I realise that examination questions are becoming more challenging over the year

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   phillippeengelposted 11 years ago

   I realise that examination questions are becoming more challenging over the years. Why is that so?
   
   The teaching scope and emphasis is different for students of different aptitude. For students who are very weak, the initial emphasis is on mechanical skills and core questions. For students of average aptitude, the focus is on core and secondary questions. For students with a flair for the subject, the focus is on core and secondary questions with as much independence as possible and more exposure to tougher questions. Why do we want to head in the ''most difficult'' direction?

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   msorenssonposted 11 years ago

   From the point of view of the student I was, there was no preferential treatment by any of our professors, nor did they lower their expectation for any of us. The grading system was fixed. It was pure transmission of knowledge. We rarely ever went to our professors for help. If we visited them, it was because we  admired them especially, and the visits were brief, but social.
   
   From the point of view of a professor who had that training in college, it was challenging for me to reach the majority of students.
   
   When I finally had the luxury of teaching for the fun of it, it was easier. I adjusted the questions according to the class, which was no more than 20 students, in contrast to greater than one hundred in the lecture hall.
   
   The questions have to be able to measure an understanding of the core of the material, and phrased/written as such.
   
   Difficult direction..the questions have to be easy enough to understand, measuring the minimum, but there should be a few questions which challenge the best students.

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   Diane Woodsonposted 11 years ago

   First in order for the next generation to have careers in technological fields there must be an emphasis made upon even higher knowledge than we actually have disposal to now.  Education for Higher Learning must be emphasized in order for this to occur. Students with high I.Q. need in addition access to technological schools with FAFSA access, so as to financially succeed through all of the education that's needed for these jobs of the future. Individualization in all subject areas for all students Pre-K-Bachelors programs is needed as well. This can be brought about through small groups  on all levels emphasizing individual differences and focusing on the actual strengths and weaknesses of the student.
   In essence, the tougher the test questions the better with more models created will help to achieve this end. I am for more tests, stricter measurements and earlier testing to find which students are capable and in which area.

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   katyzzzposted 11 years ago

   I am not sure that I agree with your assumptions here.  Education when I was young almost automatically ensured that the 'best' students only coped with the more difficult questions and there was sufficient challenge for the ones less capable.
   
   Now we have students who can't spell etc needing to be catered for.
   
   Similar things happen with mathematics. With many barely able to do simple arithmetic.
   
   There is an emphasis on soft subjects rather than more difficult  for the majority of students.
   
   In my day those students considered capable were automatically streamed to more difficult subjects, but the world has changed with far too many 'gaining' University degrees of little or no use to them.  The real world sorts out who has the better skills to offer, often not related to academic training.
   
   We must expect more of our education and not deflect the time available to social issues, without any real answers or proven substance. Education equips or should equip a person for life which only discipline in core subjects can achieve

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   Rhonda_Mposted 11 years ago

   I don't think exams have gotten harder. I think student expectations have gotten lower; indeed with some (not all) there's even a sense of entitlement--I paid for the course, I want my mark. I think that also, some standards in highschools are lower than others, and this also contributes to the rude awakening some students feel when they have to write an exam.
   
   From  my experience as liberal arts college instructor, I observe that some students are accustomed to memorization, then spitting  it out. Newsflash - the exam is not supposed to measure your ability to memorize.
   
   On other occasions,  I observe students "whipping" air, saying a lot of nothing but making it sound clever. Newsflash- the exam is not testing your ability to B.S. It is testing an integrated skill set that includes critical thinking, understanding, not to mention evidence of having done the course readings.
   
   I'll tell you one thing, if you show up to class, do the work, listen to what the prof/instructor says, and keep up with the term work and reading, you won't find the exam hard. Challenging yes...that's the way it's supposed to be, to up the ante, to give you an exit standard from the course, to measure your learning,  not to measure your ability to regurgitate facts you will soon forget.

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      phillippeengelposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      A straightforward and succinct answer. I agree that exams must not merely test students on memorization, but on application. Although the questions might be onerous, the purpose of education is to challenge people to ponder and reason.

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   Laura Schneiderposted 11 years ago

   Wow, I had a totally opposite experience than you did in school: exam questions were "dumbed down", made easier by allowing the use of calculators and reference books and cards, etc., and I'm told that that problem has continued to get worse. And, the teaching was all the same regardless of the student's apparent aptitude. Naturally, as an individual goes through school the questions become harder in keeping with the more advanced teachings, but that's the natural process of learning. We want to head in the "most difficult" direction if we want to get ahead and achieve our goals and dreams and, literally, just be able to survive as independent adults.
   
   Also, many people don't take the "most difficult direction"--they remain average and unknown and contribute little to society. Walter Mitty types.
   
   Some people take the 'most easy' direction, and they generally become criminals or addicts and don't have or achieve much, if anything, in society, in fact they take from society by abusing their rights, stealing, acting for personal gain or glory only, etc.
   
   I think we should all WANT to head in the "most difficult direction" because that means that we are out to help the world as well as just ourselves. Helping the world means being kind to everyone, lending a helping hand, refraining from passing along gossip, etc. Random acts of kindness, extra unnecessary smiles to strangers, a greeting card to an old friend on their birthday... These are things that people do selflessly. And in the end, the "most difficult" direction becomes the easiest.

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      phillippeengelposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      A provoking answer. Good!

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