Picture students taking tests, minds clouded with anxiety, fingertips white with nerves, tightly clutching the pencil. Can you imagine this scene every time children sat a test? It uncovers a horrible veil of truth about the quality of our education system.Schools around the world are rethinking this program, and wondering if they should replace it with project based assessments instead of these fear-inducing exams. Schools should absolutely do this, due to the lessening of the huge burden, the valuable skills students can learn, and the course it can set later on for life.
To begin with, it can significantly reduce the burden that exams produce. Instead of feet nervously shuffling into class, apprehension clouding their minds, students can stroll into the class without any worry or fear of a sudden, unexpected test. Attendance rates will skyrocket, children having the weight lifted off their shoulders. This will be beneficial for not only the students, but the school and its environment, creating a more tightly connected school community. It is clear that project-based assessments can benefit students and the school’s environment.
Furthermore, tests merely assess your knowledge on the content learned in class, while project-based assessments can teach you priceless lessons that can greatly help you in your journey outside of school, such as critical thinking skills and time management. This means that they teach you what exams do, but give you extra benefits that will assist you outside of school. Although some may argue that exams can also teach skills like time management, being able to do a project-based assessment lets you learn more, and experience them more clearly. There is no doubt that project-based assessments are better than exams as they teach you what tests do and more skills.
Moreover, it can set you for the course of the rest of your life. As I mentioned before, it teaches you skills. However, it also allows you to experience a glimpse of what you will be challenged with in the real world; you won’t be doing exams in your job, but you may do things that involve using the skills! It also allows you to attain a better education; schools will look at your report, and project-based assessments can demonstrate your skills better then exams can. While some believe that exams show your knowledge, I strongly disagree, as it only shows your knowledge in certain subjects, while the alternative can show your knowledge in different things. It is obvious that project-based assessments can help you in all sorts of areas, such as outside of school and academic-wise.
To summarise, replacing tests with project-based assessments can remove the burden that students face coming to school every day, can teach you life lessons that will extend beyond your academic journey, and will pave the way for later on in life. With all these benefits that will come with this evolution, it is undeniable that this change should occur. Save our generation. Save our students. Save the hearts of these terrified children from being shattered into pieces.
In today’s rapidly evolving world, the ability to memorize and regurgitate facts is no longer enough. Success requires creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration, skills that traditional exams fail to foster. Schools should replace traditional exams with project-based assessments because they promote deeper understanding, support essential life skills, and reduce student stress, thereby better preparing learners for life beyond the classroom while addressing concerns around academic fairness and logistics.
To begin with, project-based assessments show long-term understanding and meaningful learning, unlike traditional exams that often reward short-term memorization. Exams tend to encourage forcing, where students absorb information for a short period of time just to forget it days later. A student may remember the formula for velocity during a physics test, but forget it the next week. On the other side, a project that asks students to design a model roller coaster using principles of physics demands sustained engagement, research, trial and error, and application. This kind of active learning cements knowledge far more deeply than passive test-taking ever could.
Furthermore, project-based assessments develop critical life skills that exams simply cannot measure. In real-world scenarios, success depends on teamwork, time management, creativity, and adaptability, none of which are tested by filling in bubbles on a sheet. A group tasked with developing a public health campaign or engineering a water filtration device must communicate, divide responsibilities, and solve problems collaboratively. These are the very abilities demanded by future employers, university programs, and global challenges. By emphasizing projects, schools prepare students not just to score well, but to live well.
Most importantly, project-based assessments significantly reduce exam-related stress and support mental health. Traditional exams create high-pressure environments where a single mistake or a bad day can destroy months of work. Anxiety, panic attacks, and burnout are common—especially among high-achieving students. In contrast, projects span weeks, allowing time for reflection, revisions, and teacher feedback. Students can work at their own pace, express themselves creatively, and learn from mistakes. The shift isn’t just academic, it’s human. It values the student as a whole person, not just a test score.
However, some argue that exams are more objective and standardized, ensuring fairness across different students and schools. While this is partially true, exams can be easily marked with minimal bias, they are also limited in what they measure. They assess how well a student performs under pressure, in silence, often within narrow constraints. Projects, when structured with clear rubrics and checkpoints, can be just as fair, while also representing a broader and more authentic range of skills. Tools like presentations and concise feedback add layers of accountability, helping teachers assess individual contributions and understanding.
Critics also claim that project-based assessments are harder to manage and time-consuming for both students and teachers. It’s true that designing, guiding, and grading projects requires more initial effort. But the payoff is far greater; student engagement increases, disciplinary issues decrease, and the learning is richer. Moreover, as educators grow more familiar with project-based methods and access digital tools like shared documents and rubrics, efficiency improves. Education should not be about what’s easiest, it should be about what’s most effective.
Another frequent objection is that projects allow students to receive too much help from parents, tutors, or online sources, leading to unfair advantages. This concern can be mitigated by incorporating process-focused evaluation: requiring students to submit drafts, progress logs, and self-reflections. Teachers can also hold short individual interviews to ensure each student understands their own work. Academic integrity can be protected without resorting to high-stakes, high-stress exams.
