Did you know, the fear of exams is known as Examinophobia and It is a very common phenomenon among students especially when an important examination is at their door step.
I'm sure practically every student has asked themselves "Who in their right mind created exams!" at some time throughout their academic career.
- The alleged inventor of examinations, Henry Fischel, is an American composer and conductor who has nothing to do with exams!
- Ancient China was the first country to implement a nationwide standardized test, dating back to 605 AD.
- Written exams, on the other hand, were introduced into Western culture by Jesuits from Imperial China.
- Surprisingly, most examination techniques are still heavily influenced by China's 2000-year-old civil service exams!
The Henry Fischle/Mischel Hoax on the internet.
There are several sites on the internet in different formats and languages that claim to identify an American named Henry Fischel (or Henry Mishel) as the creator of Exams.
The first image in question, allegedly of Henry Fischel, is really of Henry Kimball Hadley (20 December 1871 – 6 September 1937), an American composer and conductor who has nothing to do with education or tests. Another individual, Henry A. Fischel, is also credited with the development of examinations.
Henry A. Fischel (November 20, 1913, in Bonn – March 20, 2008, in Indianapolis) was a retired professor of Near Eastern languages and civilizations at Indiana University.
He was a key role in the establishment of Indiana University's Jewish Studies Programs but he did nothing to indicate that he is the key person in charge of creating exams.
Notably, the majority of the tales are shared on social media sites.
As a result, reports that an American named Henry Fischel (or Henry Mishel) is the guy who invented tests are perhaps a fabrication.
If not Henrys of internet then,
Who actually Invented Exams? And Why?
To answer this question, We need to travel back in time... (I guarantee you that it is not gonna be boring)
#FACT - Formal schools have existed at least since ancient Greece (Academies and public schools ), ancient Rome (informal, familial system of education) ancient India (Gurukul), and ancient China (Imperial Civil Service Exams in China). The Byzantine Empire had an established schooling system beginning at the primary level.
The term examination literally means "testing or judging," and it is derived from the Old French word examinacion, which is derived from the Latin word examinationem.
Exams as an oral exercise are a very ancient practice.
To illustrate, priests from many faiths and creeds were requested to read passages and their interpretation in order to be recognized by their colleagues.
However, these methods did not provide an official path to government appointments, which were mostly filled via recommendations based on social rank.
The written exams in the Western culture, on the other hand, were introduced by Jesuits from Imperial China.
#FACT - The civil services test (also known as the IAS exam) is one of the most difficult exams in the world, and it is administered by the UPSC in India.The term "examination" has its origins in ancient China. Almost 2000 years ago, under Emperor Zhang of Hen's careful eye.
Exams are one of Ancient China's numerous innovations!
Aside from paper, gun powders, compass, and printing, the Chinese are credited with being the first to devise a systematic written examination to measure one's talents and competence.
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The Chinese used to undertake difficult tests to choose public workers. The imperial examination system was known as kējǔ 科舉
Sui dynasty Imperial Exams
Imperial China was well-known for its civil service national examinations, which date back to the Sui dynasty (581-618 CE).
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| Wu Zetian |
At the time, this approach was used to pick exclusively civilian officials. The role of China's first empress was crucial.
It is reported that China's first empress Wu Zetian made important changes to it during the Tang Dynasty, such as Exams were made accessible to a larger demographic pool, and the aristocratic influence waned significantly.
You might wonder,
What kind of questions were asked on ancient Chinese civil service exams?
Civil service examinations in ancient China were based on a limited collection of Confucian literature, principally Confucius, Mencius, the Doctrine of the Mean, and the Great Learning.
During the Song dynasty, Wang Anshi, an economist, philosopher, poet, and politician, revamped the examination system and incorporated questions on mathematics, economics, science, and other practical things.
Claims that this system suppressed Chinese originality are ridiculous, given that China has produced some of the most profound works of literature and intellect in human history.
#FACT - In 7th century China, test - takers' names were disguised to prevent supervisors from knowing who was being examined!
By the late Qing dynasty, there were three levels: district, provincial, and imperial. Aspiring test-takers would all begin at the district level and take their first exam.
Then there would be another exam, which would whittle it down to one in every ten of the remaining candidates. The majority would then be filtered out in a third test. Many, if not the majority, of those who took the exam, had no intention of passing.Later The Confucian classics-based fill-in-the-blank exam was introduced. Commoners and gentry, who had previously been barred from taking the exams due to their non-elite origins, were now permitted to do so.
