Formal examinations are the only effective way to assess a student’s performance. Continual assessment such as coursework and projects is not a satisfactory way to do this. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Sample 1:

Evaluation methods of a student’s performance have always been an area of contention around the world. Many believe that this can be done by continual assessment of their assignments and project work. On the other hand, people are also in favour of formal examination.  I believe the latter is a more appropriate option. This can be proved by analysing the fact that the homework and projects done at home can be copied and also the memory of a student can be tested in a formal test only.

Firstly, the workbook assignments submitted by the students are not always done by them. A study by the education department of India proved that many parents help their children in the completion of assignments. Not only this, but the projects are also copied in order to submit the same on time. Thus, we can say that it is not a reliable method to judge student capabilities.

Secondly, the examination that is taken in education institutes makes students learn the concept and also memorise the same that they have studied in their class. Moreover, these are conducted in the presence of Invigilator. Hence, restricting students to take any external help. This shows how much grasping power does an individual have. Therefore, this can be considered as a more reliable method of testing one’s ability.

To conclude, looking at the discussion it is clear that advantages of formal testing outweigh the advantages of testing by assignments and projects. I believe the method should be implied across the globe and it can be predicted that many countries will adopt this way of assessment because of its effectiveness.

Sample 2:

Formal examinations have been used as means of assessing students on their understanding of various subjects since time immemorial. Considering it in isolation or in combination with other continual assessment such as course work or projects, it remains a subject of controversy as to the best method of assessment. In my opinion, a combination of the two may be a better way of assessing students.

First and foremost, the aim of the assessment is to quantify how much the student understands the taught subject in its totality. An examination is usually administered on a single sitting. The outcome depends on various factors such as whether the examination is conducted in a conducive atmosphere, whether the student is healthy during the time of the examination and also the student’s mood. These are all non-academic factors that may affect the result of the examination.

Secondly, a single examination may not cover the scope of the subject completely especially in broad subjects such as medicine and law. Continual assessments may then come in handy.
In addition, formal examinations are not flexible enough to assess other qualities possessed by a student such as confidence and the ability of a student to present a topic to the public. These can only be done through other assessments such as presentations and other course works and projects.
In conclusion, formal examinations are a good means of assessment but should not be used in isolation due to some of its shortcomings such as its inability to cover wide topics, being affected by other nonacademic factors such as a student’s mood or health. Therefore, continual assessments such as course work and projects should also be considered.

Sample 3:

Assessment is a tool to measure one's learning and knowledge. Assessment is important to help students learn from their mistakes. But there are many views on the method of assessment. According to many people, formal examinations are more effective as compared to practical assessments. According to my view, I strongly disagree with the statement. Continuous coursework and projects are satisfactory. They provide more knowledge about the learning of students. Also, they provide a basic idea about the creativity level and skills. In the below statements I will try to prove my viewpoint.

Assessing regularly and keeping a check provides better performance. Many students are unable to perform in yearly exams due to lack of confidence or nervousness. Regular projects and coursework give them confidence and they work in a flow. Also, a student might face health issues or family issues during exams. It will act as a distraction and hurdle in better performance. This might also affect his/her annual performance. Learning and skills grow regularly. To judge a student's skill based on fromanal examination is not a good idea.

On the contrary, many are of the opinion that format examinations are the best mode of assessment. It provides overall learning. Also, exam conducting bodies play their responsibility effectively while organizing papers. This might be true to a certain point, but judging cannot be done in one day. Students work throughout the year and do hard work. Assessing them on a one-time basis is not a pay back to their hard work and skills.

Regular projects not only assess a child's academic Ability but also his/her emotional, physical, psychological and social abilities. Intelligence is not academic. It is a multi dimensional approach as provided by my psychologist.

Due to continuous projects and coursework, it becomes easy for the teacher to keep a check on students.

To conclude, it is not true that format examinations are the only effective way to assess a student's performance. Continual assessment is more effective.

Sample 4:

The quality of education can be checked through assessment. It provides the basic idea of learning for a student. There are many views on the statement that formal examination is the best mode of assessment. Also, the regular coursework and projects are not an effective way to assess. I strongly disagree with the statement. Through the following arguments I will try to prove my viewpoint.

Students work hard the whole year. They try to perform their best. It is also important to check their learning. It will provide them time to learn from their mistakes. Continuous projects and coursework increase the confidence of the students. During formal examination, there might arise many health issues or family issues. Also, due to yearly examinations, students are unable to perform well due to nervousness. Judging students on the basis of scores they obtain in a particular subject does not define their knowledge about that subject. Because students are taught a particular syllabus and things about a particular subject.

