A controversial concept

Last few days, I heard from my senior that they will have an open book exam in the coming final exams.

According to their news, since they need to rely on books in the work field, so the lecturer simply gives them an opened book exam instead of closed book exams.

Now, I wonder whether all exams will be conducted in such a way since everyone will do like that after graduation. So, what is the point to have a closed-book exams?? What's the point to memorise so many stuffs like those formula that engineers appreciate so much??

I never think of that before since we are born to take the exam. Nope, we actually are not born for exams!!
So, why do we need such an examination? When I was young, I still remembered what my teacher told me. The exams are for the overall assessment of our homework progress. Good to say but fail to implement a better policy. Why are exams so important that everyone scare of it and some people would start to cry when they were looking at the results slip?

There should be a rational behind it..In primary schools and secondary schools, exams are so important that they are required to be taken to assess your progress and be prepared to take the public exams such as SPM and STPM. This one I can accept that everyone of us needs to be consistent in our progress and be prepared to take the public exams. But, actually, what's the point to have an exam that closed-book and then make students suffer for memorising so many things....especially history!!! Understand nothing but memorising is the thing they are doing.

In working life, many engineers or doctors or other professionals also refer to books when they encounter a problem. So, why don't we treat the exam like a new problem that we encounter and we approach in an appropriate way? Opened-book exams, definitely is a proper way for university students.
For secondary and primary students, they have to be trained to fully utilise the brain so that they can have a better appreciation in what they are learning.

Exams are not a proper way use to assess a person's progress. Assignment in other words, really a nicer way to be conducted. In countries such as Australia, they emphasize assignment more that exams because they realise that the exams cannot be a absolute determinant of the progress of a student. Subjects like engineering, medicine , sure have a way to have assignment in a suitable way(to be decided by the course coordinator of course).

Unfortunately, I have no idea why the countries like Singapore and Malaysia stress so much in exams and make students suffer. Students actually are not born to take exams. We are born to learn!! We are born to be assessed in another way but not exams. For some students, exams are good, because they can know and understand how far they understand the thing they learn but majority of them end up professions as profs because exams are blindly theories. Some students prefer assignment because it involves a lot hands-on stuff. For me, both can be taking into consideration. Exams should be weighted lightly while assignments can be a better determinant for it.

What a piece of controversial article. Exams or not? This one really non of our business...