Exams prize creativity

Something has been changing in the university entrance exams and it became obvious this year: Students are being asked to use their critical faculties more and rely less on memorization.

In the past, all students had to do to get a good grade was to memorize whole passages from textbooks and write them down verbatim in their exam papers. This approach provided supposedly objective assessment criteria and suited the least creative of both students and teachers.

This year, students were asked to evaluate, criticize, and incorporate their own experience in subjects as diverse as composition, Ancient Greek and biology. And many teachers have welcomed the change, even if it makes the exam more challenging.