Additionally, some argue that exams are necessary to prepare students for university and standardized testing environments. While it’s true that many post-secondary institutions still rely on exams, this is rapidly changing. Portfolios, interviews, and extended essays are becoming more common in college admissions. Moreover, by teaching students to think deeply, manage time, and communicate clearly through projects, schools indirectly improve their ability to handle timed tests when they arise. The goal should be a balanced preparation, not an obsession with outdated formats.
Still, others worry that without exams, students won’t take their studies seriously. But when students know their projects will be showcased, presented, or graded through in-depth rubrics, their investment often increases. They are not just studying to pass, they’re creating something that reflects their abilities. For example, designing a business plan or solving a local community issue becomes a source of pride. When students see purpose in their work, motivation follows naturally.
Imagine two classrooms. In one, students sit in rigid rows, heads down, hearts racing, surrounded by silence and ticking clocks. In the other, students are sketching designs, debating ideas, building prototypes, rehearsing presentations. There is noise, yes, but it’s the sound of learning in motion. Frustration becomes curiosity. Deadlines become goals. This is not chaos, it is creation and it’s exactly what education should be.
In conclusion, replacing traditional exams with project-based assessments is not only possible it is essential. Projects allow for deeper learning, skill development, and emotional support in a way exams never could. Yes, there are logistical and fairness concerns, but these can be addressed with thoughtful planning and transparent structures. Ultimately, we must ask ourselves: Are we preparing students for a test, or for life? Because in the real world, success isn’t measured by how fast you can answer multiple-choice questions, it’s measured by how well you solve real problems, work with others, and rise to challenges. The time has come to leave behind the test and embrace the project. For our students’ future, it’s the only choice that makes sense.
In the world of 2025, sitting at school, programmed to be worried about every single exam you have is not good enough. If the world goes on like this, the future will evaporate in our hands. This is why I think the schools on the face of Planet Earth must change their curriculums from the gruelling, traumatizing affliction of examinations to fun, light-hearted project-based assessments. This will lift the burden off every single student involved in this mind-blowing incorporation. It would help stop the stress and anxiety of pupils, make work easier for teachers, and give the community that happy feeling everyone needs!
We invariably must start this amazing project, as it would ease the minds of schoolchildren! Imagine hundreds of your classmates, all sitting at a desk with their pen in their hands, their eyes staring at the question paper in so much annoyance and stress it would black the sun out of the sky. In all the anxiety, they hold the pencil so hard it nearly breaks, and the sweat in their palms constantly pushes the writing device out of their grip. Now, imagine the same students, but with a look of triumph across their faces, as they stood around their brand-new science volcano, the teacher putting a ‘tick’ next to their name. The next day, their parents amazed because of the results. That is the picture you want, isn’t it? The entire world is willing for the same thing, but don’t know the key. But now I have that much-needed key. Take away those horrible, measly traditional exams and implement the phantasmagorical project-based assessments, the possible miracle to our future.
I unquestionably know we must implement project-based assessments as it would make work WAY easier for teachers. Students need rest, ok, btu teachers work at school TWICE as long as students! They need sleep too, okay?! If we develop project-based assessments in our learning, teachers will feel as if they just got a premium all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii! It would also save the teachers’ time, by the way! Usually at the end of a test, when the students have all gone home (and teachers are using their home relaxation time for this!) just sits in their chair, going through every single assignment handed in, and has to check ALL of that. Imagine! Sitting at a chair and marking pieces of homework handed in by kids who you’re three times older than! I would fall asleep in two minutes. Instead of this, if we implement the project-based assignments (I’m calling them PBAs from now on), all the teachers really need to do is walk around the room and look at finished projects and put a tick or cross next to the name! Go PBAs!
The third, and last reason I know for sure PBAs are the key to success is that it can give the community that feeling we’ve all been waiting for – happiness. It’s like a domino effect. The kid is happy because of the burden being lifted, so they don’t get depressed, so they get a good score, so the parents are proud and happy, so they do well in work as they’re not depressed, and the job succeeds in everything (money, fame, and everything else). And most jobs, like Woolies or NDIA, help the community. So, then the community is happy, and then in ways you never thought of that feeling spreads like a virus globally – but a good virus, of course. We don’t way COVID-19 to sprout up again!
Ultimately, PBAs are the way to go. It has an epic domino effect which helps the entire world, it eases students and teachers’ minds and souls, and once you try it, you will realise that this is the key to an amazing future! ‘But what if the PBAs cause distractions and a bad environment for learning?’ Well, studies have actually shown that PBAs like these actually increase focus and concentration by about 30%! It’s also been discovered that about a whopping 80% of students have a significant burden in their lives lifted and get amazing grades in comparison to their studies during the traditional examinations! ‘But how do you know all of this, writer?’ you ask? Well, it’s actually been tried out. A few schools in Indonesia, Adelaide, and even China have tried these and they have achieved amazing results! You better try it, or your country may fall behind it the amazing advancements of the world or humans, Planet Earth.
