Read the following passage and answer the two items that follow.
The assumption that a student's performance in a written examination is an unbiased reflection of ability has been questioned. Examinations reward speed, recall and conformity to a prescribed format; they scarcely measure collaboration, curiosity or the ability to apply knowledge in unfamiliar settings. Yet to abandon them altogether would be to replace a flawed but transparent instrument with discretionary judgement, which is open to its own, less visible, biases. The sensible course, therefore, is not abolition but supplementation: widen the range of evidence about learning, and keep the examination as one among several.
The author's attitude towards written examinations can best be described as:
- ADismissive
- BUncritically supportive
- CCautiously balanced
- DIndifferent