by Philip Stainton
Well, the obvious answer from the clickbait style title is, of course they do! Parental pressure, board level pressure and inspection level pressure…….exam results matter! There’s no getting away from it. In the current educational landscape, the pressure on schools to deliver outstanding exam results has never been more intense. League tables, parental expectations, governmental benchmarks, inspection bodies and even google school reviews have turned the pursuit of academic excellence into a high-stakes game. But is this relentless focus on grades really what’s best for our students? I think we all know the answer is no, and yet, despite the best efforts of many school leaders, we still join the relentless push for ever better results. As the head of a leading secondary school, I argue that we should collectively work together to reassess our priorities in school leadership and ask ourselves: Do exam results really matter as much as we think they do?
On the surface, the answer seems obvious. Exam results open doors to universities and jobs, they are the currency by which schools are measured, and they provide a clear metric of success. However, this narrow focus on grades can be misleading and, in many cases, detrimental I believe to the true purpose of education.
The Cost of the Exam-Driven Culture
First and foremost, the obsession with exam results has led to an educational culture where unfortunately teaching to the test has become the norm across many schools in many countries. This approach can often sacrifice creativity, critical thinking, and deep understanding for rote memorisation and formulaic responses. I have even been guilty of this myself of focusing on the so-called ‘exam technique’ too early or dismissing part of the curriculum knowing it is not essential for the public exam. The arts, physical education, and extracurricular activities can sometimes be sidelined as “non-essential” in the quest for higher grades. Yet, these are the areas that are often highlighted by business investors and entrepreneurs as producing the valuable skills they want: collaboration, innovation, resilience, and emotional intelligence. As a husband to a former senior university lecturer, I would regularly listen to her complaints regarding her new undergraduate intake being woefully underprepared for university-level academic independent study.
Moreover, the relentless focus on exams contributes to an unhealthy environment for both students and staff. Mental health issues among students have skyrocketed, with anxiety and depression becoming disturbingly common. Teachers, too, are under immense pressure, often leading to burnout and disillusionment. In the international market, the cycle of 2-year contracts leads to an uncertainty of retention. Is this really the kind of educational system we want to sustain?
Redefining Success: What Really Matters in School Leadership
So, what if we were able to enter a world immune from outside pressures, and tried to reduce the emphasis of exam results on the success of a school and education system? What should be the priorities of school leadership? I believe the answer lies in a more holistic approach to education, one that values the development of the whole child and prepares them for life, not just for tests. But then this returns us to a more philosophical question, is the aim of high exam grades to enable students to progress onto well or highly paid jobs? Or is it a long-term view to embed a way of thinking, creating, implementing and evaluating ideas to enable our students to solve the problems of the future? It feels as if modern education isn’t quite sure and caught between the short- and long-term views.
The Path Forward
As we move forward, it feels time to rethink our priorities and lead with a vision that goes beyond the confines of academic achievement alone. This would need the assistance of inspection bodies and government frameworks to give schools extra breathing space for the long-term view of student development. Education is about more than just producing high achievers; it’s about shaping well-rounded, thoughtful, and resilient individuals who are ready to take on the world. And yet as I write this, my inspection hat gets put back on and I can hear myself saying….” but how will you measure that?”. And perhaps even here lies the quandary, even I am caught between the two…
Philip Stainton is the Assistant Principal (Secondary Lead), Arcadia Global School, Dubai
To connect with Philip on LinkedIn, click here
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