exam
noun OPAL S
/ɪɡˈzæm/
/ɪɡˈzæm/
(also formal examination)
- to take an exam
- to pass/fail an exam
- (British English) I hate doing exams.
- (British English, formal) to sit an exam
- (British English) to mark an exam
- (North American English) to grade an exam
- I failed the college entrance exam (= to get a place at college).
- exam in something Every term we would have exams in maths, English, French, etc.
- in an exam (British English) She did well in her exams.
- on an exam (North American English) She did well on her exams.
- an exam paper
- I got my exam results today.
- A lot of students suffer from exam nerves.
More About examsexams- Exam is the usual word for a written, spoken or practical test at school or college, especially an important one that you need to do in order to get a qualification. Examination is a very formal word. A test is something that students might be given in addition to, or sometimes instead of, regular exams, to see how much they have learned. A very short informal test is called a quiz in North American English. Quiz in both North American English and British English also means a contest in which people try to answer questions:
- a trivia quiz
- a quiz show.
Wordfinder- course
- distance learning
- education
- exam
- further education
- graduate
- higher education
- qualification
- study
- tertiary
Collocations EducationEducationLearning- acquire/get/lack (an) education/training/(British English) (some) qualifications
- receive/provide somebody with training/tuition
- develop/design/plan a curriculum/(especially British English) course/(North American English) program/syllabus
- give/go to/attend a class/lesson/lecture/seminar
- hold/run/conduct a class/seminar/workshop
- sign up for/take a course/classes/lessons
- go to/start preschool/kindergarten/nursery school
- be in the first, second, etc. (North American English) grade/(especially British English) year (at school)
- study/take/drop history/chemistry/German, etc.
- (British English) leave/finish/drop out of/ (North American English) quit school
- (North American English) graduate high school/college
- be the victim/target of bullying
- (British English) play truant from/ (both British English, informal) bunk off/skive off school (= not go to school when you should)
- (both especially North American English) skip/cut class/school
- (British English) cheat in/(North American English) cheat on an exam/a test
- get/be given a detention (for doing something)
- be expelled from/be suspended from school
- do your homework/(British English) revision/a project on something
- work on/write/do/submit an essay/a dissertation/a thesis/an assignment/(North American English) a paper
- finish/complete your dissertation/thesis/studies/coursework
- hand in/ (North American English) turn in your homework/essay/assignment/paper
- study/prepare/ (British English) revise/ (North American English) review/ (North American English, informal) cram for a test/an exam
- take/ (both British English) do/sit a test/an exam
- (especially British English) mark/ (especially North American English) grade homework/a test
- (British English) do well in/ (North American English) do well on/ (informal, especially North American English) ace a test/an exam
- pass/fail/ (informal, especially North American English) flunk a test/an exam/a class/a course/a subject
- apply to/get into/go to/start college/(British English) university
- leave/graduate from law school/college/(British English) university (with a degree in computer science)
- study for/take/ (British English) do/complete a law degree/a degree in physics
- (both North American English) major/minor in biology/philosophy
- earn/receive/be awarded/get/have/hold a master’s degree/a bachelor’s degree/a PhD in economics
Wordfinder- candidate
- exam
- grade
- invigilate
- mark
- oral
- paper
- practical
- resit
- revise
Culture examsexamsGreater emphasis is placed on examination results in Britain than in many other countries. Most universities and employers still rely mainly on exam results for evidence of a person's academic ability.Children in England complete National Curriculum Tests, (still often called by their former name, standard assessment tasks or SATs) at ages 7 and 11 as part of the National Curriculum. The same tests are taken by children across the country. In a very few areas children take an eleven-plus exam to decide where they will go for their secondary education.In secondary schools exams are usually held at the end of each school year to assess students' progress. The most important exams are the national GCSE exams that children take at 16. Schools are free to choose which of several examination boards they use to set and mark GCSE exams. GCSEs are marked on a nine-point scale, with nine as the highest mark and one the lowest. U, meaning ' unclassified', indicates that the student has not been given a grade. Final grades may also be based on continuous assessment (= marks gained for essays and project work during the course), as well as on a student's performance in the exam, although the new GCSE courses examined in 2018 rely more on the final exam. Many students take GCSE exams in seven or eight subjects, sometimes more. Diploma exams offer an