At the end of Primary 6, students in Singapore schools take a national examination, the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Society at large view the PSLE as a highstakes examination. In addition to out-of-class work assigned by mathematics teachers for students to prepare for the PSLE mathematics, parents may also draw on out-ofschool…

The exit examination from upper-secondary school represents an essential part of the educational trajectory. However, the transition to the labour market or higher education can be complicated by failure. The qualitative study deals with repeatedly unsuccessful students who have struggled to pass the Czech exit exam called the Matura examination.…

The aim of this qualitative case study was to ascertain factors impacting the examination preparation process and causing concerns for London upper secondary students, to learn steps taken to reduce and/or resolve the concerns, and to discuss the implications for teachers and teaching. A subsidiary yet important aim was to give the students a…

School authorities, universities, and employers often schedule multiple tests on the same day or week, causing overlapping exam preparation and a dense testing schedule. This multitask learning can be intense, under pressure, and challenge the student's mental and physical perseverance. As a result, it can compromise performance relative to a more…

The study explores the unaddressed washback on the English-speaking test of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE-English Language Paper 4). The HKDSE is a university entrance exam in Hong Kong which includes a group discussion speaking test known as English Language Paper 4. To identify ongoing washback effects,…

This year has seen exams take place again for the first time since 2019, a move back towards the pre-pandemic norm for schools and colleges across the country. But the cohort of young people taking exams this year have faced years of disruption to their educations, which has continued even when they've been back in the classroom. Mitigations for…

Teachers in England are under pressure to maximise their pupils' examination results, both to improve pupils' life chances and to ensure their school performs well on government accountability measures. This article reports the findings of an anonymous, online, voluntary survey of 548 teachers from secondary schools and colleges. The survey asked…

'School league tables' summarising the performance of secondary schools in England have been published annually since 1992. Although now a firmly established feature of the educational landscape, they have attracted criticism from those who point to their unintended negative consequences. These include 'teaching to the test', entering pupils for…

Curriculum-based exit exams play a crucial role in program assessment and measuring student achievement of program learning outcomes (PLOs). This study aims to examine the validity of using an internal exit exam as a direct assessment tool to evaluate student learning and attainment of PLOs. The validation entails evaluating and correlating…

High-Stakes exams, such as the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), have significant consequences for students and educators, which affects how teachers communicate to students about these exams. This study aimed to explore communications about exams, in the classroom. Observations were conducted within 30 lessons in a secondary…

The challenges encountered by nursing graduates to pass the licensing exam entail considerable emotional and financial implications due to delayed employment and loss of employers' investment in graduates' preparation during orientation programs. The study aimed to identify the effectiveness of the remediation program by comparing students'…

The case study of the article is translanguaging as an educational strategy in preparation for the graduation exam in Romanian language and literature in a Hungarian school in Miercurea Ciuc/Csíkszereda, Romania. Romanian language competence scores are at the bottom of national rankings in this Hungarian-majority town in Szeklerland. Students who…

I explore a series of incidents in my English classroom, which occurred while I was preparing my students for their high-stakes GCSE English Language exam ('Paper 2: Writers' viewpoints and perspectives'). I thereby attempt to confront some of my own failings and biases with regard to non-fiction and the teaching of persuasive writing in…

The United States and the United Kingdom have used standardized high-stakes testing as a measurement of students' cognitive level to determine success in the 21st century. Standardized tests have given teachers guidance to help them determine what to teach students and how to teach to the test. With such increased emphasis on high-stakes…

This paper presents data that consider ways in which young people experience the curriculum through the lens of subject examination syllabuses (for GCSEs), their associated assessment techniques and structures, and educational policies at national and school level concerning subject choice. Drawing upon an original qualitative dataset from a…