Role of Examination in Education - Assignment Example

Common Difficulties Which Experience in Key Stage 3, 4 An examiner's examination result speaks of the kind of preparation the learner has gone through and his preparedness to enter another level of study. On the other hand, as an information carrier and trainer, it also identifies the teacher's know-how in developing the learner. In other words, the application of the gained information, and/or the experiences of both are necessary to produce a good examination result. Physical condition. Unpreparedness as one identified reason for having a low mark makes an impact that affects the learner's objectives in taking the examination as well as the teacher's expertise in teaching. Whether physically, mentally, emotionally, and even in the spiritual and financial, it plays a big part on the success of the examination. As Physical education's primary goals include: the development of motor skills and physical fitness; and with the inclusion of growth in the cognitive and affective domains; social interaction and the encouragement to appreciate the successes and achievements of others. It is therefore, worthy to try to understand one's self and the pressures and forces which makes one respond or react, and be able to prepare for it. Mental preparation or the kind of mind setting is important in taking an exam. A mind that is already defeated beforehand would of course produce a negative result. Worrying on whether to pass or not tends the body to get tensed and muscles tighten. The state of being of an individual before taking an exam matters for it stabilizes one's focus and concentration, and be able to filter information needed to answer most especially essay questions. An examiner is able to organise insights and ideas needed to explain or support his propositions thus, making a desirable or excellent result. Time management. With the very nature of time that it cannot be recycled, time management is very significant to an examination result. As it was apparent in the nature of the candidates' answers, the attitude to rush in answering questions contributed to having a failing mark. Instructions were not read carefully though instructed beforehand. Candidates attempting to answer all questions giving details on arguments by tackling the why and how or the causes and effects were penalised in terms of time reducing the allocation per question. Though some are wise in time management, constraints happen when less time is left to complete the answers. Reading Comprehension/Understanding instructions/Vocabulary Instructions direct the orderliness of an examiner's answers, and poorly constructed instructions would lead to failing examination result - both on the teacher's and the examiner. However, part of the instruction is the ability to understand the requirement of the question. Wherein in most cases, and as a result of the examination, uninformed candidates made little analysis or careful reading on questions and attempted to use whatever knowledge they had regardless of the question. As it is considered to be one of the common hindrances in producing good examination results, students suffering from it are the ones that fail. Reading may be a skill, but common problems during examinations, many students fail to achieve marks because of the inability to understand terminology with specific words or phrases highlighted in the question. It is often misunderstood especially those relating to work covered in the AS course. With the exception of the few, there were candidates who found it difficult to describe terms and consequently gave rather vague and rambling responses. The use of technical language, particularly in the synoptic questions, remains weak for many candidates. Using non-technical language will often result in candidates giving vague and generalised responses that normally fail to answer the question. As questions should be clear resulting to 'clear' answers, there was a fairly even spread between candidates who were able to identify particular body types and those who were not. Poor spelling meant that it was not clear to examiners in all cases exactly what the candidate was identifying as a body type. The failure of candidates to take heed of the instructions in specific parts of the question, leads to an answer that lacks focus and accuracy. An example was such the case that many referred to physical activities that would have been appropriate on the physical education paper but were not acceptable where candidates lost a maximum of one mark for using an inappropriate activity. Clarity and Organization. As experienced in previous years, there were countless examples of responses being too vague, unclear and not focused on the key words of the question, particularly those in bold text drawing the candidates' attention to the main point of the question. Many candidates lost marks by just listing points and factors without further explaining the key word in the question Evidences of vagueness, repetitive answers that have no focus and the poor organization in answering essay questions, speak of the reality of an uninformed individual or student. The ability to discuss issues and demonstrate a connection or establish a reciprocal relationship makes it very difficult where unrelated information is included. At times, answers are made lengthy with the notion that it will get higher marks. Though teachers require detailed answers, it is sometimes a drawback step for examiners because answers become poor in its interpretation of the focus of the question. In addition, many candidates lost marks by just listing points and factors without further explaining the key word in the question and therefore attain the full marks available. In instances that candidates need to answer sections of questions worth five marks, responses to questions lacked variety. Common weaknesses were that candidates tended to repeat the same point. They often failed to address more than one side to a question and that candidates using bullet