What do university chemistry practicals really test?

The moment it clicked for me wasn’t dramatic. It was the fourth hour of a second-year undergraduate practical, and I was staring at a titration curve I understood perfectly well, in theory. But my hands were shaking slightly from too many energy drinks and too little lunch, and the clock on the wall seemed louder than the fume cupboard.

I realised I wasn’t being tested on whether I understood acid-base equilibria. I was being tested on whether I could still think clearly after four continuous hours on my feet.

Chemistry training is often built around endurance. Long lab blocks. Timed assessments dense with calculations. Back-to-back practical reports. Stamina is treated as part of professional formation, and to an extent, that makes sense. Real laboratories can be demanding, and time-critical experiments do not pause because you are tired.

But somewhere along the way, endurance starts to masquerade as expertise.

What exactly are we measuring?

The students who thrive in these environments are often those who process quickly, recover rapidly from mistakes, and tolerate cognitive overload. Those who think more slowly, but perhaps more deeply, can find themselves penalised, not for misunderstanding chemistry, but for needing time to reason through it. Speed becomes a proxy for competence. Tolerance for pressure becomes a marker of belonging.

None of this means chemistry should be made easier. Rigour matters. Safety matters. Efficiency matters. The question is subtler: what exactly are we measuring?

If an assessment rewards the ability to complete a complex synthesis under fatigue, we should be honest that we are selecting for resilience under strain. If an exam privileges rapid calculation over reflective reasoning, we are selecting for pace. These are valuable qualities, but they are not the same as chemical insight.

As chemistry grapples with inclusion and retention, it is worth asking whether our assessment cultures shape who feels capable of becoming a chemist. Endurance will always be part of the discipline. But it should not eclipse understanding.