In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not written. In the schools of ancient Greece and Rome, testing usually was made up of saying poetry aloud and giving speeches. In the European universities of the Middle Ages, students who were working for advanced degrees had to discuss questions in their field of study with people who had made a special study of the subject. This custom exists today as part of the process of testing candidates   for the doctor's degree. Generally, however, modem examinations are written. The written examination, where all students are tested on the same questions, was probably not known until the nineteenth century. Perhaps it came into existence with the great increase in population and the development of modem industry. A room full of candidates for a state examination timed exactly by electric clocks and carefully watched over by managers, looks like a group of workers at an automobile factory. Certainly, during examinations teachers and students are expected to act like machines. One type of test is sometimes called an "objective" test. It is intended to deal with facts, not personal opinions. To make up an objective test, the teacher writes a series  of questions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that look like answers to students who have not learned the material properly. The kind of exams where students must select answers are
objective personal spoken written