P.S. For Week 6 (this week), it doesn’t show the homework for English. Is this on purpose, or was there a glitch? Please answer me in the feedback.
Schools should replace traditional exams with project-based assesments
Schools should replace traditional exams with project-based assessments because they foster deeper learning, develop essential life skills, and reduce student stress.
Picture a classroom filled with students, their minds clouded with anxiety, fingers trembling as they clutch their pencils. This is the reality of traditional exams—a system that prioritizes memorization over understanding, pressure over creativity, and fear over genuine learning. Schools must replace traditional exams with project-based assessments to foster deeper learning, develop essential life skills, and reduce student stress.
First, project-based assessments promote meaningful learning. Exams often encourage cramming, where students absorb information for a short period only to forget it soon after. In contrast, projects require sustained engagement, research, and application, ensuring that students truly understand and retain knowledge. Imagine a physics student designing a roller coaster model instead of memorizing formulas—this hands-on experience cements concepts far more effectively than a timed test ever could.
Second, projects cultivate real-world skills that exams fail to measure. Success in life depends on teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving—skills that filling in bubbles on a test cannot develop. A student tasked with creating a business plan or engineering a water filtration system must collaborate, manage time, and think critically. These are the very abilities demanded by future employers and universities, making project-based assessments a superior preparation for life beyond school.
Most importantly, project-based assessments reduce stress and support mental health. Exams create high-pressure environments where a single mistake can ruin months of effort. Anxiety, panic attacks, and burnout are common, especially among high-achieving students. In contrast, projects allow time for reflection, revisions, and teacher feedback. Students can work at their own pace, express themselves creatively, and learn from mistakes—turning education into a journey rather than a race.
Critics argue that exams ensure fairness and standardization, but structured rubrics and checkpoints can make projects equally objective. Others worry that projects require too much time and effort, yet the payoff is undeniable: increased engagement, deeper learning, and better preparation for the future.
Imagine two classrooms. In one, students sit in rigid rows, heads down, hearts racing, surrounded by silence and ticking clocks. In the other, students are sketching designs, debating ideas, building prototypes, rehearsing presentations. This is not chaos—it is creation. It is learning in motion.
The time has come to leave behind the test and embrace the project. For our students’ future, it’s the only choice that makes sense.
Traditional exams should be replaced by project based exams
Sitting in your sweat drenched seat. The pressure is building up inside you. The timer is ticking. Tick. Tick. Tick. Your future depends on this test. What if you don’t pass? What if you do?
Being under the pressure of being in a plain test room is very common to many people. The timer and the sweating are all very familiar but the pressure is too heavy. You are literally getting crushed under pressure and the fact that you have to take a test where you have to sit and do the test which is really, really scary because you are just trying to do the test but you cannot, seeing the hard things stuffed on one piece of paper. That’s why we should replace traditional exams with project based tests.
Firstly, the amount of fun. Sitting in a blank, plain room is not fun whereas doing an exciting project with your pals is! You can unlock your inner creativity when you are doing a project and you can express yourself through a singular project. This can help your creativity to reach the max. It’s also quite fun making the design and doing research because you cannot limit your research and you aren’t under the massive pressure of tests and the studying of tests. You can also add some aspects of the real world to your project unlike traditional tests.
Secondly, your mental state. The pressure! The timer! The goosebumps! The sweating! All signs that you are dying under pressure! Pressure can make your mental health deteriorate meaning more panicked emotions than happy carefree emotions. This is not okay. We should have kids that act like the kids they are, not kids with panic disorder! Life isn’t about panicking about everything, it’s about enjoying everything while it lasts. The studying of tests can provoke stress and make the kid super paranoid of failing. Pressure really spikes when you are doing the real test. Believe it or not it doesn’t feel very nice.
Lastly, tests are just a snapshot of the student’s skill. Tests last for like thirty minutes and then you’re out of there. No interview. Just a test. This short test cannot just show all your real potentials! You need to do a project to really understand the kid. Not a short test with thirty questions! That’s why we need to replace traditional tests with projects. Projects help the marker understand the kid and actually give accurate responses. Not just some response based on one small test. This is beneficial for the marker and the kid. The best kind of marking is one that benefits the most.
In conclusion, we definitely need to replace traditional tests with projects or the kid’s mental health is doomed and the marking system is also doomed. We need to take action now and change the tests into the best it can be! Help us make the lives of kids and the markers easier and more fun today!
Imagine seeing all the children with bend backs, writing furiously on their papers. Focused faces, heads down and each one experiencing lots of pressure. Traditional testing can lead to many children experiencing depression while project-based activities can allow adults to see what level they are on, their creativity and see how children think in different ways. This is why must traditional tests be replaced with project-based activities.
Firstly, traditional tests can lead to stress and anxiety. Preparation and the pressure of getting marks can lead to fear of failing. This can not only lead to mental health damaging and limit or shorten the capacity of the child when learning, but also physically hurt them. These include headaches, stomachs and inconsistent sleeping.
