There are a lot of changes that happen in a year in different aspects of life, one of which is academics. One significant change for many is the introduction of test week, which has sparked debate among students. Everyone is confronted with the same question: is it a good or bad change, or rather, is it a blessing or a curse? PDBY spoke to students to find out how they feel about the implementation of test week. What was once for certain faculties has now been incorporated throughout the entire university. While some believe that it is for the best, others think that it is a recipe for disaster.
For those who are still new and do not know what test week is, it is a week that is dedicated to tests where there are no lectures or practicals. It is a new experience for many students because it was only implemented for a few faculties, so the majority do not know what to expect, leading to anxiety. That is what scares many students the most. We are ultimately faced with the question: is it a blessing or a curse?
PDBY spoke to Venus Nare, a second-year Political Studies student who expressed her distress and indifference about test week. She said: “I think it is a curse straight from hell, because why do I need more academic stress on top of the stress I have now? But there may be some good that can come out of it in the long run. I prefer the old way of doing things, so I just need to adjust to the new way. However, back-to-back tests will be the death of all of us, so we better start studying now before the pressure gets to us.”
Matlala Mapokane, a third-year BSc Geology Student offered a different perspective. She said that Ttest week can be both a blessing and a curse depending on who you are and what you are doing: “It is a two-way street. For some, it will be beneficial, and for others, it might add more pressure because even though there are no lectures and practicals, tests have to be written for all modules in that week. This means it is beneficial and a relief for those who do not have too many modules. On the other hand, there are people who carried a few modules from their previous year along with them into the current year. This means that there is going to be a lot of pressure to study for all of their modules in a short period of time as the test timetable will be tight.”
However, when asked if she preferred the new or old way of doing things, Mapokane confidently said: “I prefer the old way of doing things because it allows more time and less pressure to worry about having to cover all the modules’ content in one week. Even though you would have prepared before test week, the brain will stress when you have to study for a different module immediately after another. The only problem with the old way of writing tests was that practical times were lengthy – three to six hours for practicals, especially chemistry.” She continued by giving tips on how students can prepare for test week. Mapokane concluded by saying: “The best way to prepare is to be up-to-date with the lecture content. Make sure you follow every lecture theme and try to not fall behind so that when you have to study for test week, you do not have a lot of things to begin studying with. The best way forward is to consistently study so that when it is test week, no matter how tight your schedule is, you will be revising the work, not necessarily starting from scratch.”
To some students, test week is definitely a blessing in disguise. Thato Nkobo, a second-year BA student, is one of those who rejoice at the idea. Nkobo said: “In my opinion, test week is a blessing. It pressures me to dedicate the entire week and probably the weekend before it to purely just studying. Since all the papers will be in one week, it makes me feel like I do not have time to waste since there is something to prepare for. It is unfortunate that it will add more pressure to students with more modules. [Because] if you have more modules, it is very likely that you may have two tests in one day. However, all your tests are in one week, meaning that you get the stress and anxiety over all within that week instead of over a longer period of time. Just manage your time well to ensure that all summarising is done in advance. Take each paper one at a time, and attend lectures to get the important information. [This will] make [sure that] your studying [is] more efficient.”
Test week can be viewed as both a blessing and a curse, depending on how one chooses to look at it. Because change is constant, we need to learn to embrace it even when it makes us uncomfortable and anxious. Let us all fly through test week!
