Are Exams the Problem With the Education System

You have to remember that University exams are an entirely different thing to school exams.

You get given a list of several one line questions (maybe around 5 or 6), you pick just two, and you have 2 hours to write a whopping 10+ page essay on each one entirely from memory.

Try doing that with DNA / RNA / Mutations and getting an A. I somehow did and I'm hardly that clever and this was my hardest area on my degree, but I also got my highest mark on it too somehow.

And what did I write in the Genetics exam that got me approx 77%? I have absolutely no freaking clue anymore, I cant even recall what the question was, other than it being about Mutations.

Thats why we drink red bull while at uni, it helps. I cant even imagine doing anything maths or physics based at Uni, seriously if you get though either of those degrees and manage a first pass, you are well far and beyond 95%+ of the rest of the human population.

Exams at uni are not easy without a powerful memory and ability to learn.
 
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The problem is with teachers spoon feeding students for exams and then the student regurgitating that info back on to a page during the exam. Students these days don't have the wit or sense to research things themselves.
 
Jay794 said:
Surely students these days have more sense to research something, like I said, we all have the internet
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That's the problem, students know where to go to look up something but then they don't remember it or have the inclination to pursue further study. Knowing where to look something up on their iphone is different from actually remembering it themselves.

I work in a university and I see first hand the standard of the first years coming in. Now these are AAA (a-levels) students but they have no common sense...all spoon fed to them to pass exams.

I actually see the younger generation moving away from the standard "Learn it and you'll remember it for life" to "I don't know it but I know where to go to find the answer"

...THAT is different, it's almost like kids these days have RAM for brains/memory....VERY short term!
 
Scubascorpion said:
If there was an exam on "life skills" then it would appear that a fair majority would fail.
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No we wouldnt. 'Tell a woman to do it' = 100% pass.

subbytna said:
standard "Learn it and you'll remember it for life" to "I don't know it but I know where to go to find the answer"

...THAT is different, it's almost like kids these days have RAM for brains/memory....VERY short term!
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Erm, I dont think that most people can remember their entire education for the rest of their lives. Its never worked that way.

And isnt that what an undergraduate degree is meant to be - a learning experience? Students dont know the answers to everything when they go to uni, they go there to learn new things, and the internet is very important for that at Uni with free access to online journals.

subbytna said:
The problem is with teachers spoon feeding students for exams and then the student regurgitating that info back on to a page during the exam. Students these days don't have the wit or sense to research things themselves.
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This is true at GCSE / A Level, but not at uni. In my school, all the brightest kids in the class actually wanted everything dictated / spoon fed to them. We had a trainee teacher come in once who tried to give my A level chemistry class a proper lecture, but the first thing that happened was the brightest girl in the class raising her hand and asking if the stuff could be dictated instead. The teacher was like 'really? is that what you want?', and most of the class nodded.

The idea was that this way we got all the information we needed to pass our A levels, all that was needed was to revise and remember it for the exams. I didnt revise for my GCSEs and barely did anything for my A Levels though (didnt do a single piece of homework, revised like one day before each exam, hence mediocre grades).

But because the teachers had taught us everything we needed to know like parrots, I managed to get good enough grades to go to uni.
 
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subbytna said:
it's almost like kids these days have RAM for brains/memory....VERY short term!
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Why is that a problem? for example, I don't know how to drive a Tractor, yet I'm pretty sure I could find enough instructional videos and given enough time (and space lol) I could learn how to drive one safely

Without any need to pass any exams
 
I think exams are probably better at showing general competence than how good anyone is at a particular subject. Ability to process information, common sense to answer the question correctly, critical thinking and analysis, ability to reproduce information are all good skills that you would want someone to be capable of.

I'm quite lucky in that I don't have problems with exams when some people do.
 
Jay794 said:
Why is that a problem?
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The ability to think for yourself is a fundamental part of being a scholar. Learning and retaining information is key. Knowing where to find it on the internet isn't how things work. Say the internet went down...most students these days would be floundering and wouldn't know what to do with themselves.

If you are an engineer working on something and you have to fix a problem real time with no internet....you need to know your stuff. You can't just depend on the internet to help you out at every turn.
 
King Damager said:
I always underperform in exams. I know it, my teachers know it, and my parents know it. I can be way ahead of a grasp of a subject compared to other students but get a much lower mark in the exam...

This is why I like coursework.
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+1

Exams can be passed far too easily for students who **** about in class then just revise a few days before rather than the ones who can do all the work in class. etc.
 
bhavv said:
You have to remember that University exams are an entirely different thing to school exams.

You get given a list of several one line questions (maybe around 5 or 6), you pick just two, and you have 2 hours to write a whopping 10+ page essay on each one entirely from memory.
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Depends what university and course. Some of my exams are open book. It would be ridiculous for us to be expected to learn the Java API to use in a programming based exam. The same for my UNIX and operating systems exam, thats multiple choice but you get marked down if you're wrong so better to just leave it if you're unsure.

In my university on my course you answer all questions on the paper.

