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. Do you agree or disagree?

Formal examinations are the most used tool to grade students’ performance. Some courses might have other coursework

such

as essays, research papers and presentations,

however

, final exams are almost always the primary method

to conclude

pupils’ level of understanding of the subject. In my opinion, these test papers may not always give the full idea of students’ abilities and how different types of assessment can be as useful to measure them. The main argument against using only exams as a way to rate comes from a rather obvious point - every learner is an individual with different ways of performing their skills. In an assessment, it is only possible to show what you have learned through writing, and

that is

not everyone’s strength. There are alternative techniques which might be more suitable for other students,

for example

,presentations and projects.

Thus

ignoring these other, fully equal replacements can be considered unfair to people trying to express their knowledge.

Moreover

, testing possibly weeks or months amount of learning in one day, with one paper, cannot give a realistic image of what a person has learned. An examination should not be a competition of who has the best memory - it should demonstrate in the best way what has been learned.

Additionally

, there can be many factors influencing the results, like health issues or lack of concentration

due to

personal life. In summary, tests

at the end

of courses can be used as a part of the evaluation, but they should not be the centre of it. There are many great alternatives which can be used throughout the learning process and they give a much better picture of the capabilities a person holds.