Since forever academic institutions have given out final exams at the end of their semester or academic school year, yet it seems like they are now outdated.
Over the past years teachers have slowly steered away from final exams and have embraced the idea of final projects. Yet not all of them agree. Some still think that the final exams are the right answer, but which one is truly the best?
Final exams have been used for over hundreds of years. Some students fear these exams, while others look forward to them. Some students do extremely well, while others fail. Yet over the past years teachers have adopted a new type of final evaluation.
Teachers have slowly accepted the idea of having final projects instead of final exams. They have chosen to switch sides for the benefits that come with having a final project.
Of course, final exams also have many benefits, yet they have more negatives than final projects do.
Exams are all about memorization. They only evaluate how much the student remembered about the topic, not if they know how to apply it. While memorization and knowledge of the material is a good thing, it doesn’t compare to the ability of being able to apply that knowledge to the real world.
Furthermore some students are not the best test takers, while they may be incredibly smart and know all the material by heart, they might crumble under the stress of an exam and perform poorly.
On the other hand, final projects encourage students to use critical thinking, creativity and collaboration. In order to access all the information and apply it in a way that may benefit them in the future while also helping the student build critical life skills like teamwork, communication and time management. By having a final project the stress of having to memorize everything is also diminished.
Yet this method also has its downsides with the rise of ChatGPT and new ways to avoid being caught by AI detectors students may use these websites to help them with their final project.
Of course not all subjects should use a final project over a final exam. In subjects like math, biology, chemistry and history a final exam is much more preferred due to the nature of the subjects.
In the end it is the teachers who decide whether they want to apply a final exam or a final project. While some choose the benefits and the growing popularity of a final project others choose the more proven method, the final exam.
