Why are exams important?

Give me 3 reasons why we should abolish exams, and 3 reasons not to?

It's my debate homework, and I can't seem to come up with any reasons. Help please

abolish exams

1. Nobody likes them
2. they are to hard
3. we do enough work already.

keep exams

1. they help you study what you want to do
2. ???
3. I cant think of any reasons why we should keep them lol ;p

Abolish exams
1. A lot of people memorize for exams and then forget all the information afterwards, so it is not a sign of how much they've learnt but how much they can memorize for a short period of time.
2. Some people are just bad test takers, it is not an accurate measure of their intellect or knowledge and yet getting constant bad grades can not only effect academic success which in turn could lead to poor outcomes after school, but it also effects self esteem and self worth which could also lead to poor outcomes (poor social skills, relationships, decision making abilities, jobs, etc)
3. Exams are stressful - (just look up the physical effects of stress, do a search for health and stress etc, I would give you journal articles but that may be a little much for your class)

Keep exams
1. It is a way for teachers to see if the material given has been learned and understood. It is always possible to get help with homework so there must be a way of testing to see how much progress the class has made and the teacher can spot trouble areas where the kids are having a hard time understanding and need further clarification
2. It is one way to compare all kids for basic knowledge and see how the children in individual schools are doing (I dont know if you have state exams?), make sure the schools arent performing at a low level, if education is the great equalizer then there has to be an unbiased way of making sure that all kids are getting the same basic education
3. ok I'm stumped...

everything what TY said and id add a number 3 to why to keep exams

3. exams can give the benefits of making the students co operate with each other and be organized to some extent... wonder why?
ever cheated in an exam? strangely enough cheating is a way of devising a plan or strategy and using your brain a bit (im not saying the old written answers on the arm or whatever) im talking about students watching each others backs and when a window (or space) for cheating is open they would know when to seize the chance to cheat...

_ as stupid as it may sound, its true...