The educational system today places a higher value on marks than the children themselves value learning 

Children today live in a world alien to the one we inhabited at their age. The expectation to excel academically is higher than ever, and the distractions are pervasive and far too easily accessible. It is no wonder therefore that getting children to study can be one of the toughest challenges for parents today.

The format of exams in Malta has remained largely unchanged for decades, despite drastic advances in technology and changes in society. It could be argued that such significant developments precede consequential changes to the education system, and by identifying the fundamental reasons why students’ marks are on the decline, we can begin to consider the implementation of potential improvements.

Exams bring with them countless hours of study and preparatory work. While on average, this stress is more manageable over the age of 16, is it advisable to subject primary school students to endure the anxieties and pressures that exam periods bring with them at such a young age? Rather than pushing so hard, would their time not be better spent enjoying the freedom to be children?

Those who eventually go on to study at university will spend up to their early twenties studying and sitting for exams. Considering the long-term effects of stress and anxiety, is it in a child’s best interest to begin the process so early on?

The format of exams today serves as a reasonably reliable general marker for most number of students, yet fails to reflect their individual qualities. The entire process, from the weeks of study to the long and drawn out wait for the arrival of results, is an immense weight for such young shoulders to carry. The stress, test anxiety and burnout are all too real risks for these children, and even if they do not experience these problems immediately, the likelihood that they will in the future increases.

The format of exams today serves as a reasonably reliable general marker for most students, yet fails to reflect their individual qualities

The way things stand, primary school students are inadvertently learning to prioritise basic memorisation, cramming and at times even cheating just to cope with the level of expectation placed on them.

Rather than thoroughly grasping a concept and being able to talk about it freely at length, they study pre-written essays, often co-authored by their parents, and regurgitate them during the exam.

The unfortunate reality is that the educational system today places a higher value on marks than the children themselves value learning. This is not to blame the children themselves, as they have simply become the unfortunate and unwitting accomplices of a flawed system.

Following exams, students will receive the much-dreaded result sheet. While the relief of passing all exams is unmissable, the gut-wrenching anxiety of failing has vast repercussions.

Momentarily putting the massive hit to the students’ confidence aside, there is also the apprehension of having to inform the ever-inquisitive family and peers of your failure. This adds to the students’ perception that they may be falling behind, and might not be cut from the same cloth as their class-mates, which may lead to a general disbelief in their own ability, a lack of motivation to apply themselves completely to their work and to strive for success.

So is it all doom and gloom?

Obviously not. While testing has many drawbacks, these flaws are certainly not irreparable. It would be unrealistic to suggest exams should be completely done away with as the problem is not the exams themselves but the way they are designed.

It would be unrealistic to suggest exams should be completely done away with

Subtle improvements like added flexibility in time constraints could allow for students who suffer from stress-induced by the fear of time elapsing to perform better. In reality, if the students know their material, why should time matter other than for administrative and logistical ease?

Eliminating exams altogether would be detrimental to those students who excel at that format of testing, so an attitude calling for their abolition could be considered extremist, seeking to provide an advantage to a number of students at the detriment of others.

In life, and especially in terms of education, radical steps seldom lead to desirable results. Instead, we must assess the design and procedure in the implementation of these kinds of exams; what are we trying to find, how should we interpret the results and what are these tests meant to achieve? As opposed to blunt instruments, exams should be academic scalpels, precisely assessing students’ intellectual capabilities. While surely important, they should by no means be the sole determining factor in a student’s academic success.

On what merits do we want children to be judged? While testing can serve as a general indicator, standardised exams fail to highlight other skills which may not always come across on paper, like creativity, critical thinking, sociability, leadership and the ability to work within a team, all necessary traits in life and the job environment.

Relying solely on exams as an indicator of intelligence is like expecting a five-course meal because you have an oven at home. It is an important piece of the puzzle, but not the bigger picture altogether.

Education policy analyst and research professor Diane Ravitch said that: “Sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardised tests because they do not have standardised minds.” The foundation for efficient and valuable academic assessment already exists, but we cannot simply rest on our laurels and expect smooth sailing. The system is there to be improved upon.