Tests and examinations are a central feature of school systems in many countries. Do you think the educational benefits of testing outweigh any disadvantages? v.7

Testing practices in educational field were implemented about 1 century ago and still works in the majority of world’s developed countries, however, the question exists, whether students’ achievement in academic field is directly proportional to the testing system or it is just mere illusion that exams increase children’s confidence level and strengthens their skills. In this essay, I am going to discuss the possible advantages of testing and its negative effects on school children in order to find out whether it is useful or not. First of all, testing students’ knowledge on regular bases could be profitable for the children itself. When they are aware of the fact that their final grade would be determined by the exams, most of them start working hard in order to achieve desirable score. This is the main source to assess their knowledge during the whole semester. Furthermore, testing assist to the teachers because they are able to realize students’ weaknesses and then could concentrate more on these aspects while teaching. Secondly, exams could also be used to set personal goals for youngsters to achieve high scores and they, themselves could even motivate classmates. So, testing could evolve valuable skills in youngsters which could result in forming them as professional ones. On the other hand, it could have long lasting harmful effects on youngster which is a serious threat for their psychology. It is well-known fact that the human mind mainly forms in their early ages, therefore, if the individual has developed a chronic stress from testing, then it might arise unresolvable mental health problems which could last for the entire life. So, before exams school administration must somehow take into consideration the psychic condition of students. However, it is worth mentioning that stress management is valuable skill in the working field and if they manage to be calm during exams, it would be helpful for their professional development. In conclusion, while exams have both, advantages and drawbacks, it is undeniable that testing is the main way to measure student’s academic improvement and it helps teachers to be more helpful for youngsters. Besides all of these, it could evolve essential professional skills in students and aids them to get accustomed with stress management, therefore, I believe, its educational purposes are unmeasurable.