On the other hand, theoretical knowledge is important to be successful. Practical knowledge is more important in this world as compared to theoretical knowledge. There are certain fields in which practical knowledge plays a more superior role. Projects and courseworks help students develop their creativity and skills. It provides them the opportunity to think creatively. But in formal examinations many students adopt level 1 learning. According to psychology of intelligence, level 1 learning is in which input is the same as output. Whatever students learn they just write that. There is no extra effort put. While extra thinking and creative thinking is needed in projects.

To conclude, formal examinations are important, but they are not only effective ways to assess students. Projects and coursework are also a great and effective medium for assessment. It also helps students to apply theoretical knowledge into the practical world.

Sample 5:

Formal examinations are a traditional method to assess the students. It turned out to be effective in every field. But due to the influence of practical knowledge projects and regular coursework also plays an important role in overall assessment of students. There are mixed viewpoints regarding the effectiveness of forms examination. Many say that it is the only effective way for assessment. While on the other hand, many people are of the opinion that only coursework and projects are effective. According to my view, there should be a mix of both mediums. It will help to assess effectively and efficiently.

Assessment is important to test the learning and knowledge of the children. It also helps the teacher to teach more effectively and to help students learn attentively. Students are the coming future of our country. They must be given adequate knowledge which will help in overall development of the country. Formal examinations are conducted in one sitting. But the performance of formal examinations can be influenced by many factors. Such factors include the health of the student at the time of examination. The difficulty of questions asked, the mood of the students or some family issues affecting the mental health of students.

One sitting examination can not assess students. They provide a narrow idea of the knowledge. Also, the whole year's studies can't be counted within a few hours or through a few questions. Formal examinations are not effective in broad fields like law and medicine. In such cases regular coursework and projects are more effective. They also provide practical knowledge. But theoretical knowledge can be measured through formal examination.

While the skills and talents can only be measured by projects and creative activities. Creativity is important to excel in a particular field. But not everything can be measured through projects or coursework.

In conclusion, both formal examination and regular coursework projects are important in assessment. They provide the overall performance of the student. Projects must be included in the assessment. It is also a fun activity of assessment. Many psychological tests also can be sure to ensure aptitude.

Sample 6:

Education has become integrated part of modern society. Whlile in most institution traditional pen and paper exam has remained main source of evaluating the educational progress of students, innovative methods such as projects and assignments are also used in certain areas to assess the students. It is argued by some that these new methods are ineffective, but I think they too have their advantages and combination of various examing procedures is the best way to assess students.

On the one hand, it is undeniable that practical methods have some limitations. One of the main loopholes of such methods is piracy. This is because unlike strict classroom exams in these exams students can get chance to research on their own and prepare from home. In this process it is possible that some of the aspirants may indulge in wrong practices and copy from other students or reference material. In UK, for instance, during a research around 50% of students admitted to copy literature from web sources without proper acknowledgment. Moreover, often the deadline of these projects and practical work are unrealistic for majority of pupils, which, in turn, force them to adapt alternative means such as plagiarism. Hence some people consider these methods inappropriate.

On the other hand, these methods have their merits too. Firstly, such assessment procedures encourage students to actively participate in their course work and provide them the essential practical knowledge about the theory or lesson. This is because, students are required to complete their work in a framework which has potential to provoke student's curiosity and engagement. Secondly, some of the group activities like, preparation of an assignment and present it to the class, also enables students to develope traits such as teamwork, time management, taking an initiative, and finally public speaking. Lastly, most of these methods involves modern technology such as computers, softwares extensive online research and so on. This can help them to stay connected to technology, current findings and work environment. This type of assessment is not possible by formal exams. Thus, condemning alternative meathods as a whole is not a wise decision.

In conclusion, in the light of above discussion, it is clear that formal exams are still favourable in most situations, although, corporating other methods along with them could produce marvelous outcome for students and educational institutions. Therefore, I completely disagree with the formal notion considering alternative method ineffective.

Sample 7:

There is a lot of debate over how to conduct student assessments in various educational facilities. The traditional method is with examinations, but these days there is a lot of resistance to this, and many teachers prefer less stressful and more representative modes of assessment. This essay will argue in favour of continual assessment.

The advantages of exams are few and mainly focused on the institutions rather than the students. Exams can be organised quite easily and conducted in a short period of time, as hundreds of students can sit together in a room to do the test. These exams can then be marked conveniently, sometimes even by a computer, without the hassle of many months of continual observation by teachers.

