For most schools, colleges and universities, this week is a week not for the students to celebrate... cause it is Preliminary exams week (PRELIMS)! Students need to get back to their notes, research some, or even a time for being resourceful (where some "diskarte" is needed) with the objective to succeed and overcome the exams that the professor will be handing out.
Professors, instructors and the like are creating exams... also with different goals and objectives. Most of which creates it to gauge the understanding of students towards a certain subject matter, while others uses exams as a standard of how good they are (the professors) or even a tool for revenge, letting the students experienced what he or she had undergone before. In any case, would examinations REALLY measure the competency of a certain student?
A certain examination, especially concerning subject matters that are general in nature (e.g. Math, Science, English, Filipino, etc.) would include type such as identification, true/false, multiple choice and the like. Will competency on a subject matter be determined by creating an examination with for example ten (10) items of multiple choice questions? The answer is YES and NO. Yes, if the subject matter relies on terms. Mostly, examinations that will involve the said types usually the subject matter is subjective.
For objective-based subject matters such as in specialization-based areas, the examinations would rely on how the topics was approached. A programming topic should have a programming exam, but there are instances that a professor might use a true or false method. That is, it will really depend on how the professor would be able to maximize that specific type that the student will not just guess if it is true or false but conduct some observation to come up with the favorable or correct answer.
One thing that I can consider the truth in making examinations, IT IS NOT A PIECE OF CAKE! One must be very pedant in creating exams. An instructor needs to take into consideration a lot of things, one will be pondering that if the exam created can be answered by the students concerned. Another one will be time constraints or even the total number of items, even thinking of the amount of points for a specific question if the exam given is an essay type.In any way, examinations do help in one's advancement on whatever activity he or she may be involved in. It serves as a measuring tool in delivering education to each student in all levels. That is, it must be carefully planned so not to punish or crucify a certain student, but to help these learning individuals to instill the knowledge that professors or instructors tries to impart to them.
Cheers!
