What is the National Exam? The National Exam is one way to decide whether students will proceed to the next level of their education or not through a series of tests done within a three-day period. This exam has the same level of difficulties for rural and urban students. Ironically there are still schools in Indonesia, especially those in rural areas that do not receive the same level of education as those in the urban centres such as Jakarta. The reason why the National Exam is chosen to measure learners’ understanding is still questioned. The purpose of education is to provide the opportunity for students to gain knowledge from both inside and outside the classroom provided by resources such as teachers, peers, the internet, and books. Such knowledge cannot accurately be measured by a three day round of tests. The discussion about the need for the National Exam in Indonesia is still on going, and this debate will continue into the foreseeable future. However, there are several arguments the author would like to put forth in support of stopping the National