Additionally, we can see what level the child is on. We can see their thinking with open – ended questions instead of single choice answers. Traditional tests limit the opportunity for children to go the furthest they can. Therefore, traditional test must be banned and be replaced by project-based activities.
Finally, it can show their creativity and imagination. Again, traditional test makes it difficult to see their pros and cons by getting the questions right. They might have got the answer but in a wrong way or guessing could be included. With project-based testing we can see their talents.
Inconclusion, we should not continue traditional exams, instead having projects to test children. Traditional exams not only destroy metal health but also can have physical effects. With project-based exams, we can see calmer students focusing without having to stress.
Students are faltering under extreme stress, and pressure. They are incapable of doing their best – rather, they are collapsing under standard exams. And if the purpose of exams is to show student’s progress, well, this is ineffective. Students cannot properly function under exams if they are stressed over the test, and thus, their full potential is not revealed. And yet, there is a solution. If students can do project based assessments, they will not only have fun, but be able to showcase full potential. This is important for mental health, education, and last but not least, potential. While the point of future importance may be raised, this will be proven incorrect.
First of all, if students have to do standardised exams – with a pen and paper, they will be extremely stressed, and anxiety will overcome them. Do you really think that students will do well in these conditions? Some, maybe, but most people can’t do exams properly like this. Whereas, if exams took on a project based form, students would be able to show their ability. If students are constantly panicking under this pressure, it can also affect long term mental health conditions that could possibly appear with over-stressed students. To prevent this disastrous happening, we must change our standard exam system to a more modern, project-based one. As you can see, this is an extremely important factor in childrens’ wellbeing and also mental health, both in a prolonged or current state of anxiety. A quote from the ‘National Institute of Education’ mentions that ‘standardised tests are wrecking the wellbeing level of children all around the world.’
Another important factor is education. If students are doing an extremely important exam that they don’t do well in, as we mentioned in the first point, they are not challenging themselves to their full potential. On the other hand, if students do project based assessments, they’ll be able to think properly whilst having fun, being able to exercise their full potential whilst learning, which is extremely beneficial for childrens’ learning and education journeys across school years. “Projects help students connect the material they have learned to the real world, effectively helping the students understand what they learned.” This quote is from ‘The Lion’s Tale,’ written by a professor in child learning. The article explains how PBL (project based learning) has been proven better than standard based learning. Another point raised in the article is that children will go to any extent to prep for exams, and most of the time, this leads to cramming the night before, which is not beneficial for childrens’ learning process. Another study from this site mentions that recent studies indicate that students who did PBL based learning made students do 18% better in their final exams than children who did standardised ones.
On top of this, PBL is essential for teachers to monitor their students potential level. In most schools around Australia, teachers provide standard tests to see what level the student is at. They then use this to create an opinion on the class’s level of education, which they then formulate their lesson plans from. By reading the previous paragraphs, you would likely be able to spot the evident flaw in this system. If students can’t perform their best in exam conditions because of stress, as touched on in the first point, teachers will get the wrong idea. Additionally, students who may have a lot of potential in PBL, would thrive under this system, weather because of their creativity or their ability to work well in a team. If students are constantly restricted under the standardised exam system, their full potential level will never be noticed, and no matter how much potential they have, nobody would recognise it, leading to unstable teaching material.
People against this idea may raise the matter of how doing standardised exams is important because later in life, students would need to do final exams such as HSC, or IB. Well, this is clearly incorrect. First of all, students, by the time they will be required to do these exams, their brains will be developed to handle the amount of stress and anxiety. Also, as mentioned in the second argument, the study from ‘The Lion’s Tale’ mentioned that students performed 18% better in their final exams. Their final exams were standardised ones, and the students who did PBL performed better than the ones who didn’t. It’s because the years of exercising their full learning potential enabled them to learn very well, and to know a lot of things, and so when they had to do their final exams, they thrived under this, because they already knew all the material, and had studied hard. And so evidently, the point that standardised tests might be needed in the future has been proven incorrect, thus strengthening the case of PBL being in schools.
And so, in conclusion, PBL is clearly the path we must take if we want hight mental health levels in children, effective education, and recognised potential. One example, is my school – Artarmon Public. I am in the OC program, and we hardly ever do standardised exams. Rather, our work focuses on a project approach. For instance, our geography unit consists of individual tasks, pair tasks, and group tasks, such as building a survival kit, or making a typhoon prevention device. This has enabled both me and my peers to learn tremendously well, and challenge ourselves to grow even smarter. Therefore, for all these reasons, PBL and assessments should exist in schools.
36 thoughts on “Week 6 Writing Homework”
My work is attached.
persuasive- scholary writing HW
Please see the attached PDF for the feedback.
SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – Anastasia Peng
Picture students taking tests, minds clouded with anxiety, fingertips white with nerves, tightly clutching the pencil. Can you imagine this scene every time children sat a test? It uncovers a horrible veil of truth about the quality of our education system.Schools around the world are rethinking this program, and wondering if they should replace it with project based assessments instead of these fear-inducing exams. Schools should absolutely do this, due to the lessening of the huge burden, the valuable skills students can learn, and the course it can set later on for life.
