducted once the chapter is taught and done with, and even if it is, they should be held once more, after the explanation of the chapter is done once again, so that the students who did not understand the chapter the first time, can understand it the second time. But instead the chapter is completely forgotten and the teachers move on. So, what exactly are they taking an examination for? To know how well the students can mug up the pages from the chapter? Or is it to know how well they understand what the teachers expect as an answer?
Therefore, I would like to conclude by asking you one last question, are you really satisfied with the pattern of examinations now? Is it enough to understand the calibre of students?
Disclaimer: all if the above is in my opinion and is not intended to violate or offend anyone. All of the above matter is original.
And once again is in my opinion and I do not intend to hurt anyone who reads this and their opinions and mindsets.
Lovely...and true :)
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