[Writer’s name]
The education system and examination go hand in hand around the world. All the educational institutions have a policy to take exams that will help evaluate which students have learned what has been taught in class and which students have failed to do so. But there are different schools of thoughts on the notion of whether exams should be taken in the first place or not? And if there should be exams, should the professors tell the students exactly what they will give in the exam?
Let’s look at the first scenario. If we agree that exams are a means to evaluate a student, then they should be taken. But then the professor should not tell the student exactly what questions are coming in the exam. The professors should provide a clear outline and syllabus of the exam but not the exact questions. This enables the students to not only learn the syllabus of the course but also makes them responsible and teaches them time management. By managing their time in learning from the various sources and questions, the students tend to learn more.
Then there is the other side of the story. What will happen of the professors tell the students what will be on the exam? What are the pros and cons of this scenario? If the professors tell the students that are coming in the exam, then the students will learn only what they have been told. This is beneficial in cases when professors need to teach the students a very important lesson or chapter. The cons are that the learning is limited and the student’s full skills are not put to test. Also, if the students know what is coming in the exam, what is the purpose of taking the exam?
In my opinion, the professors should not tell the students what questions are coming in the exam. But in addition to providing them with a syllabus and exam outline, a simple compromise can be reached. The students should be allowed a limit of one single size sheet of A4 size paper. They should be allowed to write notes or anything they deem important for the exam and bring it with them to the exam room. The sheet cannot be printed and needs to be hand printed. There are two basic advantages of this compromise. First of all, when the student is writing the notes on the cheat sheet, subconsciously they learn what they are writing. Also by allowing a cheat sheet, professors eliminate the urge of students to cheat from their friends and other unethical means. This way the students learn as well as do not engage in any unethical activity. The students cannot manage to get all the content into the single sheet so they learn to organize their notes efficiently and effectively.
Works Cited
Grosz, Dr. Robert. "A “Legitimate” Cheat-Sheet? ." The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. (2008): Vol. 6 No.3.
JEREMY S. HYMAN, LYNN F. JACOBS. 10 Things Your College Professor Won’t Tell You. 2010. 26 November 2013 <http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2010/03/03/10-things-your-college-professor-wont-tell-you>.
