Educationist: School-based assessments the way forward
THE way education is viewed and consumed has changed drastically over the years – now more so than ever in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0).
In trying to keep up with this evolution, gradual changes have been made to the Malaysian education system, most notably in the move away from our exam-oriented culture with the scrapping of several public exams. According to educationists, decentralising education by having school-based assessments instead of public exams is necessary if the country is to move forward.
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Former National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said replacing exams with school-based assessments is a progressive step in producing holistic students.
“People want a transparent and open system which will grow our education system. Our system has the potential to be one of the bests in the world as we have committed teachers with the backing of good parent-teacher associations,” he told StarEdu.
On June 2, Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin announced that school-based assessments would be improved to determine students’ academic performance as the Form Three Assessment (PT3) would be scrapped from this year onwards.
Educationist and Universiti Malaya former professor of education Tan Sri Dr T. Marimuthu said shifting the system away from the centralised exam is good as it takes pressure off students.
“Many countries have done away with public exams to enable students to grow holistically. The responsibility, however, is now on teachers and schools to ensure that the evaluation is effective,” he said.
With the PT3 exam out of the way after the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) was abolished in April last year, the first centralised exam students will ever sit for, starting next year, will be the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
There are some concerns that the ministry would, however, need to address, Marimuthu said, in ensuring that the education ecosystem is prepared for this massive paradigm shift.
“Are parents and the community ready for an education system that is focused on holistic growth rather than a string of As? What are our plans for students who are lagging behind in their studies and those from low-income families who end up in Form Five without having the relevant knowledge and skills to sit for the SPM? Will school evaluations be free of bias and tampering? Have teachers been properly trained to handle this important transition from an exam-based system to a school-based assessment system?” he asked.
Recently, in a claim that went viral, a retired English language teacher told an online portal that she had to alter her students’ marks even though they did not know how to read.
The majority of teachers, she claimed, cheat on the marks they award their students in order to get good data for their key performance indicators (KPIs). Freedom of speech among teachers also seems to be restricted as it needs to be in line with the opinions of certain parties, such as headmasters; otherwise, we will be transferred or actions will be taken, she alleged.
The ministry, responded Radzi, was aware of the allegations. He, however, explained that the marks given by teachers are based on their (individual) justifications “so (whether a teacher is) ‘cheating’ is very subjective”.
While admitting that such allegations were possible, he said after officiating the 29th National Seminar on Educational Management and Leadership on July 4, the ministry was aware of the need for greater collaboration in understanding what we want to achieve with the education system.
Assessing students’ progress via their exam results is a deeply ingrained identity of the Malaysian education system. While the ministry is moving away from this culture in an effort to build a more holistic way of assessing students, there is a dire need to ensure the ecosystem and teachers are equipped to embrace such changes. The success of our education system depends on it. — By SANDHYA MENON
