Students often question the purpose of formal examinations. For most students, their perception about exams is just a futile part of studying that has the main objective of making the life of a student more difficult than it already is. Many students will really be happy with the idea of abolishing formal written exams in schools. However, exams really have an important role in the process of learning and in the whole educational institution. Students should also learn and realize the importance of formal exams for students to have a different perspective about this matter.
Formal exams are included in the school curriculum for a purpose and that includes several different factors. In terms of the comprehension of students, formal exams are made in order for the professors to see whether students really learn something from the lessons and the subject as a whole. In doing so, students can be able to identify the topics that most students are having difficulties in. Using formal exams is also beneficial for professors in order to clearly see which students excel and those that need helps. Moreover, professors are given the opportunity to know their students better, especially in exams that involves paper writing like essays because they can be see how each student thinks and argues.
Formal exams also help in the improvement of professors and the educational system as a whole. Since exams measure the comprehension of students per subject, educators and other school administrators can be able to identify which the class or classes have the majority of students who do not do well in their class. The class with the most number of students who fail or get a low grade can be study by the school officials in order to pinpoint the factors that affect their learning. In doing so, the weaknesses of the professor in teaching or the school policy that have deficiencies can be seen in order for improvements to be made. Moreover, formal exams are also a way by which the curriculum can be properly standardize wherein the school administration can be able to include in an exam all the lessons that professors should teach their student. The standardization of the curriculum is clearly seen in the way that despite the differences of each exam it still deals with the same subject area.
Students should realize that exams are not merely a paper writing service that professors want their students to do in order to burden them. Rather, students should see that exams can actually benefit their learning process because they can be able to see whether they really learn something from their classes or not. Furthermore, exams will not only benefit the students but it will also help the entire educational system to be further enhanced. As such, students should focus more on the benefits of exams rather than seeing it as a burden.