Scrap the CCTs

At the end of each term, a hot topic among students would be CCTs. They would be trying to get home as early as possible so that they would be able mug – slang for studying hard. Why you ask? It’s because a large percentage of their grades is decided by how much they get for that test. As much as 24% of their overall grade depends on that CCT. It’s suppose to help gauge a pupil’s gauge on a particular subject. Is it that helpful? Maybe. However, the CCTs gives students too much of a pressure given its nature. Is it the only method of assessment? No. With all the performance tasks, creative assignments, EOYs and other class tests, what’s the harm of just scrapping the CCTs?


During CCT period, students would be under a lot of pressure to perform well in their exams. Since they can account for up to 24% of your overall marks, it’s essential to excel in them if you would like to keep a GPA of at least 3.6. However, exam pressure can have very negative effects on students. According to a report by BBC in 2004, exam pressure could lead to students cheating, fatigue or depression. In a worse case scenario, it could even lead to suicide. Without the CCTs, there would be less exam pressure on the students and such ill-fated events could be prevented.


Furthermore, there would be pressure from the student’s parents to perform. This added pressure coming from the parents would surely lead to more negative effects. We all know parents want what’s best for their children. And they would want nothing but the best from their children in return. However, sometimes parents expect a bit too much from their children and this causes the students to feel too pressurized. This could lead to stuff like depression and fatigue, which are basically bad stuff. So with no CCTs, there would not be as much pressure on the students.


On the other hand, CCTs aren’t that bad. They do help teachers gauge how much the students have learned from the given curriculum. It also helps the student determine how much they have improved in their studies. Despite having other forms of assessment, CCTs give good platform on how much a student understands a subject. Even so, it may not be always reflective of a student’s grasp of the subject. For instance, a student may have memorized a whole book of information on a subject and did well for CCTs but he didn’t necessarily understand the subject. In contrast, a student who has fully understood a subject but had a bad flu on the day of the test may have not have done so well.


This is where creative assignments and performance tasks come in. They give a better evaluation as students are allowed to show their understanding in other ways.


In conclusion, CCTs should be scrapped. They give more pressure to students and are not exactly the best way of assessment.

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