A school is supposed to be a place of nurturing care and compassion; where diversity in pace and interests is celebrated. Learning difficulties, when they arise, should be addressed gently and without attaching any stigma.
This child-centric objective can only be realised when teaching aligns with students’ interests and aspirations. This objective is impossible under a regime of standardised curricula, stressful competition and a narrow definition of success based on exam performance.
Today, teaching objectives have shifted from children’s interests to worshipping the demi-gods of the educational system: curriculum, syllabus, exams, grades and ranking. In their devotion, teachers can lose sight of their nurturing roles, harming the experience of happy schooling and childhood itself.
A MISGUISED ASSEMBLY LINE
Compounding the issue for children is the anxiety and drudgery of exams, which can strip meaning from what is taught — and learned — in the classroom. Schools follow a standardised programme of studies (curriculum), with little room for variation. Regardless of the differing aptitudes of children, each child is expected to meet the uniform objectives of this standardised curriculum.
Exams don’t measure learning; they kill it. The future of learning lies not in the stress of competition, but in a child-centred approach that aligns with natural curiosity and the proven power of learning through play
Their performances are then measured against the arbitrary milestones set for in exams — at the end of the academic year and, sometimes, even during it — and against the arbitrary milestones set by the curriculum. This evaluation serves as the primary — if not sole — metric for the academic progress of children and the accountability of teachers.
This archaic and impersonal form of evaluation ignores crucial questions. Has the school infused joy and depth into learning? Have children enjoyed the process enough to be eager for more? Have they understood and internalised what they were taught, in order to apply that knowledge? Or have they simply learnt how to answer a set series of questions, with little or no understanding of their relevance? Such a system does not promote critical thinking; it stifles it.
Give these downsides — the arbitrary judgement, stress and anti-nurturing nature that impedes growth — why are exams so ubiquitous in our schooling system?
THE MYTH OF MOTIVATION
Advocates say that exams, such as mid-terms and finals, challenge and motivate students. This claim isn’t supported by any definitive data. Nor does this argument stand to reason. The experience of caring and well-trained teachers also contradicts this claim. Yet, educators and policymakers — as if wearing blinkers — cling to this untested and unverified assumption as gospel.
Children are motivated to study — and more importantly, learn, think, create and enjoy — if the curriculum and method of teaching align with their interests. For example, young children show little interest in abstract math or political sermons. Important as it is to know about political heroes and national icons, this can come at a later stage, when children are older. At a younger age, they may not be able to relate to these topics, let alone enjoy and internalise them.
Instead, they thrive when learning revolves around animals, fiction and play — themes through which language, numerical skills and expressions develop naturally.
A school-sponsored pet club, talking about the various animals, reading and writing about them, are generally considered activities that interest many young children. Dinosaurs tend to be another favourite subject of many of today’s younger children, as is Harry Potter. This may sound like a cliché, but it is true — and most teachers know it — that children learn best through fun and play.
Similarly, older children of today may not show much interest in esoteric and moralistic texts, or the history of the Roman Empire or the German unification of 1872. They will show a greater interest in issues of current affairs, writing about themselves, doing book reviews, or in documenting projects and writing assignments regarding climate change, global warming, and political, social and gender issues.
LESSONS FROM PEDAGOGY
This should not be surprising to those familiar with the history, theory and practice of pedagogy. Dr Maria Montessori demonstrated over a century ago that academic achievement follows when children are challenged on their own terms. It is child-centred pedagogy, not exams, that ensures success.
Dr Montessori’s legacy continues in the International Baccalaureate (IB) system and the Froebel approach, with their child-centred and creative curriculum, involving hands-on activities and life-skill exercises.
Finland is another case in point. A top-performing public-school system, Finland uses no standardised testing for younger students; teachers provide individual grading based on each child’s specific progress. Exams take place only at the end of the upper secondary education, in order to qualify for university.
Some “liberal” and “progressive” educationists concede that an exam-based system can sometimes be cruel and discouraging for some or many young children, by branding a child as a “failure” when judged against an arbitrary set of standards. But they argue that, despite its imperfections, the exam-based system is a “necessary evil.” Notwithstanding the anxiety and pressure of the exam on the child, such educationists contend that it is a good way of assessing, and then addressing, a student’s strengths and weaknesses.
This is not true.
A conscientious teacher does not need the whole year to know a child’s learning challenges. Instead, they identify those challenges within the first few weeks or months of the academic year, through quizzes, worksheets and discussions. Year-end exams are, therefore, redundant — an “unnecessary evil.”
THE OPPOSITE OF SUPPORT
Another serious problem about school exams is the fact that rather than nurturing children who may need guidance and professional support, which is generally the stated objective of schools, exams result in doing just the opposite.
High achievers are celebrated, while those who excel outside the standardised curriculum are labelled “weak”, or even worse, “failures”. This is a perfect recipe to destroy a child’s self-esteem. This culture of ‘passing’ and ‘failing’ also fuels the rampant tuition rat-race.
Children may struggle for a variety of reasons, such as exam-phobia, illness or, simply, not being academically focussed. A nurturing school should recognise and support the child.
Today, we stand at a crossroads of educational reform. Policymakers, school teachers and over-anxious parents need to self-reflect on how to move forward in order to make schooling a truly child-centred, meaningful and enjoyable experience for the child.
Exams serve no purpose. Call it by any name, exams are antithetical to a happy learning environment and are a major obstacle to a gratifying learning process for the child.
The writer is the principal of The C.A.S. School in Karachi. He can be contacted at principal@cas.edu.pk
Published in Dawn, EOS, October 5th, 2025
