I just wanted to write a quick line about exams here in New Zealand (what a fascinating topic, I know!) Nonetheless, going to school and actually living in Auckland is part of what I came here for! The exam system here is quite unlike that in the United States at most colleges, instead of having exams throughout the semester, or even just one midterm exam, exams are worth about 50% of your grade (or more!) and you have few assignments throughout the year, usually only one or two. This puts a lot of individual pressure on students, many end up learning the year's worth of material right before exams.
That said, exams are also a lot more spread out. My exam period began on the 3rd of June and I just had my last exam today! I actually really enjoyed that aspect; though I would've liked the exams to have been less spread out and earlier during the finals period so that I could've traveled a bit more I still felt no where near the level of stress I would've while at college in the US. Additionally, in the case of at least two of my exams, I felt more prepared than I ever would've cramming for a final back home.
As for the individual tests themselves, the tests here are often organised so you have at least one option. For my Environmental Effects and Management course for example, we were given 9 essays topics and only expected to write on 3. Likewise on my art history exam for each of 4 questions we had at least 4 essay topics to choose from. This allows a great deal of flexibility in addition to allow students to focus on what they are actually interested in. On my Art History final for example, we completed on several famous pieces of art, and then were allowed to choose which we studied further in order to complete exam questions. (I chose to write on this piece, the Embarkation for Cythera by Watteau http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Embarktion_for_Cythera.jpg). I really enjoyed that aspect of exams. That said, I still found my geology exam, New Zealand: Half a Billion Years on the Edge, quite challenging! (Quite literally one question asked us to write everything we knew about the origin and development of new Zealand!)
One other interesting note about exams, I feel like I have never been treated with such little trust! During exams at my college at home, we are always allowed to have jackets and bags with us, regardless of whether the exam is closed book. Here our IDs had to be facing up at all times, our bags deposited in the front of the room, and were even escorted to the bathroom if need be. I didn't much care for that aspect, but I do respect the effort to minimise any cheating.
That's it for now! I'm done with finals and junior year of college!
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