Fair exam ought to be like this? (8)
I believe the answer is:
passable
'fair' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'be like this?' is the wordplay.
'be' becomes 'pass' (passing is a kind of being).
'like this?' becomes 'able' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'pass'+'able'='PASSABLE'
'exam ought to' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for passable that I've seen before include "Fairly good but not outstanding" , "Barely adequate" , "not hogging the road" , "Good enough to be acceptable" , "All right" .)