Weakness Of The School System Reading Answers

Jan 19, 2023

Weakness Of The School System Reading Answers has 13 questions that are to be answered in 40 minutes. IELTS topic- Weakness Of The School System Reading Answers deals with current drawbacks and flaws in the school system. Weakness Of The School System IELTS reading question type has three kinds of questions. That is writing the correct answers, choosing the right option and knowing whether statements can correspond to the passage. Weakness Of The School System Reading Answers aids in the preparation of the IELTS exam. Candidates need to skim through the passage for the best answer. They can also refer to IELTS Reading practice papers.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Weakness Of The School System Reading Answers

Weakness of the school system

By attempting to fit in as much as possible, the school day is continually being added to. In many ways, this would appear to be a good idea, as our knowledge and understanding of the world is always growing and it would seem logical to incorporate this into schools. The reality, however, has some decided drawbacks. There is a growing feeling amongst many that the modern school curriculum, in an effort to teach as many varied subjects as possible, is actually teaching students less. It seems that by constantly adding to what should be taught in the
classroom, the classes are less focused, not offering the deeper learning that institutions perhaps should.
With classes sometimes only 30 minutes long, the overwhelming amount of information teachers are required to present often only gives students time to learn facts, not to think in any great detail about what they are being presented with. The problem is that students are not getting the opportunity to absorb what they are being taught as the curriculum expands in order to keep what has already been taught and supplement it with everything new that comes along.
The weaknesses of such a system are clear - well informed though such students may be, there is the risk of an increasing number of graduates who have no real creative or intellectual ability. By denying students the opportunity to sit and think their way through problems, or even consider their own opinion, some schools are not always providing a truly educational atmosphere. There are, of course, certain aspects of education which need to be taught by simply inputting the information. Basic mathematics, for example. But there are many other subjects which could be best learned by having an opportunity to think and discuss what is being taught. Literature, writing and the social sciences are good examples of subjects which cannot be considered as 'covered' by a mass of information without the opportunity to discuss, debate or consider meaning or implications. There are also important social skills to be learned during such periods of open discussion, skills which are not addressed by an endless flow of teacher-centred information.
Teachers themselves have also voiced concerns about the amount of information they are required to impress upon their students. There is a feeling in many educational establishments that students are no longer being educated, but taught how to pass tests. In a world where academic success is too often measured by examination results, this is a serious concern. If there is too much information to simply be memorised and not enough time to truly assimilate it,
What happens to students who fail to meet the grade? By current standards, they are failures, yet they may have great potential in areas not covered by the test and there are many students who, despite clear intellectual ability, simply do not perform well in tests. Again, the problem is one of focus, as education authorities are looking at the outcome of schooling rather than the content presented in the class.
It is here that many teachers feel the situation could be addressed at a local level. By giving more discretion to teachers, school courses could be tailored to suit the students rather than tailoring students to meet ever-expanding course requirements. In addition, by running a curriculum that gives options rather than defines an entire course, considerably more freedom would be possible. As it is, progression through most primary and secondary schools is regimented, and there is little room for students to identify and develop their own skills and strengths. If material could be chosen on the basis of its merits rather than simply because it has been put in the curriculum, then what is selected may be taught to a depth that would serve some purpose. There is, of course, a counter-argument, which claims that such open guidelines could lead to vast differences in standards between schools. What one teacher may see as essential for a
student's education, another may see as irrelevant, and this will result in students with widely different educational strengths.
With such a high-pressure learning environment, there are also a number of social aspects to schooling which need to be considered. The increased student workload cannot be covered in the classroom alone for the simple reason that there is not enough time in the average school week, and much of this extra workload has been pushed into the realm of homework. At its best, homework should be the opportunity to look in greater detail at what has been studied. In
other words, to actually think about it and its relevance. The reality, however, is often very different. Concerned parents and overextended students are finding that homework is taking an increasingly large part of a student's evening, cutting into time many feel should be spent as part of a child's social education. Other social pressures have compounded the situation, as many of the areas of educating a young child which should be the responsibility of the parents have ill- advisedly become the school's responsibility. Drug awareness and health issues, for example, are occupying an increasingly large part of the school day.
Many people believe that we should be teaching less, but teaching it better, and it is here that they think a solution can be found. Yet the process of rewriting a curriculum to incorporate only that which is essential but can be well learned would take far longer than most educational authorities have, and would be considered by many to be a 'regressive' step. Changes in the curriculum have largely been motivated by changes in the nature of employment, as job mobility
demands that people know something about considerably more areas than were traditionally necessary. A little about a lot allows for the job mobility which has become so common. No matter what the final verdict regarding the curriculum may be, one thing is for sure - change will be slow, and not always for the best.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 28-32

Choose the most suitable headings (I-X) for sections B-F from the list in the box below. Use each heading once only. Write your answers in the boxes 28-32.

A question of time
Lack of teacher training
Student success
The argument for flexibility
Importance of teaching experience
Extra-curricular pressures
The benefits of a varied curriculum
Imbalanced focus
Over-reliance on examinations
The risks of quality over quantity?

Section B

Answer: VIII. Imbalanced focus
Supporting Sentence: The problem is that students are not getting the opportunity to absorb what they are being taught
Keywords: problem, Students, not getting, absorb
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 4-5,
Explanation: Paragraph B opens up with a note that 30 minutes of time will not be sufficient for the teachers to explain everything deeply and so students get to learn only some facts. This paragraph then describes that the students are unable to focus properly and about the various consequences that come as a result. From this it can be inferred that option- VIII is the best suited heading for this from the given options.