points often lost the differentiating marks because of the inability to coherently process a line of thinking. As to the causes of problems of the candidates, the following topics are the most identified: sport England policies national governing bodies achieving equality in sporting opportunities advantages of including individual activities in physical education programmes development of sporting excellence in nineteenth century public schools discussion of .lifetime activities over traditional team games Knowledge Application. Application will not be in its full course without the knowledge of "how to" of doing it. The insufficiency of the breadth or depth of knowledge, and the ability to apply it to sport and physical education situations, with the use of relevant examples is evident on the kind of answers most especially on the essay questions. Candidates failed to indicate more than the most basic of knowledge, and were not able to reflect on the causes and consequences wherein facts are already known. Since knowledge on certain topics is scant, many candidates made very unspecific reference to rules in general without giving specific examples and there was a tendency to fail to link the response to the safety aspect identified in the question. Other candidates also chose examples that were not rules but would be more correctly considered to be etiquette or good practice. Examination Techniques. There is always a solution to every problem, and that is why tips or guidelines are given to minimize or avoid cramming. Such is experienced when one is unprepared or the given time allotment is impossible to finish an exam. Thus, simple management is needed to be able to use all resources in the completion of an examination at the earliest possible time and be able to review previously answered questions if possible. Candidates suffered from poor examination techniques such as, not devoting sufficient space and time to longer questions and writing too much on questions having lower marks. The failure to link the mark allocation to the key word in the question and the repitition of the wording of the question in the answer is common. Questions are allocated with marks, which is a good indication of the number of points required. Thus, to gain the highest marks, candidates must be able to write accurately, fluently and concisely. Another failure of many candidates was the application specifically of their answers to specific parts of a question which was particularly evident although less apparent where bullet pointing the requirements of the question seemed to trigger the required response. On the other hand, though the topic area was somewhat similar, students' answers are based on previous questions, and published mark schemes that were often irrelevant. Furthermore, responses in giving examples are quite absurd that failed to answer the question set. Despite the fact that, it was asked for in both parts of the question, these were often omitted or inappropriate, and poor examples were chosen, often from unacceptable activities. Rules and regulations/Required Sets of Standards. In every endeavor, rules are to be remembered, as violations to such would mean a demerit. The general standard of quality of written communication was poor and even the stronger candidates often failed to achieve the higher marks available for this. The display of learners' inconveniences in taking exams may have rooted from different causes such as family backgrounds - kind of upbringing or treatment experienced and/or family orientations; or teacher's strategies in conducting examinations. These affects the learner's attitude and character that becomes evident before, during, and after the exam. Wherein, in most cases it is in the result of examinations where a student is adjudged, and that it would privilege a teacher to find and know why such negative results are produced. In the long run, evaluation is a dynamic process that helps determine the progress being made in meeting program objectives. It identifies strengths, weaknesses, and omissions and show where needed resources, balance, or emphases might be shifted in order to improve the program. It also helps the participants determine their own progress such as competence, individuality, socialization, and integration within the program; and is useful for interpreting and reporting program outcomes. Teachers play important roles because they serve as information carriers to learners. Negative exam results may also be a result of a poor teacher's disposition in teaching. A blank paper would mean either being unprepared on the learner's part or because of unclear instructions from the teacher. As role models for the expected leaders of tomorrow, learners' difficulties in examinations need to be well - addressed. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. LEE, A. M., THOMAS, K. T., & THOMAS, J. R. 2000. Physical Education for Children 2nd Edition. United States of America: Human Kinetics 2. BUCHER, C. A., KROTEE, M. L. 2002. Management of Physical Education and Sport 12th Edition. 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020:McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 3. AQA. (2005). GCSE Physical Education Examiners' Report [Online]. Available: http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/gcse/pe_a_exam.html [24 April 2006] 4. AQA. (2006). GCE Sport and Physical Education [Online]. Available: http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/gceasa/spo_exam.html [24 April 2006] 5. SHILSTONE, M. (2004). The Importance Of Physical Education [Online]. Available: http://www.justaskourdoctors.com/healthcare-detail.aspid=23 [27 April 2006] 6. PIVARNIK, J. M., & Pfeiffer K. A. (July 2002). The Importance of Physical Activity for Children and Youth. [Online]. Available: http://www.michiganfitness.org/Publications/documents/Adolescents.pdf#search='importance%20of%20physical%20education' [27 April 2006] 7. SALA, Harold J. (1988). Winning Your Inner Struggles. Philippines: OMF Literature Inc. Read More