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There is a rather divisive and unhealthy debate surrounding the merits of final exams. The debate usually centres around the emotional factors and the effects that these have on students as they move through the education system.

As both an educator and an employer, I can find many compelling reasons for students to work towards final exams but one of the easiest analogies is to compare students in education with sports people.

I will use the example of an olympic sports person who has been in training for many years. How did the person even know that they were any good at the sport? Just maybe they entered contests that PROVED some level of ability. How did they ever test the usefulness of their training regime? Perhaps they entered more contests? Do you think that just maybe, they measured themselves against national and international benchmarks?

During the development and training processes, the sports person will have experienced both success and failure. With proper coaching and guidance, they derive motivation and very often satisfaction from the journey that they are on.

What happens if they reach a watershed in their development? Who knows? They might change direction maybe they will coach, become a physiotherapist, go drive a truck? I'm sure of one thing. After having experienced the consequences of competition, most will be better for it and know enough about themselves to move on. Short term disappointments should just be markers on the pathway to self discipline.

Yes! The olympics themselves? Imagine a lifetime of training being tested in say a few 100 metre races? Just a few seconds. Maybe a headache, a niggling injury, an emotional distraction, a bad night's sleep, official mistake! Experience helps the sports person cope but there will be disappointment.

Back to exams! As an employer, I like to see applicants who have experienced tests and exams. Would you like to be operated on by some one who had never been tested on their knowledge? What about a pilot who hadn't sat a navigation exam?

Feedback from educators rightly contains a vast array of information about student's progress but I believe that the absence of final exam results greatly diminishes the value of it.

Learn more about this author, David Ireland.
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