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Examinations: Cambridge Hall of Exams

This document discusses the origins and history of exams. While exams are often attributed to two American men both named Henry Fischel in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, exams actually have roots in ancient China dating back almost 2,000 years where government officials were selected based on passing imperial exams. Cambridge University also played a role in standardized testing when in 1858 they were approached to provide standardized local exams for male students across England, administering some of the first subjects still tested on today. Exams have since evolved, with modern assessments focusing more on holistic evaluation of an individual's overall competencies rather than specific components.

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Kumar Reddy
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171 views2 pages

Examinations: Cambridge Hall of Exams

This document discusses the origins and history of exams. While exams are often attributed to two American men both named Henry Fischel in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, exams actually have roots in ancient China dating back almost 2,000 years where government officials were selected based on passing imperial exams. Cambridge University also played a role in standardized testing when in 1858 they were approached to provide standardized local exams for male students across England, administering some of the first subjects still tested on today. Exams have since evolved, with modern assessments focusing more on holistic evaluation of an individual's overall competencies rather than specific components.

Uploaded by

Kumar Reddy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Henry or Henry?

All in all, as a student, we’ve had this odd and almost amusing
relationship with exams, but we’ve never focused on the million
dollar question: ‘Who’s the person behind these terrifyingly
traumatic form of assessments?’
If we were to go by historical sources, then exams were invented
by an American businessman and philanthropist known as Henry
Fischel somewhere in the late 19th century. However, some
sources attribute the invention of standardized assessments to
another man by the same name, i.e. Henry Fischel. The latter one
was a professor of religious studies at the Indiana University
during the early 20th century. There you go! You’ve finally found
out the name of the tormentor par excellence.
Henry Fischel (Businessman, Philanthrophist)

Exam-in China
Exams actually have ancient roots!
While a lot of people attribute formal assessments
and examinations to the above gentlemen, both named Henry
Fischel, the concept of ‘examination’ has its roots in ancient
China.
Did you know? That almost 2000 years ago in China, being a
government official was a matter of great prestige, and the only
way to enter this elite club of government officials was to pass
examinations that were designed under the watchful eyes of
Emperor Zhang of Hen.

The Cambridge Assessments


Cambridge hall of exams
Cambridge is one of the most widely recognized educational
institutes in the world, and this is something that’s generally
known and acknowledged. However, there’s also a quite unknown
relation between exams and this historical university.
In the late 19th century, schools in England approached the
Cambridge and Oxford universities, and requested them for a
standardized test that male pupils could take locally across
England. This was in 1858, and back then, exams were open only
to boys.
The first Cambridge assessments took place on 14/12/1958, and
were administered locally across schools and churches or any
other place where students could comfortably take them. The
subjects were pretty similar to the ones that we get tested on
today such as English, Mathematics, Geography, History, Latin,
German, French, Politics etc.
Also, just like we have external invigilators for our class 10th
and 12th exams, invigilators travelled all the way from Cambridge
to different parts of England by rail in order to administer those
tests. If you want to access the first ever question paper set by
the Cambridge University, you can do so by visiting
the Cambridge University Library.

Tests through time


The concept of assessments and testing has evolved drastically in
the past few decades. Today, assessments also refer to holistic
testing. Unlike regular tests, holistic testing focuses on the
overall picture instead of specific components. Also, a lot of
individual units are taken into account in order to build an
overall picture that reflects the actual competency of a candidate.
These tests are used not just in colleges but also while
interviewing people for jobs.
That being said, holistic assessments are often fun and very
engaging, and are definitely unlike the mundane examinations that
we normally come across. This is so because they help you find
your calling and point out areas where you can and should
improve. Plus, there’s always the added benefit that they help
corporates to look for the best talent.
Pretty cool right? Here’s h

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