Why do we have to do exam?

Answer 1

There are three basic types of exam when one categorizes exams by purpose.

(a) Criterion-referenced examinations are tests used to see if the test taker has reached competence in a given area. Examples are driving licence tests (used to see if a potential driver can operate a vehicle with some minimal competence), medical licence exams (again used to see if practitioners can perform a some minimal level), and many in-school tests (used to see if students have become competent in some aspect of what is being taught, e.g., long division). Criterion-referenced tests usually comprise questions or items that (in theory) only the competent can answer.

(b) Norm-referenced examinations are tests used to rank everyone who takes them. They are designed to find out who is best at whatever is being tested, who is second best, and so on. Examples include standardized tests such as school entrance examinations, and, in form, if not socially, athletic competitions. Norm-referenced tests usually have questions or items of a wide range of difficulty: some that almost all of the test takers can correctly answer, some that many, but not all, can answer, and some that only a few can answer.

(c) Ipsative examinations are tests designed to see how the performance of particular individuals has changed over time. Examples are especially prevalent in the medical profession, as when doctors or other medical professionals give various tests to individuals to see how function has improved (e.g., after rehabilitation therapy) or deteriorated (e.g., in the case of diseases that make the victim progressively weaker).

Note that often exams are used as if they are more than one type of exam: hence, criterion-referenced tests may be treated as if they are norm-referenced tests (which is how school teachers justify assigning letter or percentage grades to, e.g., math tests on long division). The information gained from examinations or tests also can be used for more than one purpose, as when results form standardized tests are used to assess the competence of schools or teachers or the results of entrance examinations are used to rank the difficulty of entering, say, a university.

Alternatives to testing include long term observation (e.g., as in the now mostly outmoded apprentice system in the law, now largely replaced by bar examinations).