Examinations should be maintained.

Essay by ukyo0801 December 2006

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Do examination cause stress in schooling and threaten creativity? Some experts doubt the value of traditional exams and advocate alternative assessments, such as projects, interviews and teacher observation. However, despite their drawbacks, examinations should not be abolished. They are essential for two reasons: to monitor learning progress and to encourage children to study.

Some argue that examinations induce stress, and threaten self-esteem and intrinsic motivation. However, competetion and stress motivate all humans everyday. Likewise, self-esteem is based on a sense of achievement and having a ability to do things.

Examination do not inhibit learning to be creative. In fact, creative actually cannot be taught or learnt. It is traditional academic and technical skills that enable people to express their innate creativity.

Traditional tests have been used for centuries throughout the world and across cultures. Parents, employers and the public expect them. Empirical evidence shows that they are a valid measure of real world competency.

Furthermore, standardisedtests enableus to detect learning difficulties in particular children, and to monitor the effectiveness of chooling throughout a country.

Perhaps most inportantly, examinations encourage children to study. The motivation that they provide is as beneficial as any. Students are provided with a clear time frame and a clear target for their study. They anticipate the pleasure of success and the dissapointment of failure. This is exactly the kind of structure and guidance that children need.

If we abolish exams we lose a value way to monitor learning and encourage children to study. To alleviate learning creativity, we must consider other means, for example teaching method, rather than exams.