Now for something like history or english then yes the way you stated is the norm. However, I could go on forever about anything in those two subjects rather easily and surpass 10 pages with ease while still maintaining quality. Subjects like that don't stimulate my mind and don't test me whatsoever. Thats why I chose a subject like computer science because I'm deeply interested in it and its a challenge. Definitely one of the hardest degrees. A mate at university is studying a different course, he showed me a question he had to do and it was easy to be perfectly honest. Sometimes when I'm really stressed out I wish I was doing a degree like that. When I walk around the campus at like 5 in the morning the only students I ever see up are comp sci, engineering, biology, physics, law and politics students, which just shows who has to go that step further in my opinion.

Thats why we drink red bull while at uni, it helps. I cant even imagine doing anything maths or physics based at Uni, seriously if you get though either of those degrees and manage a first pass, you are well far and beyond 95%+ of the rest of the human population.
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I do computer science at university and a physics module about how a computer functions like a human brain and the similarities, chaotic systems and so forth. Its very useful for AI and Robotics. In my first physics exam I got 85%.

Exams at uni are not easy without a powerful memory and ability to learn.
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Assessment should be based on understanding, not memory.
 
subbytna said:
The problem is with teachers spoon feeding students for exams and then the student regurgitating that info back on to a page during the exam. Students these days don't have the wit or sense to research things themselves.
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I research everything, even to the stage where I proved my physics lecturer wrong on a certain concept. :p
 
I really want to do well in my Physics and Maths, unfortunately I suck at both of them :(

In my first Maths paper last year I only got an A, which I was seriously mad at myself with, however I guess I have another 2/3 papers to improve on that with.

Also just did my first 3 science papers in November, which I really love Physics but I was crap at the other 2. The papers though were weird, I think I did really well in my Biology and Chemistry and I really ****ed up my Physics.

Coming out the Physics exam I was extremely ****ed off and still am now. When I get the grades through I will probably be even more so! :mad:
 
A few friends of mine are teachers
Their opinion

League tables etc were a bad idea , now kids are only being taught
how to pass an exam, not taught how to learn
 
Teaching undergraduate students, all of whom have As at A-level, can be very depressing.

Mostly all they know is rote answers to trivial questions. Even worse they are unwilling to accept that there is any level of understanding beyond that, or that it is irrelevant.

Fortunately there are the odd few with some genuine talent who make it worthwhile.
 
subbytna said:
The ability to think for yourself is a fundamental part of being a scholar. Learning and retaining information is key. Knowing where to find it on the internet isn't how things work. Say the internet went down...most students these days would be floundering and wouldn't know what to do with themselves.
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+1

Which is why exams are stupid. Far better to work on a number projects and repeatedly use the same techniques until they become second nature.

If you are an engineer working on something and you have to fix a problem real time with no internet....you need to know your stuff. You can't just depend on the internet to help you out at every turn.
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Agree sort of. I went to university with only minimal knowledge of java. Variables and so forth.

In university we have had lectures and to be perfectly honest i've learnt absolutely nothing in them. That way of teaching doesn't do it for me. Many others on my course including friends have said the same thing.

However, when I'm in the lab or over a mates working on a project, having a mess around with code and constantly trying to do something and making funny little apps or games then stuff sticks.

Now I know how to use array lists, arrays, reading from a file, writing to a file, sorting, how to properly debug, using a number of different methods such as calling the size of an array, etc. I have a better use of logic because of it.

In exams with programming, I find it hard because its theoretical and you need to write down code but can't test as you go along. With assignments I find it easier because you can continuously error check and test just as you can in the real world. I just feel for some subjects exams are dumb. Its impractical to think someone can learn the API of a programming language.

If you're a software engineer, its a given the internet will be a vital resource. You need to know the basics and understand the logic I agree but looking up and using the API is a given, almost every programmer on the planet will do it.

Its highly unlikely you'll ever be asked to code without the internet. One good tip though with programming is to print the API and have it bound as a book for reference. Costly, but if the internet ever does go down then you have your bible by your side :p
 
subbytna said:
I applaud you :) Nothing better than showing your lecturer is wrong lol. You do physics so you have to know your stuff.
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Only one module, 10 credits. :p

I do computer science but as I did advanced databases on my BTEC I could opt out and do another module so I did a physics module which is highly regarded due its importance of understanding AI concepts.
 
lurkio said:
A few friends of mine are teachers
Their opinion

League tables etc were a bad idea , now kids are only being taught
how to pass an exam, not taught how to learn
Click to expand...

I got DMM at BTEC without trying. Its equivalent to BCC at A level. I've got into a decent enough university and now my attitude has changed completely because I'm studying something I actually care about and something thats stimulating whereas the rest just bored me to oblivion. The course is respected, i'll do a year in the workplace on my third year of a four year course and 93% of graduates with a 2:1 or above get a graduate job in relation to the degree.

I just believe from a young age you should be able to choose your destiny. Children are not as stupid as some would believe. Children pick up things far better, things like languages and so forth. My cousin knows a lot of objective C and he's 15 years old. Predicted to go to university at 17 as well. He told his IT teacher he was bored of classes and wouldn't go any more more so they stuck him on a college computing A level and he has home tutoring. I call him a swot every time I see him. :cool:
 
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