There seems to be an increasing trend towards assessing students through exams rather than continual assessment. What are the advantages and disadvantages of exams as a form of assessment?

Although
, exams have been around for ages, there is a growing tendency for children to be tested through regular assessment
instead
. Examinations conducted in the traditional way are the most reliable method of testing a child's knowledge level,
however
, there are some drawbacks to
this
as well. On the one hand, exams provide the best method to analyse the knowledge and skills of students.
In other words
, these are conducted in a controlled environment providing an equal and fair chance to everyone to succeed. Since, the question papers are set and reviewed by experts, who are experienced in formulating them, the ability and skills of students can be adequately tested in the most efficient manner.
Furthermore
,
such
a way of conducting testing, provides the ideal assessment of students at a national level,
consequently
, it can be used to set standards and compare students for admissions to colleges and universities nationally.
On the other hand
, one time examinations do not provide a fair method of testing a student’s ability.
For instance
, it is commonly accepted that
this
kind of testing results in excessive build up of stress and anxiety,
thus
, people cannot perform at their best under
such
conditions, and
therefore
, it is unfair to test someone when they are not performing at their best. Another point to consider, is that research has shown that there are other better methods of assessing skills and retention
such
as continuous testing at regular intervals for smaller segments of the syllabus, which has been found to be much more efficient and students have been noted to get higher grades and excel academically. In conclusion, exams have many advantages when it comes to assessing students,
however
, it
also
puts them under undue stress and might not be the best indicator of their knowledge and skills.

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Include an introduction and conclusion

A conclusion is essential for IELTS writing task 2. It is more important than most people realise. You will be penalised for missing a conclusion in your IELTS essay.

The easiest paragraph to write in an essay is the conclusion paragraph. This is because the paragraph mostly contains information that has already been presented in the essay – it is just the repetition of some information written in the introduction paragraph and supporting paragraphs.

The conclusion paragraph only has 3 sentences:

  • Summary
  • Restatement of thesis
  • Prediction or recommendation

Example:

To summarize, a robotic teacher does not have the necessary disciple to properly give instructions to students and actually works to retard the ability of a student to comprehend new lessons. Therefore, it is clear that the idea of running a classroom completely by a machine cannot be supported. After thorough analysis on this subject, it is predicted that the adverse effects of the debate over technology-driven teaching will always be greater than the positive effects, and because of this, classroom teachers will never be substituted for technology.

Start your conclusion with a linking phrase. Here are some examples:

  • In conclusion
  • To conclude
  • To summarize
  • Finally
  • In a nutshell
  • In general

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