I have never been a big fan of exams for lots of reasons. The main reason used to be that they seemed nothing more than a memory test and a really poor way to actually demonstrate a person's 'real' knowledge and understanding of a given topic - requiring you to answer a set of questions, usually in writing, under time pressure, usually in an unfamiliar(or at least unrelaxed)environment seemed to me to scream on every psychological level that this was a bad idea. The whole ritual of taking an exam also felt rather alien and unconnected to real life. It is this last point about unconnected to real life has trouble me in recent years as I have become more concerned about the general direction education (particularly schooling but it's right across the board) continues to take 17 years into the 21st century.
My gripe apart from questioning the validity of using examinations in their current format to assess individual student knowledge is whether assessing individual students knowledge is actually what we should be doing anymore? Yes, measuring individual student progress is a good idea to ensure they are learning and to identify any additional learning that might need to take place but surely we should be shifting our focus to how well individual students can use the knowledge they have gained to support others in the pursuit of a join enterprise? As in the real world that's what people do. They use their knowledge collaboratively to work on projects, solve problems and to innovate. Working with others, problem solving and being creative and innovative are some of the essential skills needed to survive in today's workplace yet when we formally assess learning we generally do it by isolating an individual and subject them to a memory test. Things are changing but very slowly and not in a way that is truly responsive for the direction of travel of both in terms of work and those people that are or will be the majority of the workforce in the next few years -the Y and Z generation. By 2020, 50% of the workforce will be Generation Y and Z members — who have grown up connected, collaborative and mobile. Given these three aspects are now the norm, surely, it is time to radically re-think our approach to summative assessment and assessment in general to focus on how well students can work together to better equip them to solve the challenges they will face in the future - given the exponential growth and impact of digital technologies and automation in every aspect of our lives, concerns over global warming and the depletion of natural resources, continuing population growth and the continued impact of globalisation?
