UPSR, PT3 will not make a comeback, ministry focusing on holistic approach, says Deputy Minister

KUALA LUMPUR: The Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) and Form Three Assessment (PT3) will not be revived, says Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying.

She said the ministry is focusing on a more holistic approach when it comes to the development of students.

On that note, she said the school-based assessment (PBS) and classroom-based assessment (PBD) models are a more holistic approach.

“For now, we will not bring back the UPSR and the PT3,” she told the Dewan Rakyat during the Question and Answer Time on Tuesday (June 6).

She was responding to a supplementary question by Cha Chee Kin (PH-Rasah) on whether the ministry had conducted any studies to revive the PT3 exam.

The UPSR exam, which was an assessment exam for Year Six pupils, was abolished in 2021 while the PT3 exam was scrapped in 2022.

Then education minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Jidin said the ministry would be improving PBS to determine students’ performance in their studies.

PBS includes classroom-based (PBD), physical, sports and co-curricular, and psychometric assessments.

PBS has been used in primary schools since 2011 and in secondary schools since 2012.

The PBD consists of two parts - formative and summative.