The system proved to be rather appealing to the lower and middle class since it provided a way for the impoverished to rise up the social ladder by becoming high-ranking officials.
According to historical accounts, here's an infographic on the ancient exams that were conducted in china: (Click the image to view)
Surprisingly, even today, most examination techniques are substantially based on China's 2000-year-old civil service exams!
The Chinese examination system has had an impact on adjacent nations including Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and India. But India had their own thing going on...
The ancient Indian education system
India is home to two of the world's oldest educational institutions, Nalanda and Takshashila, which date back over 2000 years.
- Exams were not required and were seen as redundant throughout this culture.
- Students were taught until they had learned the material thoroughly.
- There were no formal diplomas or degrees issued upon completion.
- Having the information was considered a prize in and of itself.
Modern Entrance Examinations in India owe their origins to the University of Calcutta, which when formed in 1857, adopted the procedure to assess eligibility for admission. In the test, one student qualified for every four applicants.
From China to Europe
The Chinese examination system was conveyed to the Western world via the tales of European missionaries and diplomats, and France and Germany fostered it.
So the concept quickly spread to Europe, where it was known as "Concours" in French.
Unlike in other Anglo-Saxon nations, admission to a respectable engineering or business institution in France is still done by a national test (concourse).
#FACT - Albert Einstein regarded the conventional final test utilised in German high schools as his nightmare in his writings. This examination lasted around five or six days.
From England to the rest of the world
A similar procedure was employed by the British East India Company to choose potential workers.
Following its initial success, the British government implemented a similar testing system for selecting public officials in 1855.
England had developed this examination method, patterned after the Chinese imperial examination, to choose certain individuals for jobs in Her Majesty's government officials.
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| British Empire at its height |
This happened at a period when England colonized more than half of the world's countries.
As a result, the notion of tests extended to schools and universities, and ultimately to countries and continents.
#FACT - Other than the one exam conducted at the conclusion of a student's final year in high school, Finland has no mandatory standardised assessments. There are no comparisons, rankings, or competition between students, schools, or areas.
Why Exams are bad?
Exams are a terrible way to demonstrate ability.
Exams do not assist individuals to prepare for tertiary education, which is largely judged by coursework and research. I've never really had a job where my supervisor ordered me to write down whatever I'd learned in the previous two years with no resources - therefore they don't build work skills. They also disenfranchise kids with learning disabilities.
Perhaps they are a necessary evil. Recruiters want to know that grads can deal with the same difficulties that they did.
Exams, as I understand it, were originally designed to simulate or prepare students for a career in law (Chinese imperial exams for example), where studying for a specific topic and being able to recall it on the spot with little or no opportunity to look anything up in books (as in a court situation) was very useful, and exams were a meaningful test. However, in most cases, this is just irrelevant. I can't think of any instances in my professional life when I've had to do this.
Open book examinations are an upgrade, and continuous assessment has the potential to be significantly more helpful as well, except that it allows for almost unlimited cheating without round-the-clock supervision and is far more work for instructors.
The issue with examinations is that students prepare and learn almost exclusively for them. Unless they apply it again in a later subject, students usually don't remember much from the prior semester. Exams that are far more difficult, yet open book to some degree, would be much more effective.
Exams, in this sense, measure your capacity to grasp the subject rather than just recalling it. In most circumstances, there is no optimal evaluation approach, and a mix of methodologies is most likely the best that can be obtained.
This whole test system, which was once an opportunity to increase your social position, has now devolved into some kind of memory game and handwriting competition. The absurdity of it all frustrates me.
I could work like a hell over the next three months, but if anything goes wrong on examination day, say, that I was anxious or my pen ran out of ink or my supervisor was wearing a distracting sombrero, that was it. I'm screwed. The game's over.
Here is an infographic on the list of toughest exams conducted thought the world: (Click the image to view)
Conclusion
From its origins in ancient China to its spread across Europe throughout the nineteenth century, many key times in history led to the concept of tests and examinations being conducted as a way of assessment by the government and, later, in academia.
That is all the information we have on examinations that we have gathered from various sources.
Now that the internet has arrived, anyone can learn whatever they want. What are your thoughts?
Do you still believe tests and exams should continue to be held, or has society become too reliant on them?
If you have a better option than the current examination model, please let us know in the comments;
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