What are exams for?

Have you ever wondered about the real purpose of exams? We tend to think of exams as a necessary evil enabling us to gain a qualification, or move on to the next step of our education.

Many years ago I took O levels so that I could get into the 6th form to do A levels. Then I took A levels and an entrance exam to get into university. I took my Finals so that I could get a degree. In those days, most people with a degree could get a job quite easily. So I got a job in a library, then as a journalist, then as an administrator in a manufacturing company. Later on I took a huge amount of exams to become a solicitor.

I have moved on from all those jobs and am no longer on the Roll of Solicitors. I still use a lot of what I learned from all those exams on a daily basis, however.

How can that be?

Let’s think about it…

1. Deadlines. Exams are immovable deadlines that you have to work towards. If you keep putting off your revision, or if you fail to turn up on the day, you won’t pass. Most jobs require you to work to deadlines some of the time, or all of the time. Even in your personal life, you will have to renew your car insurance on time, pay bills before the due date and keep appointments. The more practice we get early in life at working to deadlines, the easier all this stuff will be.

2. Pressure. There is no question that exams put us under pressure. They are supposed to do that. Working under pressure may not be comfortable but the ability to do it is essential for many jobs. Anyone dealing with customers face to face or on the phone, with multiple tasks or just a busy work environment will need to be able to keep a cool head under pressure. If we learn to cope well with exam pressure then we will be well equipped to face high pressure situations at work.

3. Memory. There’s no getting around it, you have to remember a lot of stuff for exams. Even in ‘open book’ exams, like some of the law exams I took, the resources you have with you are usually for reference and their presence doesn’t mean you don’t have to learn a lot of information! And the reality is that, despite having Google and all sorts of other resources in our pockets at all times, we still need to remember things. Although many professions (the law, for instance, or medicine) require practitioners to look things up from time to time, or even a lot, they must still remember huge amounts of information and also continue to learn and retain new facts, often with little time to do so. Pilots have to learn ‘memory items’ for various procedures. Having a good memory is like being physically fit and exams are like workouts for the memory. Keep using your memory and it will be one of the most useful assets you possess!

4. Being organised. The more organised you are, the easier you will find it to prepare for and take your exams. This applies especially if you are taking a lot of different exams at the same time, like GCSEs for example. You need to know which exams are happening when, plan your revision for each subject, and ensure you have everything covered. Multiple deadlines and lots to remember! This feat of organisation, including time management and controlling documentation, will serve you well in all sorts of situations outside education. Almost every job that exists requires you to be good at managing your time and lots of them need people who are good at managing paperwork, digital documents and other resources. Get good at this now and you will be able to sell your skills confidently in job interviews!

5. Stress. Exams are stressful. I have never met anyone who finds them relaxing! In order to do your best in exams you will have to find ways to manage stress that work for you. Keep the stress at a reasonable level and you will be able to employ your memory and the other skills you have learned to show the examiners what you know. Let stress overwhelm you and you won’t be able to shine as you deserve to. So, like it or not, navigating exam season is a great opportunity to learn techniques for managing stress that you will be able to use throughout your life. And in terms of job applications, whether the exams you have passed are relevant to a vacancy or not, the fact that you have passed them shows a prospective employer that you are able to manage well in difficult situations.

Those are just five important skills that exams will teach you, that have nothing to do with the subject being tested or the qualification that you want to attain. Exams are more useful than you might think, they test a lot more than your subject knowledge and the ones you have passed say a lot more about you as a person than the fact you listened in class and revised well.

I am sure there are more things that exams teach us that I haven’t thought of, though. If you think of one, let me know in the comments!

Photo by Fischer Twins on Unsplash