In Defense of Exams in Vocational Training

Important: Translated automatically from Spanish by 🌐💬 Aphra 1.0.0

This is a personal reflection following the reading of Rafael Delgado Valdivielso’s article: NO MORE EXAMS, PLEASE. WE LIVE IN THE 21ST CENTURY. It’s worth pausing here to read his article instead.

I believe that exams are a fundamental tool for learning, as our educational system is currently structured, for several reasons:

• A good portion of students wouldn’t dedicate time to review¹ if they didn’t know they would face an exam at some point.
• The exam indicates areas for improvement for the learner.
• If appropriate feedback² is given at the right time, it serves not only to evaluate but also to facilitate learning.
• In any subject, as one progresses, it’s assumed that previous content has been understood. The exam allows for the detection of an erroneously acquired concept, making it possible to understand more complex ones.

This doesn’t mean I’m against what’s explained in the article; I’m very much in favor of ending exams as understood in the way described there, transitioning towards tests that resemble what can be found in a work environment. But for me, that’s also an exam; we shouldn’t demonize the word.

Two proposals are presented: a new system without exams and a less radical alternative. I wish we could apply that new system, but right now it seems utopian to me. Perhaps either the system or my opinion will change over time. So I want to focus on thinking about how I can apply something to my classroom tomorrow.

In my opinion, what are the biggest problems with an exam (understood as a test of competencies³, using necessary resources, rather than purely testing memorization) ? The date and the subsequent correction. The date, due to the pressure it exerts and the students’ habit of leaving everything to the last minute. The subsequent correction, due to the workload it requires for the student to then be left with just the numerical grade⁴, without learning from mistakes. My proposal based on what I’ve read? Eliminate both.

What if…

…we conduct tests any day without prior notice?

…we do it frequently (weekly at minimum)?

…we decide in each one the criteria⁵ we’re going to evaluate and note at that moment in a binary way who achieves it and who doesn’t? (Without prejudice to being able to rectify a criterion already assessed for a person who now demonstrates knowing how to do something they didn’t before)

…we make them individual or team-based (dividing the task to achieve accurate observation)?

My intention is to remove that pressure from students, of risking it all on one day and at one time, delaying review until the hours immediately before (with luck) and making the exceptional become the habitual.

In the end, a grade has to be given, and a pass or fail⁶ isn’t enough, so we’ll have to think about how it’s calculated. We’ll also have to think about what we do to support recovery plans⁷. And, in these times, what would happen if we had to do it remotely.

Shall we debate? Do you have a proposal? Write to me.

Let’s keep talking.