Cheating and exam writing in the UK
Read with amusement today reports from the UK that claim cheating is up in exam room situations. They argue that with the rise of mobile technology students are sharing information when they shouldn't. I'd argue that the entire system of examinations is fundamentally flawed and that these artificial situations don't truly offer reflection on a students real ability. Hence my use of papers (which of course does off the potential for plagiarism) and real life consultancy projects (extremely hard to cheat with). That's not to say that I don't admire the reasons for examinations as a means of testing a student. Who wouldn't like to waive the need to mark and feedback personally (examinations in the UK are never read by the students and the only feedback that they get is a grade)? Who wouldn't like to base up to 90% of a course grade on a final exam? This is one of the reasons why I opted out of teaching under the UK system at an undergraduate level. Thankfully, many masters courses under the Brits focus almost exclusively on coursework and consultancy based projects. My advice? vote with your feet, choose programmes that match your style of learning, think multiple outcomes from one assessment method (such as a reference or real project to show off to a potential employer) and never loose sight of the fact that grades are mere reflections of your actual output. NOT your ability. What do you actually learn from an Exam? If given the option to sit an exam again how would you do? The chances are that these are very different answers to the question how would you perform in a new consultancy situation having learnt from your first… of course some arguments exist for banning coursework altogether which I find ludicrous.
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I agree with you - up to a point. But there is one important lesson to be learned from mandatory exams - getting an education can be tough, it can be stressful and it always - or should always - require a degree of self-discipline. Of course, in an ideal world, by the time an individual reaches college age these lessons should already be ingrained and I fully support the use of coursework as an effective development tool over and above what can be learned in an ‘artificial’ environment - but sometimes, just sometimes - it’s important to rise to the challenge that such an environment presents.
Lets scrap coursework all together. Brilliant, lets get a a hammer, a sickle a red flag and then lets hand out free meals to the incompetent.
I think people should be tested but it should depend on the subject. Where grades depend on your in class performance,practical experience and written work.
If you grade people based on an exam and attendance you only promote bureaucrats who can cram more than the next guy.