To begin with, it can significantly reduce the burden that exams produce. Instead of feet nervously shuffling into class, apprehension clouding their minds, students can stroll into the class without any worry or fear of a sudden, unexpected test. Attendance rates will skyrocket, children having the weight lifted off their shoulders. This will be beneficial for not only the students, but the school and its environment, creating a more tightly connected school community. It is clear that project-based assessments can benefit students and the school’s environment.
Furthermore, tests merely assess your knowledge on the content learned in class, while project-based assessments can teach you priceless lessons that can greatly help you in your journey outside of school, such as critical thinking skills and time management. This means that they teach you what exams do, but give you extra benefits that will assist you outside of school. Although some may argue that exams can also teach skills like time management, being able to do a project-based assessment lets you learn more, and experience them more clearly. There is no doubt that project-based assessments are better than exams as they teach you what tests do and more skills.
Moreover, it can set you for the course of the rest of your life. As I mentioned before, it teaches you skills. However, it also allows you to experience a glimpse of what you will be challenged with in the real world; you won’t be doing exams in your job, but you may do things that involve using the skills! It also allows you to attain a better education; schools will look at your report, and project-based assessments can demonstrate your skills better then exams can. While some believe that exams show your knowledge, I strongly disagree, as it only shows your knowledge in certain subjects, while the alternative can show your knowledge in different things. It is obvious that project-based assessments can help you in all sorts of areas, such as outside of school and academic-wise.
To summarise, replacing tests with project-based assessments can remove the burden that students face coming to school every day, can teach you life lessons that will extend beyond your academic journey, and will pave the way for later on in life. With all these benefits that will come with this evolution, it is undeniable that this change should occur. Save our generation. Save our students. Save the hearts of these terrified children from being shattered into pieces.
Please see the attached PDF for the feedback.
SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – Aria
Oscar’s writing: Project-Based Assessments
PROJECT BASED ASSESSMENTS
Please see the attached PDF for the feedback.
SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – mickydq82gmail-com
In today’s rapidly evolving world, the ability to memorize and regurgitate facts is no longer enough. Success requires creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration, skills that traditional exams fail to foster. Schools should replace traditional exams with project-based assessments because they promote deeper understanding, support essential life skills, and reduce student stress, thereby better preparing learners for life beyond the classroom while addressing concerns around academic fairness and logistics.
To begin with, project-based assessments show long-term understanding and meaningful learning, unlike traditional exams that often reward short-term memorization. Exams tend to encourage forcing, where students absorb information for a short period of time just to forget it days later. A student may remember the formula for velocity during a physics test, but forget it the next week. On the other side, a project that asks students to design a model roller coaster using principles of physics demands sustained engagement, research, trial and error, and application. This kind of active learning cements knowledge far more deeply than passive test-taking ever could.
Furthermore, project-based assessments develop critical life skills that exams simply cannot measure. In real-world scenarios, success depends on teamwork, time management, creativity, and adaptability, none of which are tested by filling in bubbles on a sheet. A group tasked with developing a public health campaign or engineering a water filtration device must communicate, divide responsibilities, and solve problems collaboratively. These are the very abilities demanded by future employers, university programs, and global challenges. By emphasizing projects, schools prepare students not just to score well, but to live well.
Most importantly, project-based assessments significantly reduce exam-related stress and support mental health. Traditional exams create high-pressure environments where a single mistake or a bad day can destroy months of work. Anxiety, panic attacks, and burnout are common—especially among high-achieving students. In contrast, projects span weeks, allowing time for reflection, revisions, and teacher feedback. Students can work at their own pace, express themselves creatively, and learn from mistakes. The shift isn’t just academic, it’s human. It values the student as a whole person, not just a test score.
However, some argue that exams are more objective and standardized, ensuring fairness across different students and schools. While this is partially true, exams can be easily marked with minimal bias, they are also limited in what they measure. They assess how well a student performs under pressure, in silence, often within narrow constraints. Projects, when structured with clear rubrics and checkpoints, can be just as fair, while also representing a broader and more authentic range of skills. Tools like presentations and concise feedback add layers of accountability, helping teachers assess individual contributions and understanding.
Critics also claim that project-based assessments are harder to manage and time-consuming for both students and teachers. It’s true that designing, guiding, and grading projects requires more initial effort. But the payoff is far greater; student engagement increases, disciplinary issues decrease, and the learning is richer. Moreover, as educators grow more familiar with project-based methods and access digital tools like shared documents and rubrics, efficiency improves. Education should not be about what’s easiest, it should be about what’s most effective.
Another frequent objection is that projects allow students to receive too much help from parents, tutors, or online sources, leading to unfair advantages. This concern can be mitigated by incorporating process-focused evaluation: requiring students to submit drafts, progress logs, and self-reflections. Teachers can also hold short individual interviews to ensure each student understands their own work. Academic integrity can be protected without resorting to high-stakes, high-stress exams.