Section C

Answer: IX. Over-reliance on examinations
Supporting Sentence: In a world where academic success is too often measured by examination results, this is a serious concern
Keywords: academic success, too often measured, by examination results
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 4-5
Explanation: Paragraph C talks about how examination plays a role in the school system. It explains that academic capability of a student is mostly measured by the scores they get in exams. Some students may have a thorough understanding of the subject but do not get good grades and are considered failures. Sometimes they do not even have to understand concepts and memorize everything to get good marks. This is a serious issue in education. From this it can be inferred that option- IX is the best suited heading for this from the given options.

Section D

Answer: IV. The argument for flexibility
Supporting Sentence: There is, of course, a counter-argument, which claims that such open guidelines could lead to vast differences in standards between schools.
Keywords: counter-argument, claims that, open guidelines, vast differences
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, lines 12-14
Explanation: Paragraph D talks about the curriculum and the syllabus the students have to learn. It describes how the syllabus can be chosen and the arguments raised by teachers about deciding the syllabus. From this it can be inferred that option- IV is the best suited heading for this from the given options.

Section E

Answer: VI. Extra-curricular pressures
Supporting Sentence: responsibility of the parents have ill-advisedly become the school's responsibility
Keywords: responsibility of the parents, become, school's responsibility
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, lines 12-13
Explanation: Paragraph E states that homework and school classes take up a lot of time of the students which results in them not making time to learn other things. This paragraph describes that the basic things that children have to learn from their parents are being forced into the school for teaching them. From this it can be inferred that option- VI is the best suited heading for this from the given options.

Section F

Answer: X. The risks of quality over quantity?
Supporting Sentence: Many people believe that we should be teaching less, but teaching it better
Keywords: Paragraph F, line 1
Keyword Location: people believe, teaching less, but teaching it better
Explanation: The last paragraph explains that the teachers can teach small amounts of subjects, but make sure it is done better. The quantity can be less, but the quality must always be the best. From this it can be inferred that option- X is the best suited heading for this from the given options.

Questions 33-37

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer?

In boxes 33-37 on your answer sheet write

YES - if the statement agrees with the writer
NO - if the statement does not agree with the writer
NOT GIVEN - if there is no information about this in the passage

Classes are often too short.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: This statement has information that was not mentioned in the passage.

No subjects can be comprehensively learned without time to discuss and debate the facts.

Answer: NO
Supporting Sentence: There are, of course, certain aspects of education which need to be taught by simply inputting the information. Basic mathematics, for example.
Keywords: certain aspects, education, taught, simply inputting, information, for example
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 11-13
Explanation: Paragraph B states that teachers and students need to get into debate for understanding subjects. But of course, there are some facets of education that just be learned through giving information. For instance, basic mathematics. This means that not all subjects require the time for debate. So the statement cannot be inferred with the passage.

Tests are a fair measure of ability.

Answer: NO
Supporting Sentence: By current standards, they are failures, yet they may have great potential in areas not covered by the test
Keywords: current standards, they are failures, great potential, areas not covered, test
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 7-8
Explanation: Paragraph C talks about how examination plays a role in the school system. It explains that academic capability of a student is mostly measured by the scores they get in exams. Some students may have a thorough understanding of the subject but do not get good grades and are considered failures. Sometimes they do not even have to understand concepts and memorize everything to get good marks As a result, this statement is completely wrong.

Schools are trying to be responsible for too many aspects of a child's education.

Answer: YES
Supporting Sentence: responsibility of the parents have ill-advisedly become the school's responsibility
Keywords: responsibility of the parents, become, school's responsibility
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, lines 12-13
Explanation: Paragraph E states that schools are trying to teach other social responsibilities and awareness to the students as parents cannot do it. As a result, this statement is true and can be inferred with the passage.

Future changes in the curriculum are estimated to rapidly improve the situation.

Answer: NO
Supporting Sentence: No matter what the final verdict regarding the curriculum may be, one thing is for sure - change will be slow, and not always for the best.
Keywords: change, slow, not always, the best.
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 10
Explanation: The last paragraph ends with a note that the changes in curriculum will not always have the best results. So the statement cannot be inferred with the passage.

Questions 38-40

Complete the summary below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text.

Too much emphasis is placed on learning (38)............. The modern school

curriculum is largely a response to increased (39)............. for which graduates

are expected to have a much broader general knowledge. One potential solution

to this could be to give individual schools (40).............. regarding what is taught.

38.

Answer: FACTS
Supporting Sentence: teachers are required to present often only gives students time to learn facts
Keywords: teachers are required, often, gives students, facts
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 2-3
Explanation: Paragraph B explains that classes can be as short as 30 minutes, and the overwhelming amount of information that teachers must present frequently leaves students with little time to do anything but memorize facts. Therefore the word “FACTS” is the right answer here.

39.

Answer: JOB MOBILITY
Supporting Sentence: job mobility demands that people know something about considerably more areas than were traditionally necessary
Keywords: job mobility, demands, people know, more areas
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, lines 5-7
Explanation: Changes in the nature of employment have been a major driving force behind curriculum changes. This is because job mobility now requires knowledge in a lot more fields than previously required. Therefore the word “JOB MOBILITY” is the right answer here.

40.

Answer: MORE DISCRETION
Supporting Sentence: By giving more discretion to teachers, school courses could be tailored to suit the students rather than tailoring students to meet ever-expanding course requirements.
Keywords: more discretion, teachers, courses, suit the students, ever-expanding course
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, lines 2-4
Explanation: Many educators believe that this is the area where a local solution to the problem could be found. Giving teachers more discretion would allow them to tailor lessons to the needs of their students rather than forcing them to conform to ever-expanding course requirements. Therefore the word “MORE DISCRETION” is the right answer here.

More IELTS Reading Samples