A level examinations are necessary

Oh, it's my turn. OK, I'll make mine brief. I believe that the current examination system is not a limiting factor on our knowledge or our creativity for that matter. Firstly, grading provides incentive. Students will be motivated to work harder, especially if good grades will 'get them far in life'. The current system differentiates students into different grades: A*, A, B, C, D, E and U for A level as an example. It is not being 'condescending' by separating them by grades- instead, because some students get As and Bs in some subjects and Es and Ds in others simply means that they will 'specialize' into their best subjects. Although we may be distasteful of the horrible seats as well as (possibly) having to sit in absolute silence, the examination system is a standardised system. It is systematically controlled so that very little factors can provide some students with unfair advantages. A typical exam room consists of separate tables per student, each about 1.5m to 2m apart from the adjacent table. The student must be absolutely silent to ensure no communication. The starting time and finishing time given for candidates are the same. All these ensure a 'level playing field' for examination candidates, and to ensure that it is the candidate, not his friend next to him, that knows the answer. The controlled environment provides the additional challenge of time, so that the candidates are forced to keep a track of it. This is representative of real life scenarios, whereby assignments must be completed on time. It teaches candidates to cope with stressful situations which may occur in the line of work, time being the most obvious. I do not see much problem with practising examination techniques. I believe that the criticism of the emphasis on exam techniques over application of knowledge is out of proportion. For example, this is a question from AQA AS Physics A, unit 2, June 2013 (refer to page 2 of the exam paper at . http://filestore.aqa.org.uk... ) Source: AQAThis particular question gives an example of a potential real-life scenario. This question requires (albeit simple) mathematical reasoning, as opposed to using a set of keywords. The questions asked every year in regard to mechanics and waves are different- thus mathematical reasoning, as opposed to what we stereotypically call 'exam techniques', are more important. Let us take another subject for example. Looking at context two of AQA AS macroeconomics, June 2013 series. Refer to pages 14 and 15 on . http://filestore.aqa.org.uk... The last question, the '25 marker', helps to develop the students' essay writing skills, critical thinking as well as data analysis. Real life data and articles are given. If you look at the mark scheme of AS economics, the examiners actually encourage strong evaluation as well as broad understanding of the subject. Candidates are credited for 'reading around the subject'- quoting the Economist magazine, well-known economics books like the Road to Serfdometc. For example, to obtain AO4 level, the candidates are required to have 'good (evaluation) with clear final judgment' (Source: . http://filestore.aqa.org.uk... ). This phenomenon is not exclusive to economics- other social sciences and humanities like history and geography also require one to have clear judgment as well as deep understanding of the subjects concerned. As one can see, the exam boards are trying their best to equip the candidates with useful knowledge related to their subjects. Admittedly there had been controversies such as OCR's 'impossible' physics paper this year. But the exams nevertheless teach us other important skills like time management, evaluation, data analysis and mathematical reasoning. ..