The Stakes
High stakes are not a characteristic of the test itself, but rather of the consequences placed on the outcome. For example, no matter what test is used — written multiple choice, oral examination, performance test — a medical licensing test must be passed to practice medicine.
The perception of the stakes may vary. For example, college students who wish to skip an introductory-level course are often given exams to see whether they have already mastered the material and can be passed to the next level. Passing the exam can reduce tuition costs and time spent at university. A student who is anxious to have these benefits may consider the test to be a high-stakes exam. Another student, who places no importance on the outcome, so long as he is placed in a class that is appropriate to his skill level, may consider the same exam to be a low-stakes test.
The phrase "high stakes" is derived directly from a gambling term. In gambling, a stake is the quantity of money or other goods that is risked on the outcome of some specific event. A high-stakes game is one in which, in the player's personal opinion, a large quantity of money is being risked. The term is meant to imply that implementing such a system introduces uncertainty and potential losses for test takers, who must pass the exam to "win," instead of being able to obtain the goal through other means.
Examples of high-stakes tests and their "stakes" include:
- Driver's license tests and the legal ability to drive
- Theater auditions and the part in the performance
- College entrance examinations in some countries, such as Japan's Common first-stage exam, and admission to a high-quality university
- Many job interviews or drug tests and being hired
- High school exit examinations and high-school diplomas
- No Child Left Behind tests and school funding and ratings
- Ph.D. oral exams and the Doctorate
- Professional licensing and certification examinations (such as the bar exams, FAA written tests, and medical exams) and the license or certification being sought
- The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and recognition as a speaker of English (if a minimum score is required, but not if it is used merely for information )
Read more about this topic: High-stakes Testing
Famous quotes containing the word stakes:
“Law makes long spokes of the short stakes of men.”
—William Empson (1906–1984)
“This man was very clever and quick to learn anything in his line. Our tent was of a kind new to him; but when he had once seen it pitched, it was surprising how quickly he would find and prepare the pole and forked stakes to pitch it with, cutting and placing them right the first time, though I am sure that the majority of white men would have blundered several times.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)