Band 6+: In many countries, formal exams are used to access assess students' ability and to judge the success of their education. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the formal exams to assess students' abilities? Do you think benefits of using formal exams outweighs the drawbacks.

Many of the nations use the old traditional method to detect the value or education level of the students by the formal means of examination. There are a few advantages and disadvantages to formal examinations.

Firstly, let us discuss the advantages. Formal exams are used to access individual knowledge based on what has been taught by the professor in a given amount of time. This can be helpful to evaluate the student based on their ability to grasp the concepts and implement those concepts to solve the problem effectively. Furthermore, the formal way of the examination also builds discipline and punctuation among the students; they need to do their assignments by the given due date. This helps them to be efficient and do their tasks effectively.

There are also disadvantages to formal exams; these exams generally do not test the ability of the student to its fullest potential. As there are few theory-based exams that only require the remembrance of concepts, students who can easily memorise stuff can get good grades. For instance, there is a chemistry exam where individuals need to memorise all the molecular formulae, structures of compounds, etc. But it does not test the practical knowledge of the student, whether he is able to perform and use knowledge practically.

I do not think the benefits of the formal exams outweigh the drawbacks, as the advantages of formal exams mostly test the one ability to memorise and learn, and immersion is not tested by formal exams. It cannot judge one’s ability to perform in a fast-paced industrial world. As a result, the benefits of formal exams outweigh the drawbacks.