alternative to GCSE and A level exams and are based on more practical work as preparation for particular jobs.BTECs (Business and Technology Education Council) and NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) are other less academic alternatives to GCSEs and A levels.Students who do well in their GCSEs usually go on to take A level exams two years later. A levels are marked on a five-point scale, A to E, with an additional grade A*, and U for unclassified. Most study four or five subjects at AS level in the first year and then three at A2 level in the second year. They must achieve fairly high grades in order to be offered a place at university.In Scotland students sit Scottish Qualifications Certificate exams which, at National 5 level, are the equivalent of GCSEs. The highest grade is A. A year later students take the higher-level exams, Highers. After a further year some students take Advanced Highers.Students from other countries who wish to study at university in Britain must show a knowledge of English and the most common test for this purpose is an IELTS test.At university students work towards a degree, and most courses end in a series of exams called finals. Many take an honours degree which is awarded in one of several classes (= grades). The highest class is a first. The second class is often split between upper second and lower second (a 2:1 and a 2:2), and below that is the third class. If a student does not meet the standard for an honours degree, he or she may be awarded a pass degree.In the US there are no national exams like those in Britain but many states have their own assessment tests that vary from state to state. Students at school and university usually take one or more exams as part of their grade assessment (= a mark A to D, and F for 'fail') which shows how well they have done in each class. At colleges and universities these exams are often called midterms or finals, and during the year students have exams in all or most of their classes.People who wish to study at a US university usually have to take one of several standardized tests. Students going to university for the first time may take the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the ACT (American College Test). People who want to do a higher degree may take the GRE (Graduate Record Examination), LSAT (Law School Admission Test) or MCAT (Medical College Admission Test), depending on what they want to study. Students from other countries must usually show a knowledge of English and the most common test for this purpose is the TOEFL (= Test of English as a Foreign Language). Standardized tests often do not test how much people know about a subject, but how strong their skills are in areas like reading and solving problems. People do not pass or fail but instead each college or university decides on the lowest score it will accept. Test scores are never the only factor to be considered in deciding whether to offer a place to a student.Some professions require people to pass special exams before they are qualified to practise. Lawyers in the US, for example, must pass the bar exam in the state in which they wish to work, to show that they know the laws of that state.Extra ExamplesTopics Educationa1- As soon as the exams are over I'm going on holiday.
- Candidates found cheating in any exam will be disqualified from all their exams.
- Girls are doing better than boys in every school exam.
- He did badly in his history exam.
- I can't go out because I'm revising for end of year exams.
- Sample exam questions are also provided for each chapter.
- Offences included taking mobile phones, books or notes into the exam room.
- I just finished my last law school exam.
- I wrote two awful essays and was lucky to scrape through the exam.
- In spite of her worries, she passed the exam with flying colours.
- The exam format has been changed to include multiple choice questions.
- The final exam is set by a board of professors.
- The midterm exams are coming up.
- The regional exam boards all get together regularly to ensure equal standards.
- There is a subdued atmosphere in the school at exam time.
- We had an English exam on this play.
- a Master's program's comprehensive exam
- an exam for nurses
- an exam for school leavers
- an exam in chemistry
- the California high-school exit exam
- the New York state bar exam
- He's practising hard for his piano exam.
- I got my exam grades/scores today.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- difficult
- easy
- entrance
- …
- cram for
- prepare for
- review for
- …
- begin
- start
- be coming up
- …
- practice
- preparation
- revision
- …
- in an/the exam
- on an/the exam
- exam for
- …
- (North American English) a medical test of a particular part of the body
- an eye exam
Extra Examples- She carried out a thorough exam and didn't find anything unusual.
- The doctor will then perform a physical exam on the child.
- The follow-up exams showed the baby was healthy.
- You should have a clinical breast exam every year.
- an ultrasound exam of the baby
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- thorough
- routine
- follow-up
- …
- do
- perform
- have
- …
- reveal something
- show something
- room
- table
- exam of
- exam on