Examination is part of some students’ life. However, there have been so many voices saying that exam is useless and it cannot encourage students to learn. I totally disagree. I believe that examinations encourage students to learn. Let me explain to you how it works.
First of all, examinations bring students a sense of satisfaction. According to the dictionary, “encourage” means “to stimulate by assistance or approval”. The sense of satisfaction acts as an approval. If they get a good result, it will motivate them to work harder next time, in order to get this sense of satisfaction again. When students get a bad result, the sense of satisfaction attracts them to work harder. In the process of studying, they may gain knowledge and experience.
Secondly, examinations urge students to study automatically. Exam is just like an alarm clock, for both lazy and also hard-working students. Usually, lazy students will not study as a habit. While exam is approaching, lazy students will study for the examination or they will get a bad result and be punished and scolded by their parents. Not only lazy students, hard-working students need some reminders too. Although hard-working students will do their daily revision, exam reminds them to work much harder than usual, giving them a chance to show their ability and how much they pay for the exam. This alarm effect encourages students to become more diligent and gain knowledge to prepare for the exam.
Thirdly, exam gives a chance to students to know their own weaknesses. From an exam, they can know what their weaknesses are and get improvement on it. Also, it gives an opportunity to students to learn from mistakes. Students can learn from their classmates and ask their teachers. It enhances the communication between students themselves and teachers. When they know their weaknesses, they can learn and improve on them, never making the same mistakes again.
Last but not least, exam gives a suitable amount of pressure that encourages students to learn more. Pressure can be positive. For example, a student wants to get a good result in Chinese. He might feel a bit stressed, but this kind of stress urges him to achieve his goal. It pushes students to study.
Some may say that one cannot control the amount of stress given to students. However, I think that it is a golden opportunity for students to equip themselves and adopt a right attitude to face pressure. Everyone has pressure. Students can learn to have the right attitude to face pressure. It is not discouraging them. Some may also say that getting a bad grade discourages students from learning. On the contrary, it is a good indicator for students to know how hard they have worked. Moreover, competitions between students encourage students to work harder. Also, as the saying goes, “No pain, no gain”. On the way to success, people must face difficulties. It is a necessary evil as “Failure is the mother of success”. If they fail this time, they will work hard and they will finally succeed.
To sum up, exam makes students study automatically and gives them a chance to know their weaknesses. It also gives them a sense of satisfaction and positive pressure. Both encourage students to study and they can learn more during the process. Thus, I strongly believe that examinations encourage students to learn.