Could Obsession with Exams lead to long term failure?

We like this article in the Telegraph and agree that exams are often not the best way to find out what a learner knows, exams only test things that are easy to measure – so they miss out the more subtle skills and abilities that are so important in today’s job market – communication, creativity, team work, practical skills, etc. This is why we don’t use exams to measure achievement in Crossfields Institute qualifications.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/01/23/could-obsession-exams-lead-long-term-failure

Ben Fogle: We need more wilderness in education, not more exams

Ben Fogle
‘I don’t want my children to feel the same sense of failure I did growing up because they’re not good at passing tests.’ Photograph: Ben Fogle

With the government planning to introduce national tests for 7-year-old children, have we gone too far with the box-ticking approach to education? Ben Fogle certainly thinks so and wants children to spend more of their learning time in the outdoors with nature.

Read the full article >>

Should Schools Allow Googling in Exams?

Pupils-during-an-exam-009 (1)
Photograph: David Davies/PA

 

An article in The Guardian asks the question: should Googling in exams be allowed? They present two opposing views from two different people:

  • Lola Okolosie thinks this approach may work better in some subjects than others, such as geography and history. She also makes the point that students will still need a solid knowledge foundation in order to quickly find what they are looking for on Google.
  • Chris McGovern thinks that this would be a step backwards, and that it undermines the importance of subject knowledge.

What do you think? You can read the full article at theguardian.com here:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/30/googling-in-exams-allowed-google-searches-gcse-a-level