Have you failed to get the maximum out of GCE O/L exam 2011?

Lal Fonseka Productivity Consultant, Brandix Lanka Limited

The results of the general certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level(O/L) exams held in December 2011 have been released. It was reported that about 12,000 students have failed in all subjects while 3900 odd students have achieved ‘A’ grade in all nine subjects.

One particular student who attends to a popular Buddhist school in Colombo anticipated nine ‘A’s, but fallen short his target by three subjects. Though he has obtained the qualification to get registered for the Next Level examination which is the Advance Level, he seems be highly depressed and does not wish to face even his friends because he was a brilliant student according to his friends and teachers. In fact he had expressed his pre-anticipated view in public most of the time that he will get through from the exam with nine ‘A’s.

A great sense of humiliation and expression of self-defeat can come from failing an important test or exam.

When helping someone through this crisis, it's important to deal with the situation without resorting to criticism, rebuke, or making the person feel inadequate or confirming their sense of being a failure. Success is crucial yet at times failure can be linked to many an external cause, a state of mind, and not necessarily to any internal cause of intelligence or aptitude. Seek to encourage and help the person rise above this setback. Here are some important steps you could follow without giving up if you have been unsuccessful or half successful in the recent ordinary level exam.

Step1

Please note that you are not the only human candidate who has been unsuccessful in the exam. It could happen to all of us some time or another. I know another person who has scored only 19 marks in the grade five scholarship exam, but he has ended up his educational career with a first class degree from a reputed university and now he is a manager in a well to do bank. Sometimes a sensible reminder of the reality to your mind that I will make all mistakes helps calm and stabilize the situation. Many great and distinguished icons in society have used their failures as a stepping stone to success.

Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. He later wrote, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up.”

Step2

You can be an unsuccessful candidate, still there are advantages, if you do not let things slide. All what you have got to do is to encourage yourself to look to the positive side and to embrace practicing persistence. Now you have not failed, but the real failure is to give up too soon. You should have nothing but the motivation or the determination to continue trying. Easily you could overcome this by focusing on their previous successes in exams, tests, and other challenges, and the strategies you used in those situations.

Think deeply a moment about the people who had continued trying without giving up. The man who could identify the benefits of continuing to stick with their goals over abandoning them will definitely end up with highly successful position. Why not have a look for stories about people who have taken exams or tests more than once. You might be surprised how many people have done so! But more to the point, these people eventually succeed because they don't give up.

Robert Sternberg received a C in his first college introductory-psychology class. His teacher commented that “there was a famous Sternberg in psychology and it was obvious there would not be another.” Three years later Sternberg graduated with honors from Stanford University with exceptional distinction in psychology.

Step 3

Another important point that you should take into your mind is that refraining from you being subject to mockery and damaging comments. Nobody benefits from being called useless, stupid, or having it insinuated that they're incapable of ever getting a thing right. Those kinds of comments could be harmful to you, if you do not take them lightly and also those words are not motivating. Do not worry about such comments and whoever makes such comments is not a good friend of yours. You are not a failure in your heart, but you are a failure in someone else's eyes. If you're already emotionally involved with the person in question and feel a sense of anger or annoyance that you didn't pass as is the case with some parents, take some time away to calm down before broaching the subject.

You're more likely to be upset if the exam or test involves time losses because of your recent failure. Try to see this as being about the person, not the time. The time lost could be caught up someday if you do not give up. Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.” As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.”

Confucius

Step 4

Something to consider is to suggest that the student take a break to refresh before tackling the learning process again. Getting away from it all can restore a battered sense of confidence as new sights, sounds, and experiences bring back their sense of purpose and drive. Do not keep unnecessary gaps, and if you can sit for the next examination without making any delays, you can be successful at the next attempt. This would be a pleasant thing for the student to do. For all students, consideration to more intensive tutoring might be useful. Assess your feelings concerning such tuition and work from there. If there is a chance to sit exams earlier than other students, take quick actions.

Step 5

Building and working on your self-confidence. If you feel you lack in self-esteem and confidence, seek ways to enhance these feelings of self-worth. This can be easily achieved through motivational and self-help literature and books. This kind of inspirational material is freely available at public libraries or from friends. Of even greater value for many people is the gift of your time to listen to motivational gurus and to get the help from them through challenges by talking together. Often we are so busy that we don't realize that simply having the chance to talk things through can make a huge difference to a person's self-esteem and can help them identify ways of fixing things for themselves.

In addition to building personal self-confidence, be sure to obtain help from them with building exam or test confidence. You did something wrong in order to fail and it's important to know what that was so that you don't repeat it again.

Another significant point to encourage yourself is to talk to the teachers or lecturers, to read reviews of the exams or tests, and to purchase books that can help them improve the studies in that field. It will also help you to feel calm and confident when taking an exam. If not, it may be necessary to focus on some calming skills.

Step 6

Help yourself to get clear a decent study space for studies. This will encourage consistency and commitment. To pass a difficult test or exam, being committed to this success is vital and important. Ultimately the amount of time spent on learning material will ensure if you pass or fail. Always you try to encourage yourself to break away from a "fixed time and schedule" for studying. Learning and revising the test material can be done at any place and at any time.

Consider making some short-term personal sacrifices by parents too if these would help. Things such as not having the TV up too loud while the student on study, and as parents it is always helpful to turning off your light earlier when it's bedtime so that student can get a full night's sleep.

You must help yourself to create stirring visions for your future. Success breeds success and once you have a good handle on how to study successfully, this habit becomes part of your entire educational cycle. Ultimately, learning how to handle failed exams helps the learning process about failure in general; this leads to a better quality life and most importantly gives the person dignity and independence as an individual.

“Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements, and doubts. We tend to forget the past difficulties, the many false starts, and the painful groping. We see our past achievements as the end result of a clean forward thrust, and our present difficulties as signs of decline and decay.”

Eric Hoffer