Understanding My Exam Results: How Important Are Exams?

For good or for bad, exams are a core part of the education system. But, as a way of measuring what you’ve learnt or how hard you’ve worked? They don’t suit everyone.

Nevertheless, they can be an opportunity to learn how to be more resilient, how to face challenges, and may even help us feel we have earned our next steps. During COVID-19 when in-person exams couldn’t happen, many young people struggled with impostor syndrome and feeling that they didn’t deserve good grades if they hadn’t actually sat an exam.

So, whether you’ve done better than expected, or find yourself feeling like you’ve failed, having a healthy relationship towards your exams and results can help you move forward.

1. Focus on your hopes and dreams

Whatever the results are, try to work out (as much as you can) what you want to achieve and in what area(s). If you get good grades in subjects you don’t like much, it can take you down the wrong path. Low grades in your favourite subjects can also make it seem like you can’t succeed in that area, but with work and determination, you can still get there.

Try out the Grit Box in stem4’s free Clear Fear app to find inspiration and support. Or try stem4’s free Move Mood app to help you set goals that will help you get to where you want to be. Check out stem4’s full app library to help you achieve your goals.

2. Exams are just a snapshot

When you take photos on your phone, not every picture turns out great, as so many things contribute to the final result. Similarly, exams capture just one moment in time and are not a full representation of you and your talents; on another day you may have achieved something quite different.

3. Clear your fear

If anxiety affected your exam performance, the good news is that there is a lot you can do to help improve your situation. For example, stem4’s free Clear Fear app is full of tips and activities that can help you manage and reduce your anxiety. The app is based on what psychologists do to support young people who suffer from anxiety.

4. Different paths

It can often feel like there is only one path to get to where you want to, but there are often alternative routes, such as through work or apprenticeships. These can give you experience that will be very desirable in the future. Universities are often seen as brands to attach to your profile, but the reality is that it is not where you get to, but what you do when you are there.

5. Create a plan

Planning helps us achieve goals and become more resilient. Whatever your results, try to plan next steps with the support of adults you trust or good friends. You can use stem4’s free Move Mood app to help you set, manage, and reach your goals.

Move Mood is an app developed for teenage mental health charity stem4 by Consultant Clinical Psychologist Dr. Nihara Krause, and uses the evidence-based treatment Behavioural Activation Therapy to help you improve your mood by encouraging you to increase your motivation to carry out a variety of tasks in order to help you to move forward, take control and feel positive.

6. Beware of ‘the house of mirrors’ effect

You know yourself, and your individual talents and abilities, better than anyone else. Exam results can be like those mirrors that reflect back a distorted version of you. So check with yourself if your results feel like a true reflection of you. But also be open to new abilities that you may have developed, such as doing well in an area you weren’t sure of before.