For years we've been told that exams are an effective tool for evaluating student progress: if we know something well enough, we should be able to recall it anytime, under any circumstances.

But using just one test to assess a student's progress can easily over- or underestimate it. Everyone responds differently to stress. Even if a student knows a subject inside-out, stress may make them forget everything. On the other hand, a lazy student who focused on a limited number of topics could be lucky, get the questions he or she prepared for, and get a good grade by chance.

But coursework is done over a period of time. This way, consistent students are not under so much pressure as their entire academic record doesn't depend on one single day. Coursework can show how students really think, work and progress. Exams, on the other hand, reflect students' academic ability on one particular day.

Exams are certainly easier to grade. But for an effective measure of student progress, that progress should be noted over a period of time, not just one day. All students have bad days; if their academic progress is underestimated because panic creates amnesia, it's not fair. This is hardly an effective measure of student progress.

Dennis Wu, 17, St Joseph's College

Exams have long been considered diabolical by students. Yet no matter how much we hate to admit it, they are extremely effective when it comes to evaluating a student.

Exams are fair and easy to administer. All students work on the same questions and the scores directly indicate how capable a student is of addressing a particular topic. They are an effective measure of student progress. To see how much progress a student has made, all you have to do is to compare the score with that of a previous exam.

Besides, exams are usually based upon the whole curriculum, whereas coursework tends to focus on a particular aspect, virtually rendering it useless in tracking a student's progress.

It's very difficult to prevent students from cheating on homework, but it's a lot easier to keep an eye on them in an exam hall.

Coursework is completed at home, and some students may take the opportunity to plagiarise. That's a lot harder to do when a supervisor is watching them. Therefore, it's hard to tell with coursework how much a student has improved.

In addition, coursework sometimes comes in the form of group projects. Individual performances are almost impossible to assess in such situations. How can a student's progress be monitored when it's unclear how much each student has contributed?

We need exams, and it looks as though they are here to stay, no matter how much we hate them.