Feedback on Centralised Exam at RULE

Having taken the final exams at RULE in the so-called ‘centralised’ form, I may say that the condition appeared to be a little bit better because my class shared the room with another class in which the number of students is less. Therefore, we don’t have to sit very closer to each other. However, several problems are still present.

First, the exam room is not well-prepared. At least 5 chairs have been broken for a long time, and so far they haven’t been fixed. Unreasonably, it’s now on the exam day, the broken chairs are still there. Mine is an example. My seat number fell on a broken one. It wasted time to tell the invigilator so that I could change another seat.

Second, the invigilators were not strict enough. There were no warnings on cheating before exams, and no punishments were imposed when students were caught peeking on the materials brought with them. As a result, students were not afraid of the teachers; they were not worried of being punished when they were caught. Therefore, the situation of the exam room to some extent turned out to be anarchic because some students could even discuss and compare the answers.

What is more frustrating was the distraction of the teachers. Some came into the room and constantly explained to his students for minutes, not quietly for each individual but loudly as a whole; some teachers working as controllers also made noises when trying to get the materials from the students. I could hardly bear with them while I was doing questions which required great concentration. Noises also came from the students which were really annoying.

Concerning with these problems, who to be blamed?

From my own perspective, this centralized exam is not far different from what we had before. Luckily, I was seated far from others which gave me more comfort in doing the exams. My friend, who was also trying to do everything on her own, was bothered by the neighbors who were really frustrating. I wish the exam ground rules were more effective in enforcement, and the teachers were more responsible and conscientious on behalf of invigilators. It’s no use or help to allow students to cheat during exams. I doubt what they will have learned when they just perfunctorily pass the exams. What is more, it’s not fair for those who work hard in their study and never cheat during exams when they get equal or similar score to those who cheat. Perhaps we don’t study for score, but it’s a critical factor to encourage students to learn. Finally, whatever it may be, I hope there will be improvement next term.