KUALA LUMPUR – Stakeholders have reminded the Education Ministry to address weaknesses in the implementation of school-based assessments, following the abolishment of the Form 3 Assessment (PT3) examination announced yesterday.
National Parents and Teachers Association president Datuk Mohamad Ali Hasan stressed that the evaluations must be monitored to ensure that standards of quality are met and there are no elements of unfairness.
Claiming that there are allegations of bias within schools attempting to improve their grades because they want a certain image, he told Getaran, The Vibes’ Malay-language sister portal, that setting a standard for questions will deter schools from competing to prove their worth.
“Without an independent assessment or a syllabus that has been approved by authorities, there is a sense of apprehension towards schools which may be racing to highlight their best grades,” he said.
Yesterday, Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said that school-based assessments will continue to be bolstered to ensure that parents and teachers are kept updated on students’ achievements
The minister said that the new assessments will include three components, namely classroom assessments; physical activity, sports and co-curriculum assessments; and psychometric assessments.
Implemented in 2014, the PT3 has not been held for two years – 2020 and 2021 – due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ali also said that as long as assessments adhere to a set standard, they could also be used for applications into boarding schools, thus reducing the number of examinations that students will have to sit for.
“The reason why we have these assessments is because we want to avoid emphasis being placed solely on year-end exams. Instead, we want to have continuous assessments,” he said, adding that the various components should be reviewed to produce well-rounded students.
He also suggested regular examinations be coupled with the assessments so that students enjoy their learning journey and are not stressed out like they are when their results are purely exam-based.
Besides that, National Union of the Teaching Profession president Aminuddin Awang said that the group is supportive of the decision to abolish PT3 and views it as a move in the right direction to produce students that can compete internationally.
He added that the call will lead to a balanced generation in line with the goals of the National Education Philosophy, asserting that exam-based assessment systems have been a barrier in achieving such targets.
“The majority of students, parents and educators are ‘programmed’ to focus on developing intellectual skills only while the emotional, spiritual, and social aspects are sidelined since emphasis is placed on written answers during examinations.
“With the cancelling of PT3, classroom-based assessments can be strengthened to realise outlined achievements,” he said in a statement to Getaran.
Meanwhile, Dr Rozita Abdul Rahman, a mother to a PT3 candidate, opined that such a major exam should be held but only focus on compulsory subjects, claiming that exams instil the value of responsibility in students.
She told Getaran that the pandemic caused students to feel as if there is no need to go to school, and claimed that the lack of seriousness towards their studies will only be aggravated by the lack of exams.
“They only go to school to see their friends and play around like kindergarten kids,” she said, expressing her disappointment with the “sudden” decision. – The Vibes, June 3, 2022
