A little question here, which is better for one's actual learning at O-Level/CSE/GCSE stage: coursework or examinations? I say this due to the fact that my school teaches very much just to pass exams - and picking on French as an example subject - we're not being taught anything remotely useful regarding the physical language. However, I am taking Art GCSE (even that seems to have blended all into one subject, not individual like sewing, pottery etc.) and that involves coursework still - and as far as I know it is the only subject still to do so. I know when my mum went to school it was very much coursework based alongside the compulsory exam for each subject. Therefore, that begs the question raised at the top of this post - which is actually better to do for your learning. In my opinion - it would be coursework, as you have to make the effort, leaving all spoon-feeding to the side while one actually makes the effort for a subject that they like. Opinions?
Exams aren't designed to promote learning - they're designed to assess learning. The work done in preparation for the exams is where learning is expected to occur.
My 13 years of public school consisted of coursework designed to teach kids how to pass standardized tests so the schools could get funding and not leave any child behind, which basically translated to "funnel them through the system until they're 18, graduated, or dropped out." College ("university") wasn't much better. It was just lecturing followed by exams. Schools can put people through as much coursework and exams as they like -- won't matter unless the knowledge is put into practice. I don't give a fuck if someone can recite a textbook by heart. If they haven't applied it in the real world, they haven't learned shit. What's the saying? No plan survives contact with the enemy? Well no lesson does either. School is sterile, and unless examinations are practical examinations that measure how well a student applies the lessons in the field, it's all wasted time and effort.
