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| Columns |
| D.D. Phiri Column |
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by
Desmond Dudwa. Phiri, 12 August 2003
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13:58:30
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On passing exams
From time to time some of us have come across proposals to abolish examinations as part of an education system. Those who make such proposals say that passing an examination is not sure-fire evidence of what a person has learned during a given academic period.
He or she may have passed the examination because it was based on the topics the student had concentrated on but beyond that he or she may have learned nothing.
On the other hand, not all those who fail exams or score mediocre grades have learned little during that academic period. Examination questions may have just been set on topics they found hardest to understand, otherwise they may actually have learned extensively in other parts of the syllabus.
Some people are opposed to examinations because they say students instead of being in school to acquire the knowledge that will help them in future simply concentrate on that part which attracts examinations.
They are not being adequately prepared for the world in which they will have to work. Teaching should be given for its own sake not just for passing examinations. Those students whose horizons are determined by examinations tend to make poor showing at work.
Have we not come across men and women who were getting ‘A’ grades in school but who once employed perform less admirably than those they used to outshine in examinations?
While there may be some truth in what the critics of examinations say, no one has invented a better system of gauging what a student has learned. The mere opinion of a teacher as to what a student has learned is fraught with its own risks. Biases, bribery and corruption easily crop in.
An examination plus the possession of a certificate is an advantage when a person is applying for a job from an employer who does bot know him already. The certificate tells the prospective employer the minimum education the applicant has attained.
If, for example, the employer wants a clerk with a good knowledge of English, between two applicants; one with a Primary School Leaving Certificate and another with a senior certificate of education, the employer would assume, on the average correctly, that the latter candidate has a better command of the language.
He would, therefore, put on the short list for interviews those with certificates that suggest they have the minimum qualifications required.
Examinations tell a story about a candidate since to pass a stiff examination you must have worked hard at it.
Moreover, it is possible that you have already attained the habit of hard working. It is such a person the employer wants.
What should a student do to pass examination? If it is within his power he should choose a school which has a good reputation and competent teachers.
It is not easy to make such a choice. If the student has qualified for a public (government) school, the decision of the actual school to which he goes will depend on a government selection committee. He may, if he has the extra money, go to a private school.
Students generally cannot choose who should be their teachers. They just have to accept whoever is sent to them.
A good teacher alone cannot make a student pass an examination if the student’s motivation is weak.
In his typical figurative language George Bernard Shaw, the Anglo-Irish playwright said if you teach someone, he will never learn. This means the effort to learn must be stronger than the effort to teach.
You may put a piece of bread into a child’s mouth, but if the child is not willing to eat, he will not swallow the stuff. Eating means letting the food go beyond the mouth into the gullet down to the bowels. There digestion will take place and then you have eaten.
A pupil or student whose mind is elsewhere may hear what the teacher says but may not understand what he hears.
The first condition for passing the examination is, therefore, keenness to learn and pass the examination. For a well-founded life, a student must of course have interests other than learning. But, if those interests outweigh his interest in studying he will not find it easy passing examinations.
Most failures at school have developed interests outside the school curriculum, some drink and socialise extensively.
The student must from the start of the school term acknowledge the fact that everyday is a preparation for the examination. He must not postpone studying till the approach of the examination dates. The responsibility for passing the examination rests on his shoulders more than on the shoulders of anyone else.
The student must draw a timetable for study outside hours prescribed by the teacher. If she is a private student (one not attending school) that means studying outside working hours. She must be very strict in abiding by the timetable. Whatever she has been doing she must give up if the hour for study has come. Success at anything is a matter of making choices. To do one thing you must refrain from doing that other thing. Which do you prize more; passing the exam or that other thing?
He should generally study each subject for 40 to 60 minutes and then switch to another subject that requires a different type of exertion. The study of a subject requiring memory should alternate with one requiring practical skills. After working on mathematical problems next study subjects like English or History. In this way your mind will remain fresh for a longer time.
Be sure you know the syllabus and the recommended or most relevant textbooks. Some textbooks are better written and more comprehensive than others. At school your teacher will guide you. Go to a bookshop and read the backcover of the book. Some books have been written specifically for examinations by experienced teachers. These are the books for students who want to pass exams.
Identify the main textbooks and the secondary ones. Master the main book, and then read those parts of the secondary books as part of your revision work.
Past examination papers will reveal to you that certain topics are popular with examiners. Be sure you master these. I can give examples only from the subjects I am better acquainted with. For instance, in economics papers usually there questions on the price system, money, banking and international trade. On history of the modern world there will be questions on the world wars and their causes. Have detailed knowledge of these. Read what various authors say on the same topics. You will then make a comprehensive coverage.
Studying is like undertaking any other task. Hardwork will reward you, indolence will not. Be disciplined, persist. Live in planned life—a life that assigns more time to work or study than to leisure and pleasure.
Two days before the examination it is advisable to work less strenuously so that you do not enter the examination room already exhausted. Do not take too much fluid so that you may not be bothered by the calls of nature during the sitting hour.
Read instructions on the paper carefully. Often some questions are compulsory, others are optional. Answer first the questions you find easiest. This will give you confidence. Watch the time. Give each question the amount and space it deserves, no more.
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