Pass or Fail: Should we suffer from summative tests?

Why do we take summative tests? Are tests really used in the real world? Do the things we study for summative tests apply to the real world?

According to the Carnegie Mellon University, the goal of a summative assessment is to evaluate a students learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against the standard or benchmark. Summative tests are needed so that the school can compare the ability of their students to the average of other schools with the same learning course, but, do we need these summative tests? The consequences of summative tests greatly outweigh the benefits.

We have to admit it. Benefits of summative tests do exist. First, it provides the least motivation for students to pay attention in class. Without the pressure of receiving a “good” grade, it is likely for students to mainly spend their class time staring at walls, sleeping and playing games on smartphones. Another advantage would be that summative test can provide the teachers with the general weaknesses and strengths of the class and individual students. This knowledge can be transferred to an innovative way of teaching which is more beneficial for the class. Teachers can also recommend to individual students about their weakness and strength, therefore aiding the grades of the students.

However, are these summative tests really necessary? Let’s have a look at the cons of summative tests. First and foremost, summative tests consume too much time.  Students stay up until 3 am, or even to 5 am to study for summative exams.  Not only students but teachers also have to spend a significant amount of time creating and grading the exams for the students. This consequential amount of time spent on either studying, grading or creating of these tests becomes an unbearable burden for both teachers and students as it leads to the breakdown of daily life-style schedule.

Alfa Lin, a student in Junior year claimed that “Every time after the summative tests, I have to go home and take a nap for at least 3 hours since I would be awake until 3 am to study the day before.”  This brings the devastation of the lifestyle of students and could potentially harm students health.

Not only the collapse of lifestyle but also the question “Will we be needing summative test skills in the future?” is a continuously issued rationale why summative tests are useless. Many summative tests include the memorization of a particular knowledge. In real-life, we will almost always have the internet around as to help as gain this particular knowledge. So, do we really need to risk being stressful to memorize something which will always be on the internet?

Summative tests can be beneficial, but the consequences outweigh the benefits. Both students and teachers suffer from the abundant amount of work that needs to be done for knowledge which will always be on the internet around us. Therefore, I have to conclude that summative tests simply bring no benefit to our learning.