Like it or not, tests are an integral part of our world that are here to stay. From the top 1% to the average highschooler, we’ve all struggled with tests at some point in our lives. Test taking is such a difficult experience that we often find ourselves wishing tests were easier or searching for exploits to decrease the difficulty of the test. While these feelings are understandable, they are both uncommendable and unhealthy. If you find it hard to understand why your teachers create such difficult tests, here are 3 reasons why tests should be difficult:
Tests are designed to assess your qualifications in a specific category. Whether it be the Bar Exam, the SAT, or standardized tests and exams in high school and university, all of these are designed to assess your proficiency of a specific skill under stressful circumstances. Although I will only explore tests through the academic lens today, there are many other tests like practical exercises, fitness exams, and personality tests that many of the following concepts can be applied to.
Let’s focus on two types of difficult tests: tests with strict marking schemes and tests with challenging questions.
We often agonize over strict tests because we believe we are owed part marks and leniency. Perhaps it’s one incorrect calculation, including too few decimal places, or even something as small as forgetting units or missing a letter in a word. If a mistake creates uncertainty or is not 100% precise, especially in fields of study that require high precision like math or the sciences, that one small mistake can discredit the whole work. The purpose of a strict marking scheme becomes apparent when you consider questions in the context of a real life scenario.
You have to realize that the world doesn’t give part marks. When an assumption must be made, and where error can occur, error will occur.
If a rocket launch is off its planned destination by 0.0001 degrees, or if it only has 90% of its needed fuel, there are no part marks.
If a strict exam tests your consistency, a challenging exam will test your capacity. Since homework and lessons emulate exams, we over-prepare to ensure success on our exams; we study everything that could be on the test, not everything that will be on the test. Similarly, since tests emulate scenarios from your job, why shouldn’t you also over-prepare to ensure success at your job? You will not encounter everything on your tests in the real world, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared for them.
Difficult tests provide confidence and security in our world. Think about how unfamiliar a world where you couldn’t trust anyone would be. Everyday, we trust others to do their jobs properly so society can function. We believe our roads are safe because we trust in driving tests. We believe buildings won’t collapse because we trust in civil engineering tests. We believe we will live through surgeries because we trust in difficult surgery tests.
When the tests are easy, suddenly, all that trust falls away, and you are left with the hope that everyone you have to trust is competent.
In addition to the security difficult tests grant you, a difficult test gives you recognition. A difficult test will vindicate all the hard work you put into studying. As humans, we long for acknowledgement, and there is no better opportunity to satiate that hunger than a high mark on an extremely difficult test. Tests can also be the perfect finale of a long, arduous journey towards mastery over a subject; the final challenge which serves as the culmination of months of self-improvement.
Perhaps the most obvious use of a test may also be the most important: a difficult test will **reveal things about where you stand in relation to a specific subject or concept. Based on the preparation and result of the test, you can discover your relationship with a specific subject.
If you didn’t study, a low mark usually indicates you need to study more. If you didn’t spend the time to study for a specific subject, it is possible you dislike the subject or do not see value in it. Lacking that passion is really unfortunate because if you performed exceptionally despite a lack of preparation, you may be very compatible with the subject.
The people who combine their natural talent with hard work through advanced classes or contests will undoubtedly achieve greatness one day.