Additionally, some argue that exams are necessary to prepare students for university and standardized testing environments. While it’s true that many post-secondary institutions still rely on exams, this is rapidly changing. Portfolios, interviews, and extended essays are becoming more common in college admissions. Moreover, by teaching students to think deeply, manage time, and communicate clearly through projects, schools indirectly improve their ability to handle timed tests when they arise. The goal should be a balanced preparation, not an obsession with outdated formats.
Still, others worry that without exams, students won’t take their studies seriously. But when students know their projects will be showcased, presented, or graded through in-depth rubrics, their investment often increases. They are not just studying to pass, they’re creating something that reflects their abilities. For example, designing a business plan or solving a local community issue becomes a source of pride. When students see purpose in their work, motivation follows naturally.
Imagine two classrooms. In one, students sit in rigid rows, heads down, hearts racing, surrounded by silence and ticking clocks. In the other, students are sketching designs, debating ideas, building prototypes, rehearsing presentations. There is noise, yes, but it’s the sound of learning in motion. Frustration becomes curiosity. Deadlines become goals. This is not chaos, it is creation and it’s exactly what education should be.
In conclusion, replacing traditional exams with project-based assessments is not only possible it is essential. Projects allow for deeper learning, skill development, and emotional support in a way exams never could. Yes, there are logistical and fairness concerns, but these can be addressed with thoughtful planning and transparent structures. Ultimately, we must ask ourselves: Are we preparing students for a test, or for life? Because in the real world, success isn’t measured by how fast you can answer multiple-choice questions, it’s measured by how well you solve real problems, work with others, and rise to challenges. The time has come to leave behind the test and embrace the project. For our students’ future, it’s the only choice that makes sense.
Please see the attached PDF for the feedback.
SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – Varoon
attached below.
Should Schools Replace Traditional Exams with Project
Please see the attached PDF for the feedback.
SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – Isabella Peng
In the world of 2025, sitting at school, programmed to be worried about every single exam you have is not good enough. If the world goes on like this, the future will evaporate in our hands. This is why I think the schools on the face of Planet Earth must change their curriculums from the gruelling, traumatizing affliction of examinations to fun, light-hearted project-based assessments. This will lift the burden off every single student involved in this mind-blowing incorporation. It would help stop the stress and anxiety of pupils, make work easier for teachers, and give the community that happy feeling everyone needs!
We invariably must start this amazing project, as it would ease the minds of schoolchildren! Imagine hundreds of your classmates, all sitting at a desk with their pen in their hands, their eyes staring at the question paper in so much annoyance and stress it would black the sun out of the sky. In all the anxiety, they hold the pencil so hard it nearly breaks, and the sweat in their palms constantly pushes the writing device out of their grip. Now, imagine the same students, but with a look of triumph across their faces, as they stood around their brand-new science volcano, the teacher putting a ‘tick’ next to their name. The next day, their parents amazed because of the results. That is the picture you want, isn’t it? The entire world is willing for the same thing, but don’t know the key. But now I have that much-needed key. Take away those horrible, measly traditional exams and implement the phantasmagorical project-based assessments, the possible miracle to our future.
I unquestionably know we must implement project-based assessments as it would make work WAY easier for teachers. Students need rest, ok, btu teachers work at school TWICE as long as students! They need sleep too, okay?! If we develop project-based assessments in our learning, teachers will feel as if they just got a premium all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii! It would also save the teachers’ time, by the way! Usually at the end of a test, when the students have all gone home (and teachers are using their home relaxation time for this!) just sits in their chair, going through every single assignment handed in, and has to check ALL of that. Imagine! Sitting at a chair and marking pieces of homework handed in by kids who you’re three times older than! I would fall asleep in two minutes. Instead of this, if we implement the project-based assignments (I’m calling them PBAs from now on), all the teachers really need to do is walk around the room and look at finished projects and put a tick or cross next to the name! Go PBAs!
The third, and last reason I know for sure PBAs are the key to success is that it can give the community that feeling we’ve all been waiting for – happiness. It’s like a domino effect. The kid is happy because of the burden being lifted, so they don’t get depressed, so they get a good score, so the parents are proud and happy, so they do well in work as they’re not depressed, and the job succeeds in everything (money, fame, and everything else). And most jobs, like Woolies or NDIA, help the community. So, then the community is happy, and then in ways you never thought of that feeling spreads like a virus globally – but a good virus, of course. We don’t way COVID-19 to sprout up again!
Ultimately, PBAs are the way to go. It has an epic domino effect which helps the entire world, it eases students and teachers’ minds and souls, and once you try it, you will realise that this is the key to an amazing future! ‘But what if the PBAs cause distractions and a bad environment for learning?’ Well, studies have actually shown that PBAs like these actually increase focus and concentration by about 30%! It’s also been discovered that about a whopping 80% of students have a significant burden in their lives lifted and get amazing grades in comparison to their studies during the traditional examinations! ‘But how do you know all of this, writer?’ you ask? Well, it’s actually been tried out. A few schools in Indonesia, Adelaide, and even China have tried these and they have achieved amazing results! You better try it, or your country may fall behind it the amazing advancements of the world or humans, Planet Earth.
