Across Australia, students are receiving and digesting important exam results. University students began receiving their semester 2 results at the end of November. This week and early next week, Year 12 students are also receiving their final marks. Love them or loathe them, exams have featured prominently in education for centuries. For almost as long, debate has raged about whether […] … learn more→

Around Australia, Year 12 students are heading into the final stretch of study before exams start in early term 4. This is typically seen as a very intense period of preparation. But, as our research shows, it is also important to rest during this time if you want to maximise your performance. Intuitively, we understand breaks […] … learn more→

This week, year 12 students in New South Wales will begin their final exams, with students in other states soon to follow. This can be one of the most stressful times in a students’ life. It can also be very stressful for parents trying to support their children. But there is a superpower in the arsenal […] … learn more→

The pandemic pushed universities to launch or accelerate plans for delivering examinations online. These forced transitions have often been painful, involving stress and burnout. Exams have been a big pain point. There are many accounts from the pandemic of widespread cheating in online exams. These range from the amusing to the depressing. Regardless, cheating creates problems for everyone involved. […] … learn more→

The UK government’s announcement that all universities in England can resume in-person teaching from today will give a welcome boost not only to students but also to exam invigilators like me. Online exams were the only sensible option during the height of the pandemic – although it took some university departments quite a while to […] … learn more→

Faced with the current confinement, there is uncertainty as to the future of the exams. Universities like the Sorbonne have been forced to postpone all their exams, while others, like Dauphine, are exploring online solutions. In this period of crisis, reinventing evaluation becomes a necessity, but institutions and teachers sometimes lack benchmarks. To see more clearly, here is a […] … learn more→

When results come out for big education tests like the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which primarily measures 15-year-old students’ knowledge and skills in reading, mathematics and science, the focus is often on which countries scored the highest. The education systems of countries that do well on this test are often portrayed as models for the […] … learn more→

Along with a steeper financial burden and an increasingly competitive academic environment, this year’s incoming freshman university class will likely be confronted with the pressure to take a little pill that some popular culture references say will make you “awesome at everything.” Or they may eschew the temptation and rely on the standard practice of study, sleep, repeat. […] … learn more→

Your adult academic life will be defined by two of the most important exams: your SAT exam and your GMAT exam. You will spend quite some time properly preparing for these exams, but many of you are still unaware of how to manage the process itself. Fear not, because, in the following paragraphs, we will […] … learn more→

As two university lecturers, we are concerned about the new psychology A-Level, which has been taught to teenagers since September 2015. Our concern is that the new syllabus is narrow and out of step with much psychological research and practice. This is worrying because for many students, A-Level psychology will be their only formal encounter […] … learn more→