Formal exams are used to assess students at the end of each semester in many countries. Why are these exams used by schools and universities. What other types of assessment are possible

Assessment of students is a mandatory part of education. In many countries of the world, formal exams are used to achieve

this

purpose, especially at the end of every semester.

This

essay will discuss why these examinations are utilized by schools and universities and will

also

illustrate other types of assessment namely discussions and interviews The major objective of examinations is to evaluate the students knowledge and understanding of a subject. It is expected that a

student

that has a good comprehension of a course should do well in an exam since the questions are extracted from the courses taught during the academic period.

For example

, students who attend classes and study,

hence

acquiring knowledge of a subject tend to do well in exams. For these reasons, formal exams are one of the most reliable tools for assessing a

student

's understanding. Other types of assessment possible, include discussions and interviews. In discussion, students are given topics to study on a particular idea and are graded based on their feedback. In debates,

for instance

, debaters argue over a notion and points are awarded based on certain criteria.

In addition

, interviews can be used to evaluate a

student

's performance. As an example, in medical school, a part of the exam involves an examiner asking a

student

questions and grading the

student

based on his or her response. Overall, these tools are

also

efficient in assessing students. In conclusion, formal exams have been the major and most common way of assessing students in schools and universities.

This

essay discussed that these exams are used to measure the knowledge of a

student

and

also

described other assessment tools

such

as interviews and discussions