However, traditional examinations are not the best means of assessing students in the majority of subjects. They require a student’s total knowledge of a subject to be assessed over a single event, which is itself an artificial construct, and requires enormous amounts of stress. The student needs to study for a long time to go into an exam hall and demonstrate a year’s worth of knowledge. This is unlikely to give a true representation of their expertise. Factors like anxiety can reduce their performance, as well as bad luck, sickness, and so on. It is far better to test a student’s knowledge over a longer period of time, in various ways, to get a more representative idea of their actual ability in that subject. This form of continuous assessment could give a far more reliable impression of what the student actually knows, rather than relying upon one single exam.

In conclusion, traditional examinations are not the best way of assessing students, and they should be replaced by continuous assessment as this is more effective and reliable.

Sample 8:

Some proponents of exams argue that formal tests show more efficacy when it comes to assessing scholars' aptitude instead of regular observation or projects. From my perspective, I am opposed to this opinion for some following reasons.

The benefits of regular assessment are plentiful. Engaging students in projects facilitates them in developing different skills which can reinforce their future career. Supposing that soft skills are nowadays highly entailed by many companies, schools should place more premium on creating opportunities for undergraduates to brush up on skills such as team-working skills, problem-solving and social skills. Those who brim with various skill assets and proficiency are certainly beneficiaries when it comes to the rigorous recruitment competition. Besides, from teachers' perspective, they are provided a comprehensive evaluation on their pupils owing to this method, thereby scheming appropriate learning strategies to employ each students' ability effectively.

Furthermore, regular assessments render transparency compared to formal examination. Tests only offer transient results at the moment the examinees proceed. The results are strenuously guaranteed whether their competence lives up to the grades. Additionally, the act of falsifying test scores is prone to jeopardise the clarity of exams as well as motivation of learners. There is a likelihood that other students regard the case of cheaters as prime examples to imitate, getting distracted from pursuing knowledge for themselves. Whereas projects criticise learners based on their aptitude to emerge the thing they learn with reality, forging the strong bond between theoretical knowledge and practical activities.

In conclusion, I concede that exams play a pivotal role in judging performance of students; however, they should be combined with continuous assessment to acknowledge their genuine adeptness.

Sample 9:

These days, most of schools are using formal examinations to assess a student's performance while continual assessment such as course work and projects are also becoming a commonplace. Both such systems have their strengths and weaknesses.

Formal examinations are probably the most widely used method to evaluate students' performances. They are a fair system in which students are all provided the same test materials at the same time and space. Those who advocate this system expect students working hard will be rewarded with high grades which are believed to reflect their academic knowledge. However, while some students excel in exams, others find it difficult to work under such pressure. Therefore, formal examinations may not always reflect a student's true ability.

On the other hand, continual assessment allows those students who work at a slower pace more time to work on their course work and projects. It also encourages teamwork which is an important skill for future employment, so children are able to develop comprehensively. However, since students don't necessarily work on their projects at school, teachers may not observe the working process and thus not be able to give a satisfactory assessment.

In conclusion, it is evident that both continual assessment and formal examinations are effective in different ways, but they also have weaknesses. I think in order to optimize the quality of education, both should be used to assess students' academic performances.

Sample 10:

Many educational establishments such as schools and universities are choosing to assess their students through course work and projects undertaken during term time rather than the traditional examinations. Continual assessment can be an effective way to evaluate student’s abilities, but formal examinations should also be maintained.

There are two principal benefits of formal examinations. Firstly, they are a fair system as every student has an equal opportunity since they all sit the same exam at the same time, meaning that those students who work hard should be rewarded with a high grade. In addition to this, it is also difficult to cheat if the exam is properly invigilated.  However, some students naturally excel in exams, whereas others find it difficult to work under these stressful and time-constrained conditions. Formal exams, may not, therefore, always reflect a student’s true ability.

Continual assessment, on the other hand, allows those students who work at a slower pace more time to work on their course work and projects. The teacher can also observe and assist students who may be weaker, thus providing them with the opportunity to improve during the term. Not only this, projects encourage teamwork, an important skill that is necessary for future employment. Focusing only on formal exams may mean that this important component of children’s development is not seen as important by teachers or students.

To conclude, it is evident that both continual assessment and formal examinations are effective in different ways, but they also have weaknesses. I would therefore argue that in order to have robust evaluation procedures in the future, both should be used to assess students during their education.