Date:12/07/2009 URL: thehindu/thehindu/op/2009/07/12/stories/2009071256181300.htm Back Open Page Fear of matriculation exam D. Raja Ganesan Sigmund Freud has adduced clinical evidence and argued that facing the matriculation examination is a traumatic experience — even for those who prepare well and acquit themselves creditably, because the examination keeps recurring invariably in a template of anxiety in our dreams till very late in life. He has pointed out in his classic, The Interpretation of Dreams, that we seldom get dreams about more important examinations like M.D. M.S. or M.Tech which we take later for acquiring professional qualifications. For that matter, the managing director of a company who aspires to become the chairman may dream on the eve of the board meeting that he is writing his matriculation examination rather than any other examinations he took later. A candidate contesting election or a girl who waits to see her prospective bridegroom is likely to dream that he/she is taking the matriculation examination on the eve of these important events. Anxious experience Stekel, a contemporary of Freud, observed that only those who pass the matriculation examination get the dream and not those who fail and Freud endorses this observation. There emerges a distinction between the original event and its occurrence in dreams. Freud interprets an examination dream, which is invariably loaded with anxiety, as a concealed message of hope: “just as you have come out successfully through your matriculation examination you will come out successful in the impending test-like situation also.” The public examination is traumatic because it depends to a considerable extent on chance. It is structured as a single crucial occasion deciding one’s entire future. The content coverage in terms of life skills is hopelessly narrow, despite the increasing width of the pedantic content of the syllabus. The way it has evolved in India unfortunately does not tap inherent and indispensable talents. At best it promotes test-taking skills. But some kind of testing has to remain. The regime of state-mandated tests introduced by the Federal Government in 2002 in the U.S.in the face of progressive deterioration in the standards of school graduates is a caution against adopting a free-for-all assessment system. These tests seek to ensure that all school graduates attain certain minimum levels of mastery in generic skills like reading, writing and arithmetic. Though the state-mandated tests do not preclude the schools offering a richer curriculum and testing their students on them, they are indirectly making for a narrowing of the curriculum. Reducing the trauma Frequent testing with cumulative grading will render the process of assessment less fearsome. There can be a final test but in four successive modes: open book — unlimited time, open book — limited time, closed book — unlimited time and closed book — limited time which is the current mode. The scores on all the four modes must find a place in the final mark sheet issued. There can be three tests at the end of the year and the highest score among the three can be taken as the final score. Of course, there are administrative and operational challenges in introducing and monitoring such a scheme But we owe it to our younger generation, which is much more open, intelligent and innovative. © Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 13:25:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015