Should High School and Universities have Exit / Entrance Exams?

[mod_it]

Should we have all High School student need to pass an exam to get their diploma in Canada? How about recreating the pressure cooker of writing entrance exams for University found in Japan or other countries?

If you don't pass, you can take it again but if you keep failing on your own dime, you're screwed and will probably be sweeping streets somewhere in the suburbs.

IMO, it would raise our education standards / more quality grads with more jobs but I'll admit it here, I probably wouldn't make it in this system :facepalm: :razz: :o

[Jon Lai]

Why are exit exams necessary? Aren't the course exams sufficient?

Entrance exams for secondary schools are common in other places around the world, so I don't think they're a problem. However, with our current system, this is quite hard. Technically, we have entrance exams already, but only for specialized schools.

[Piro21]

What useful purpose would this really serve? University is pretty much high school these days anyway.

[Ryougo]

Should we have all High School student need to pass an exam to get their diploma in Canada? How about recreating the pressure cooker of writing entrance exams for University found in Japan or other countries?

If you don't pass, you can take it again but if you keep failing on your own dime, you're screwed and will probably be sweeping streets somewhere in the suburbs.

IMO, it would raise our education standards / more quality grads with more jobs but I'll admit it here, I probably wouldn't make it in this system :facepalm: :razz: :o

In those same countries it's my understanding that once you make it into a University you can pretty much coast afterwards which would hardly raise the quality of graduates.

Jobs are also not correlated with how schools are run at all, the labour market demands certain skills and is only willing to offer a certain level of compensation for them. You could educate all people to the level of Phds but society still needs the street sweeper you mentioned.

[uzi969]

Should we have all High School student need to pass an exam to get their diploma in Canada? How about recreating the pressure cooker of writing entrance exams for University found in Japan or other countries?

If you don't pass, you can take it again but if you keep failing on your own dime, you're screwed and will probably be sweeping streets somewhere in the suburbs.

IMO, it would raise our education standards / more quality grads with more jobs but I'll admit it here, I probably wouldn't make it in this system :facepalm: :razz: :o

Some provinces (Alberta & potentially others) already have such a requirement for high school diplomas.

An exit exam for university I would say no only because then I would have to write one and I don’t remember squat from the first 3 years ;). Although I guess that I did basically write something similar to an exit exam for my undergrad, albeit it was for licencing in the US (the FE exam for anyone intersted). It was a grueling 8 hours, but more than passable. Such an exam might help wean out the few that coast along by getting others to do their work for them.

[funnykid]

I refuse to vote in your poll, because it is biased. You are explicitly coercing people who choose No to agree with your opinion that the lack of an exit/entrance exam automatically means the quality of graduates are poor. I do not agree with exit/entrance examinations, because they usually become a memorization fest that stifles open and creative learning. Although grade inflation is a problem, there are existing criteria that acts as gatekeepers to university/college admission (e.g. grades, supplementary applications, interviews).

Having more exams is not necessarily a good thing. Just look at Hong Kong, which reduced their high school standardized examinations from two to one for various reasons.

[nauru]

Good universities do have an exit exam; it's called an undergraduate thesis.

Personally I think there should be some sort of standardized testing required for admissions, because there are huge differences in grading standards between provinces, between school boards, between schools, between school departments, and even between teachers in the same school same department. It's out of control IMO.

[wirebound]

the problem with standardized testing is that they're not necessarily predictors of future performance either; they're indicative of an individual's capacity to perform on one day; that's why medical schools, for example, have moved away from MCATs to more holistic OSCEs ... they're more accurate predictors, but even then, there's no magic formula for predicting an individual's performance. These are pieces of what emerges as an applicant's dossier and appropriately weighted. I'm obviously skeptical of any standardized test; but I don't think its the way forward for universities.

[nauru]

Well I think the current situation of basing admissions decisions nearly 100% on high school grades is a lousy approach in a country such as Canada that does not have any nationwide standardization of curricula and grading. Standardized testing, or at the very least performance in special courses which have a standardized curriculum (AP, IB, or something similar) should be a major component of admissions. There is simply too much variance in high school curricula, grading standards, and general level of course content for high school grades to be a reliable for comparison of ability for students coming from totally different school systems. It would be more desirable to have an admissions system where grades do count for a significant amount, but so do standardized tests, and so do other projects you've undertaken or been involved in which signal the applicant's level of aptitude in their desired field of study, as well as activities which signal the applicant's other abilities. This is somewhat similar to what is already done at the graduate level since there are applicants from many different universities all over the world and without some sort of standardization there would be no good way to compare them.

[pupazzo]

This poll is idiotic. The no option looks like it was written by someone who barely passed grade school lol

[mod_it]

This poll is idiotic. The no option looks like it was written by someone who barely passed grade school lol

You Don't Say?

http://www.hilariousheadlines.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/funny-face-8.jpg

[DaSciGuy]

Actually I think its a good idea. My high school was in a small town, and all the students who came from families that were "influential" or who had long standing histories with the town had their grades "sponged" and exaggerated by the teachers in the their final years so they we guaranteed entrance and scholarships to the universities they applied to. It was quite rampant.

And I'm sure its not the only place that did this. So yes, the Ministry should hold exit exams that are held outside of the schools power, different facilities, and completely randomized. I guarantee if they did that more than half of those who got into the university of their choice with really high scholarships from my high school would have ended up with neither.

[jungeon]

Should we have all High School student need to pass an exam to get their diploma in Canada? How about recreating the pressure cooker of writing entrance exams for University found in Japan or other countries?

If you don't pass, you can take it again but if you keep failing on your own dime, you're screwed and will probably be sweeping streets somewhere in the suburbs.

IMO, it would raise our education standards / more quality grads with more jobs but I'll admit it here, I probably wouldn't make it in this system :facepalm: :razz: :o

In Ontario the education system is standardize = no need for standardized exit exam test because all the test are technically standardized to begin with because all the curriculums are the exact same.

A standard exam is only necessary when schools teach different curriculums and since 95% of ontarian students go to ontarian universities there is no reason for one.

It doesn't raise standards people just study for a while and forget. And while Japan has good high schools, they have below canadian standard universities.

[jungeon]

Well I think the current situation of basing admissions decisions nearly 100% on high school grades is a lousy approach in a country such as Canada that does not have any nationwide standardization of curricula and grading. Standardized testing, or at the very least performance in special courses which have a standardized curriculum (AP, IB, or something similar) should be a major component of admissions. There is simply too much variance in high school curricula, grading standards, and general level of course content for high school grades to be a reliable for comparison of ability for students coming from totally different school systems. It would be more desirable to have an admissions system where grades do count for a significant amount, but so do standardized tests, and so do other projects you've undertaken or been involved in which signal the applicant's level of aptitude in their desired field of study, as well as activities which signal the applicant's other abilities. This is somewhat similar to what is already done at the graduate level since there are applicants from many different universities all over the world and without some sort of standardization there would be no good way to compare them.

This makes no sense. Out of province students at most Ontario schools are all put into a seperate pool. Ontario high schools all issue standardized test in all courses and standardized curriculms which is a level above just standardized testing- which doesn't standardize grades.

Standardize test are just grossly biased test, biased to the rich kids who can afford to do the prep courses and have time to buy prep books and hire tutors.
There is no way to compete against this. All standardize test like the sat do is tip the scale in favour of the rich.