Nowadays, examinations seem to be an indispensable part of education. Some people think that examinations have some bad effects on education. This is still a controversial issue and people have different views regarding to this topic.
Trang 1Lư Hoàng Long (Mr)
PROS AND CONS Exams exert a pernicious influence on education
Nowadays, examinations seem to be an indispensable part of education Some people think that examinations have some bad effects on education This is still
a controversial issue and people have different views regarding to this topic From my point of view, I firmly believe that “Exams exert a pernicious influence on education”
AC1: For
Firstly, examinations cannot reflect a student’s full potential This is because each student has different strengths and weaknesses
Some people are good at learning but they are not likely to suffer from harsh conditions during an exam To be more specific, they may have the feeling of anxiety whenever sitting for an exam despite their overall academic performance being excellent Therefore, they cannot complete the tests under too much time pressure or fully express their ideas in a comprehensive way Also, taking tests
is a snapshot of their knowledge rather a detailed understanding so the exam results are inconclusive as they are only based on their performances on that day My best friend – Minh is an example He’s a good students in my class and
he always studies very hard before the exams, but sometimes his scores are not good at all
According to a report by British Council Vietnam in 2018, 38 % of IELTS candidates, who are evaluated as good learners, can not do well in the test due to
a great tension of the examination
NC1: Against
You mentioned that exams might not be able to give the most precise reflection
of a student’s level I can see what you mean However, I cannot agree with you
Trang 2Lư Hoàng Long (Mr)
about that I believe that examinations can improve the quality of education for both students and teachers
I believe that examinations can improve the quality of education for both students and teachers First of all, examinations give motivation to students to work hard on their courses It is undeniable that students especially those in primary schools are not self-disciplined Therefore, examinations force them to pay more attention to their studies Secondly, examinations are not only a knowledge test, but also give a challenge to students to express what they’ve learned under pressure Students can adapt to the fierce competition in the future much more easily Finally, it is a feedback to teachers Teachers can find out what are their students’s advantages and disadvantages through the exams, and change the teaching plans and teaching methods based on the results
From an article on Education Magazine in 2019 by Dr David, the impact of exams can help students achieve higher academic performance, because they’re pushing themselves mentally
AC2: For
You said that exams can motivate the students to study harder to get high scores That’s a good point of view But we must remember that the pressure to succeed
in examinations may also be detrimental to the students
While stress can push some students to perform better, it’s presence is still causing brain damage When stress leads to anxiety, those effected begin to have negative emotional responses, cognitive impairments, heart diseases and depressive disorders Beside that, some students may be so filled with anxiety and stress that they do not enjoy their school years They may be studying only
to get good examination results, rather than a rounded education Some of the weaker students, who cannot seem to achieve good examination results, may lose interest in their studies In extreme cases, students may be so frustrated or
Trang 3Lư Hoàng Long (Mr)
disappointed in their results that they may consider ending their lives As you can hear from the latest news that there was a student of Grade 12 in Ha Noi killed himself because of the test’s pressure
According to Oxfordlearning.com, in 2018, Test anxiety affected an estimated
10 million children in North America Approximately 16-20% of students have high test anxiety
NC2: Against
I can see what you mean and it’s true to a certain extent However, from my point of view, examinations are also a measuring tool for schools and companies
The point I’d like to make is examinations are also used as a yardstick for measuring the capability of the candidates, for further education or employment Research and experience show that examinations are generally good at measuring students's knowledge, skills, and understanding because they are objective, fair, efficient, and comprehensive Therefore, they are used when selecting students for entrance into colleges, universities or professional schools
It is assumed that the examination results would indicate whether or not the student will be able to handle the course In the case of employment, it is felt that the examination results will indicate whether or not the job seeker has the skills or intelligence to handle the job Examinations usually test important and useful topics
According to a report on Tuoitre.com by Dr Lee, in 2020, 65% of public universities in HCMC required students to do the entrance test when they apply for studying
AC1: Rebuttal
In conclusion, I realize that examinations are used as a yardstick for measuring
the capability of the candidates However, within the school system, they should
Trang 4Lư Hoàng Long (Mr)
be given less emphasis or conducted in a different way, because every student has right to enjoy the time he/she spends in educational environment without any extreme anxiety or abhorrence
Lư Hoàng Long (Mr)
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