P.S. For Week 6 (this week), it doesn’t show the homework for English. Is this on purpose, or was there a glitch? Please answer me in the feedback.
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – AryanR
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Scholarly Week 6 Writing HW
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – Yilin Tao
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – Lawrence
Schools should replace traditional exams with project-based assesments
Schools should replace traditional exams with project-based assessments because they foster deeper learning, develop essential life skills, and reduce student stress.
Picture a classroom filled with students, their minds clouded with anxiety, fingers trembling as they clutch their pencils. This is the reality of traditional exams—a system that prioritizes memorization over understanding, pressure over creativity, and fear over genuine learning. Schools must replace traditional exams with project-based assessments to foster deeper learning, develop essential life skills, and reduce student stress.
First, project-based assessments promote meaningful learning. Exams often encourage cramming, where students absorb information for a short period only to forget it soon after. In contrast, projects require sustained engagement, research, and application, ensuring that students truly understand and retain knowledge. Imagine a physics student designing a roller coaster model instead of memorizing formulas—this hands-on experience cements concepts far more effectively than a timed test ever could.
Second, projects cultivate real-world skills that exams fail to measure. Success in life depends on teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving—skills that filling in bubbles on a test cannot develop. A student tasked with creating a business plan or engineering a water filtration system must collaborate, manage time, and think critically. These are the very abilities demanded by future employers and universities, making project-based assessments a superior preparation for life beyond school.
Most importantly, project-based assessments reduce stress and support mental health. Exams create high-pressure environments where a single mistake can ruin months of effort. Anxiety, panic attacks, and burnout are common, especially among high-achieving students. In contrast, projects allow time for reflection, revisions, and teacher feedback. Students can work at their own pace, express themselves creatively, and learn from mistakes—turning education into a journey rather than a race.
Critics argue that exams ensure fairness and standardization, but structured rubrics and checkpoints can make projects equally objective. Others worry that projects require too much time and effort, yet the payoff is undeniable: increased engagement, deeper learning, and better preparation for the future.
Imagine two classrooms. In one, students sit in rigid rows, heads down, hearts racing, surrounded by silence and ticking clocks. In the other, students are sketching designs, debating ideas, building prototypes, rehearsing presentations. This is not chaos—it is creation. It is learning in motion.
The time has come to leave behind the test and embrace the project. For our students’ future, it’s the only choice that makes sense.
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – rainie-jiangoutlook-com
Traditional exams should be replaced by project based exams
Sitting in your sweat drenched seat. The pressure is building up inside you. The timer is ticking. Tick. Tick. Tick. Your future depends on this test. What if you don’t pass? What if you do?
Being under the pressure of being in a plain test room is very common to many people. The timer and the sweating are all very familiar but the pressure is too heavy. You are literally getting crushed under pressure and the fact that you have to take a test where you have to sit and do the test which is really, really scary because you are just trying to do the test but you cannot, seeing the hard things stuffed on one piece of paper. That’s why we should replace traditional exams with project based tests.
Firstly, the amount of fun. Sitting in a blank, plain room is not fun whereas doing an exciting project with your pals is! You can unlock your inner creativity when you are doing a project and you can express yourself through a singular project. This can help your creativity to reach the max. It’s also quite fun making the design and doing research because you cannot limit your research and you aren’t under the massive pressure of tests and the studying of tests. You can also add some aspects of the real world to your project unlike traditional tests.
Secondly, your mental state. The pressure! The timer! The goosebumps! The sweating! All signs that you are dying under pressure! Pressure can make your mental health deteriorate meaning more panicked emotions than happy carefree emotions. This is not okay. We should have kids that act like the kids they are, not kids with panic disorder! Life isn’t about panicking about everything, it’s about enjoying everything while it lasts. The studying of tests can provoke stress and make the kid super paranoid of failing. Pressure really spikes when you are doing the real test. Believe it or not it doesn’t feel very nice.
Lastly, tests are just a snapshot of the student’s skill. Tests last for like thirty minutes and then you’re out of there. No interview. Just a test. This short test cannot just show all your real potentials! You need to do a project to really understand the kid. Not a short test with thirty questions! That’s why we need to replace traditional tests with projects. Projects help the marker understand the kid and actually give accurate responses. Not just some response based on one small test. This is beneficial for the marker and the kid. The best kind of marking is one that benefits the most.
In conclusion, we definitely need to replace traditional tests with projects or the kid’s mental health is doomed and the marking system is also doomed. We need to take action now and change the tests into the best it can be! Help us make the lives of kids and the markers easier and more fun today!
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – Qiaoqiao
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Felix SUN Week 6 Schoarship Writing
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – zhuyingdorahotmail-com
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Persuasive essay
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – jocelin.lu
Imagine seeing all the children with bend backs, writing furiously on their papers. Focused faces, heads down and each one experiencing lots of pressure. Traditional testing can lead to many children experiencing depression while project-based activities can allow adults to see what level they are on, their creativity and see how children think in different ways. This is why must traditional tests be replaced with project-based activities.
