The other point is that the tests should be "formative", which is educationalist babble for "just for fun". Frequent summative (non-formative, i.e. stuff that

The other point is that the tests should be "formative", which is educationalist babble for "just for fun". Frequent summative (non-formative, i.e. stuff that determines which uni you go to, or whether you can progress to the next level) tests are bad and dangerous, as they force the kids to conform every day of their lives. If kids want to blow off a formative test, then it's no big deal. If a kid makes a few silly mistakes, they don't have to beat themselves up. They shouldn't have to (or even want to) stay up to 2am cramming. They should be having fun with friends, learning to cook, playing sports, learning an instrument, or hacking on their graphics calculators. But if they flunk, it means they aren't learning, and something needs to be done.