Teacher’s Mind: Need for holistic approach in setting examinations

The second term of this year’s academic year is slowly ebbing to an end. As usual the last program has to do with the examinations that students have to sit in order to assess their academic abilities. Traditionally, these draw an environment of fear on the side of the learners. It is always a challenge for some of them to reproduce what they have been learning in a matter of hours. Poor preparation on the side of the students is often the biggest undoing for many. Within a short time a student finds that he /she has to read volumes of work that has been slowly accumulating over time. The basic objective of examinations is to judge the level of mastery that students have attained or to keep them in tune as they prepare for ‘tougher examinations’ in the near future. Teachers therefore have to be very careful when setting examinations. A holistic approach is required when setting these examinations. The teacher needs to address various issues as he/she goes about this task. First of all, the examinations ought to have questions drawn from the material that the learners have covered over the course of time. Here some teachers lose the plot when they simply set only what was covered during one term only. This is a very dangerous strategy because it creates a situation where a student may perform very well simply because the scope covered by the examination is quite small. When it is time for the same student to sit the final national examination, dismal results may be achieved because now the student will be overwhelmed since the national examination will have questions drawn from a much bigger scope of study. This is why some teachers get shocked when their students fail national examinations yet they had been performing much better during the end of term examinations. Another aspect that teachers should take note of is that currently the policy of MINEDUC and the National Examination Council, on examinations is that the focus is now more on reasoning than reproduction. In other words, an examination should be set in such a way that it tests the student’s ability to reason rationally and support their arguments instead of simply cramming points and reproducing things almost exactly as they are in the note books. Learners also ought to be taught the various aspects of the examination. They should be quite aware of what to expect from an examination, and even how they should conduct themselves before, during, and after an examination. For example I have noticed that a large number of students do not know how to manage their time during the examination. A good teacher should be able to orient his/her learners on the concept of time while doing an exam. Time is always a part of the examination and therefore learners who cannot use it efficiently are bound to have problems. A student should arrive at the examination room early enough and even when doing the exam one ought to spare some minutes before the end of the exam to read through their work for any errors and omissions. Learners ought to also remember that it is wise to have all the necessary scholastic materials before the exams start. Items like pens, pencils, a mathematical set, and even a scientific calculator are indeed crucial at this time. It can for instance be very frustrating if a student without a calculator borrows one from a friend only to find out later (during the exam) that he is not familiar with the functions of the machine. Let me end by stressing that teachers should always employ a holistic approach to exams, testing their learners on as many aspects of learning as possible. Do not set simple exams so that students pass and like you. It is not the least bit wise or even professional. For the learners, success is a result of adequate preparations. Contact: ssenyonga@gmail.com