Firstly, traditional tests can lead to stress and anxiety. Preparation and the pressure of getting marks can lead to fear of failing. This can not only lead to mental health damaging and limit or shorten the capacity of the child when learning, but also physically hurt them. These include headaches, stomachs and inconsistent sleeping.
Additionally, we can see what level the child is on. We can see their thinking with open – ended questions instead of single choice answers. Traditional tests limit the opportunity for children to go the furthest they can. Therefore, traditional test must be banned and be replaced by project-based activities.
Finally, it can show their creativity and imagination. Again, traditional test makes it difficult to see their pros and cons by getting the questions right. They might have got the answer but in a wrong way or guessing could be included. With project-based testing we can see their talents.
Inconclusion, we should not continue traditional exams, instead having projects to test children. Traditional exams not only destroy metal health but also can have physical effects. With project-based exams, we can see calmer students focusing without having to stress.
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – Alessia Li
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – Tina Y
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Traditional Tests or Project
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – b34fdream
TIffany Week 6 Writing homework
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SCHOL-Y5_WK6 – Tiffany Gu
Students are faltering under extreme stress, and pressure. They are incapable of doing their best – rather, they are collapsing under standard exams. And if the purpose of exams is to show student’s progress, well, this is ineffective. Students cannot properly function under exams if they are stressed over the test, and thus, their full potential is not revealed. And yet, there is a solution. If students can do project based assessments, they will not only have fun, but be able to showcase full potential. This is important for mental health, education, and last but not least, potential. While the point of future importance may be raised, this will be proven incorrect.
First of all, if students have to do standardised exams – with a pen and paper, they will be extremely stressed, and anxiety will overcome them. Do you really think that students will do well in these conditions? Some, maybe, but most people can’t do exams properly like this. Whereas, if exams took on a project based form, students would be able to show their ability. If students are constantly panicking under this pressure, it can also affect long term mental health conditions that could possibly appear with over-stressed students. To prevent this disastrous happening, we must change our standard exam system to a more modern, project-based one. As you can see, this is an extremely important factor in childrens’ wellbeing and also mental health, both in a prolonged or current state of anxiety. A quote from the ‘National Institute of Education’ mentions that ‘standardised tests are wrecking the wellbeing level of children all around the world.’
Another important factor is education. If students are doing an extremely important exam that they don’t do well in, as we mentioned in the first point, they are not challenging themselves to their full potential. On the other hand, if students do project based assessments, they’ll be able to think properly whilst having fun, being able to exercise their full potential whilst learning, which is extremely beneficial for childrens’ learning and education journeys across school years. “Projects help students connect the material they have learned to the real world, effectively helping the students understand what they learned.” This quote is from ‘The Lion’s Tale,’ written by a professor in child learning. The article explains how PBL (project based learning) has been proven better than standard based learning. Another point raised in the article is that children will go to any extent to prep for exams, and most of the time, this leads to cramming the night before, which is not beneficial for childrens’ learning process. Another study from this site mentions that recent studies indicate that students who did PBL based learning made students do 18% better in their final exams than children who did standardised ones.
On top of this, PBL is essential for teachers to monitor their students potential level. In most schools around Australia, teachers provide standard tests to see what level the student is at. They then use this to create an opinion on the class’s level of education, which they then formulate their lesson plans from. By reading the previous paragraphs, you would likely be able to spot the evident flaw in this system. If students can’t perform their best in exam conditions because of stress, as touched on in the first point, teachers will get the wrong idea. Additionally, students who may have a lot of potential in PBL, would thrive under this system, weather because of their creativity or their ability to work well in a team. If students are constantly restricted under the standardised exam system, their full potential level will never be noticed, and no matter how much potential they have, nobody would recognise it, leading to unstable teaching material.
People against this idea may raise the matter of how doing standardised exams is important because later in life, students would need to do final exams such as HSC, or IB. Well, this is clearly incorrect. First of all, students, by the time they will be required to do these exams, their brains will be developed to handle the amount of stress and anxiety. Also, as mentioned in the second argument, the study from ‘The Lion’s Tale’ mentioned that students performed 18% better in their final exams. Their final exams were standardised ones, and the students who did PBL performed better than the ones who didn’t. It’s because the years of exercising their full learning potential enabled them to learn very well, and to know a lot of things, and so when they had to do their final exams, they thrived under this, because they already knew all the material, and had studied hard. And so evidently, the point that standardised tests might be needed in the future has been proven incorrect, thus strengthening the case of PBL being in schools.
And so, in conclusion, PBL is clearly the path we must take if we want hight mental health levels in children, effective education, and recognised potential. One example, is my school – Artarmon Public. I am in the OC program, and we hardly ever do standardised exams. Rather, our work focuses on a project approach. For instance, our geography unit consists of individual tasks, pair tasks, and group tasks, such as building a survival kit, or making a typhoon prevention device. This has enabled both me and my peers to learn tremendously well, and challenge ourselves to grow even smarter. Therefore, for all these reasons, PBL and assessments should exist in schools.