Exams Ought to be Abolished from the Education System

R1: Attitudes to Exams My opponent says the problem with exam stress isn't the stress of the exam itself, but rather the attitudes of students towards exams. This fundamentally ignores the fact that exams frequently results in suicides, and to those who already have anxiety and depression, they are fundamentally disadvantaged even before having walked into the room. The nature of the exam by design is to place a person on the spot and recall information with no assistance. With an essay, or a presentation, the stress is still there, but it is to a much lesser extent because the person isn't relying strictly on memory. The stress can be alleviated by practising the presentation, or doing research on an essay. For exams, this isn't possible. Source: . http://www.telegraph.co.uk... My opponent plays semantics, tests are exams. Although they are “less important” forms of examination, they are still a point of examination that still only tests memory over actual critical faculties. R2: Re-Testing My opponent then concedes that on occasion exams don't even test the material given in lecture. As for his “re-testing” clause. The problem is that it takes up time and resources to fix a given issue that shouldn't have happened in the first place. When one considers that these exams only tests materials that isn’t necessarily on it, and makes professors have to redo work they shouldn't have to, this is a case of abolishing exams instead of keeping them. Businesses frequently complain that instead of exams, presentations would be much better replacement, especially because it teaches something that is actually useful and frequently required in the real world. At no point in someones career will they have to answer a multiple choice exam or face losing their jobs. However, jobs frequently require the use of Microsoft PowerPoint as a skill, for instance, which would mean presentation skills needs to be more emphasized in school. Sources: . http://www.markedbyteachers.com... R3: Differing Marks My opponent claims that sometimes marks can be contested. Which is true, but this isn't always an option. In some cases a veto means taking the risk of losing marks, so students might not always take it up. Furthermore, the issue gets worse if someone “bell curves” the marks in order to satisfy class averages to distribute marks. If my exam is bell curved, and I feel as though someone marked it wrong, I would lose marks. Highly unfair. And because marks can be bell curved, whats the point in an exam then in the first place if they're artificially raised or lowered? Source: . http://en.wikipedia.org... R4: Alternatives Essays are not the only alternative. Presentations, group work, and several others can be utilized as well, all of which are far more pragmatic. Furthermore, getting assistance does not mean necessarily that someone “doesn't understand the work”. If I am writing an essay on prostitution, and I cannot spell “sex worker” correctly, I can still get “assistance” while still showing my intelligence on the subject. R5: Cheating Tests are exams, they're the same thing, with the only difference being how much it is weighted. Even if you do not agree with me on that, the problem with my opponents case is he is playing semantics, without critiquing the fact that students under heavy stress will cheat. This isn't possible to the same extent as an essay, presentation, or group work. Even in the sources itself, the methods of cheating still account for leaving bags at the door. One even went so far as to reprint a Coke label to cheat, with the answers on it. Summary The stress of exams means suicide for some. In one video you can see someone hop out of a window killing himself as a result (see: ) Even if it doesn't, it puts those with anxiety and depression at a disadvantage. Bell curving marks continues to circumvent the purpose of exams in the first place. And even with the precautions taken, students can still find clever ways to cheat (. http://www.wikihow.com...) Thank you! Over to my opponent.