* Culled from MD Omisore’s Platform
Recently in Lagos, some seasoned educators and professionals joined me in a roundtable discourse on my ebook, 21 Codes for Passing Exam. The soon-to-be-launched book on one hand provides hints, tips and nuggets for an effective exam preparation and on the other hand uniquely spells out the latent, cogent and potent essence of examination administering.
Testing and examining students is an essential aspect of the learning process, not only to guage or ascertain students’ knowledge within the scope of the given syllabus, but also grooming and programming them for virile learning and maximising their academic potentials going forward.
The question is, has examination been made to deliver its good for the benefit and to the advantage of today’s average student? The almost unanimous answer at the pre-launch discourse roundtable was ‘No’, as most of the educators present could point to impediments and obstacles — particularly in our clime — which have greatly weakened the examination structure — chief of such is exam malpractice in all its shades.
That brings to fore another question — the question about the relevance of examination itself. Some outside my own circle have argued that examination is not the true test of knowledge, and that other approaches — like projects, presentations, case studies, collaborative work, peer feedback — should be considered as replacement to conducting examinations for students.
Replacement? ‘No’, I will say. While these other approaches can serve as complements in grading, assessing and appraising students’ performance, examination still stands out as the standardized way to assess knowledge — less subjective and more pragmatic and easily replicated once academic integrity is maintained. In this part of the world where these other complementary approaches are not even yet well developed to blanket the whole education plain, we still have to rely largely on manual and computer-based tests and examinations for grading, promotion, admission and certification. That is just being realistic.
Since it appears we are stuck with examination as the main and general form of knowledge assessment and judgment, what have we done with it or made out of it? Have we allowed the learning process to reach its fruition for the average student by conducting credible and standardized exam? Your guess is as good as mine.
With the spate of exam malpractice in our clime, the academic future (and professional future I dare to add) of the average student is being compromised — being sold so cheap — and jeopardized. And there is a critical need for well-meaning stakeholders to stem the criminal and counterproductive acts of malpractice — for the sake of today’s students and their future.
Cheating in an exam hall is however not the only form of malpractice there is. There are other related sharp practices like promoting poorly performing students (to the next class)
unduly, making students jump grades and classes indiscriminately, and even providing them with result and certificate that they never sit for its exam. It’s that terrible with some so-called educational set-up.
Though the credibility of examination has seriously been battered and almost shattered in some cases, its validity remains. At the pre-launch, I highlighted the essence of the new book, 21 Codes for Passing Exam, as promoting the sanctity of examination in its true and vital sense, showing students how to effectively prepare for examination, and perhaps most importantly, communicating the hidden offerings of examination for the grooming and development of students. That third part is indeed a rare essence.
These hidden offerings are what I refer to as codes actually, and 21 of them in all are shared in the book. I told the educators present at the pre-launch that exam is like a coding or programming. By that I mean a certain set of actions or input resulting in a certain set of output or outcome. And that outcome is not just the grades (academic performance) the student is awarded, but the academic prudence, intelligence and proficiency formed in him from the intellectual rigours of studying and preparing for the exam, which the student will take to his next class or level to tackle the academic challenges there.
That is why academic integrity should always be embraced and prioritized, and examination should be fashioned as a means to an end as much as it is an end. Academic performance can be crookedly fabricated through cheating and exam malpractice, but the student in question would have totally missed out on the real deal — the academic prudence, intelligence and proficiency that he is meant to gain at that level through his adequate study and preparation for that exam. That is like being handed a mere shell when one is meant to get the core substance meant for his academic and professional good. What a serious and awful shortchange!
*MD Omisore*
#SSCEProject
Education Consultant and Columnist, and Author of the Smart and Brilliant Writing series of books.
mdomisore@gmail.com
