The Star Online > Education

Sunday July 18, 2010

Dare to make the difference

TEACHER TALK
By NITHYA SIDHHU

Teachers tend to focus on the negative when confronted with an issue, but sometimes
they just have to be innovative in finding a solution.

AS A teacher, the most important thing I must do is to connect with my students.

To me, this connection between teacher and student is very important as it underlines the
relationship I have with my students.

It is like the the wires of the TV — when you don’t connect them or when you connect them
the wrong way, you will get neither the picture nor the reception.

This year, I was asked to teach Civics to several Form Three classes.

As part of the syllabus, the students were expected to do a community service project (projek
khidmat masyarakat) for which they would be allocated 20% of their mid-year examination
marks.

Since Civics is a non-examination subject, naturally there were students who pleaded with me
to allow them to do their Living Skills homework, their Geography projects or Mathematics
during the Civics period. One student even told me that I shouldn’t be wasting my time
teaching the subject!

It all boils down to attitude of course. To him and his classmates, Civics was just a “filler”
subject on the time table.

As the teacher assigned to teach them Civics, I knew that I would be held accountable.

It was my duty to make sure that they understood phrases like “civil conduct”, “civic duty”
and “civic-consciousness”.
They began to realise the significance of these words only after I explained them. To be
honest, given their attitude, I could have really taken it easy.

I could have asked my students to complete their homework during the Civics lesson and
they in turn would have accepted my gift of time with two grateful hands.

However my personal challenge was to change their mindset about the subject. The
community service project, for instance, had to be done.

I didn’t want my students to do a project just to fulfill an academic requirement. I wanted

them to understand what they had to do and why.

“In life, we have to serve and sometimes put the needs of others before our own,” I told them.

Civic duty

“Take teachers for example, since they work for the government, they are part of the civil
service and therefore civil servants.”

“In our job as teachers, we have a civic duty to perform – the most important of which is to
teach the children of this nation with responsibility and integrity.

“We have to be accountable for our actions as well.”

This was the way I taught Civics. I talked to them about local and world leaders, about the
cultures of others, thinking skills, about hard work and the sacrifices they make, and about
being aware of others who were less fortunate than us.

I talked about the importance of service, why it was necessary and what it could do for our
souls, if we chose to serve well.

In the good classes, students quickly understood what was required of them and got cracking.

I explained the project clearly and I told them the format of the report that was expected of
them.

In these classes, I even communicated the urgency of them finishing their projects as early as
possible, so that they would have the rest of the year to focus on their examination subjects.
In the weak classes, it was entirely different. Not only were they apathetic towards the
subject, they chose to disregard it openly.

They also had language problems and no writing skills.

How was I to expect them to understand what a community project was, show interest in it,
and then write about the project paper using the proper format?

Community service

However, I found a way out. I decided to make them work on projects during school hours
like cleaning up the school compound, helping at the library where they rearranged books,
while some helped to sweep the surau (prayer room).

Once they were done, I used the small group teaching style.

With each group, I would probe and question ( a method known as the Flander’s method)
until I knew they had understood what community service was, and why it was part of our
civic responsibility.

By providing a guided writing format, I helped each group write out their report on the
project.

Yes, the words were often mine and yes, they couldn’t spell many words. But I coached them
until my mouth was dry. Their reports were brief but I was satisfied and so were they.

In my experience, teachers sometimes choose to focus on the negative when they are working
with academically-challenged students.

“I can’t help this lot. They’re hopeless. They don’t want to learn. They can’t even read,” are
some of the comments I have heard.

The truth is don’t blame your students if they are not able to perform up to your expectations.

Before you condemn them, talk to them and find out what their problems are. Are their
problems related to learning or other issues?

Then, get creative and help them.

As the ancient Roman philosopher Seneca observed, “It is not because things are difficult that
we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

Dare to listen to your students and you will dare to make the difference.

© 1995-2010 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

The Star Online > Education

Sunday July 18, 2010

‘Aye’ to more PSD awards

THE recent decision to award Public Services Department (PSD) scholarship to all students
who scored 9A+ in their SPM examinations was welcomed by many students around the
country.

Form Five SMK Katholik, Malacca, student S. Shaun Deanesh has applauded the
government’s decision, as he believes it will be a good incentive for students to work harder.

“This will certainly motivate me. Many people study hard just to earn a scholarship... so it is
certainly a good incentive,” he said.

Shaun who is among the top five students in his school believes he would be able to score
9A+ to be eligible.

However, the only child who plans to study engineering, says that the scholarship should also
take into account a student’s co-curricular performance.

Kan Wai Kin from SMK Tok Sera, Kuantan, who represents his school in badminton agrees
that co-curricular activities should be taken into consideration.

Wai Kin says that playing a sports well while keeping up the grades is perhaps a “quicker”
way of attaining the scholarships.

The youngest of four siblings, Wai Kin hopes to get a scholarship to study a Bachelor’s
Degree in Biotechnology or Business in an Australian university.

One student who does not believe in the awarding of scholarships based purely on their
academic achievement is Nur Syahira Zakirin of Kolej Yayasan Saad, Malacca.

“While some students who get straight A+’s are pure bookworms, there are others who take
on a more holistic approach to learning and other activities and may lose out as they may not
get high distinctions,” says the concert master of her school orchestra.

Nur Syahira, who represents her school in various competitions, is an exemplary student
although she may not always obtain A+.

She is planning to go to the UK to take up Medicine and is counting on either a PSD or Mara
scholarship.
This year, a total of 1,750 PSD scholarships were awarded to top SPM scorers to pursue their
education abroad.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced last Saturday that all students who
score 9A+ or higher in their SPM examinations would be given scholarships to pursue their
studies locally or overseas, regardless of race. — By ALYCIA LIM

© 1995-2010 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

The Star Online > Education

Sunday July 18, 2010

Don’t scrap exams

I FULLY agree and support the views of Uthayakumar and Jessica Quek (StarEducation,
July 11), who were against the scrapping of two important public examinations – the UPSR
(Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah) and PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah).

The Education authorities while promising to seek the views of various parties, should also
ask retired teachers to give their take on the proposed plan to abolish both exams.

I retired from the teaching profession after 35 years and to me both exams are important and
necessary. The UPSR is to evaluate and gauge the knowledge and skills of those in their final
year of primary school and the PMR to test the students at mid-scecondary school level.

The Education authorities should seek the views of experienced teachers whom I believe will
only reiterate, the importance of both these exams.

School-based examinations as mentioned, may be biased and unreliable. Examination papers

may be set with a number of objective questions but this is certainly not a good way of
evaluating pupils. I have known teachers who carry out such assessments as they find them
easier to mark.
Internal school assessments are not all a good idea as they are prone to abuse. The quality and
standards of teachers, have also deteriorated. Many of them take up teaching as a last resort
and teach without much dedication. They are usually more interested in getting their monthly
salary. What I have expressed here is through my own working experience with others of my
own profession.

Regarding stress and the effect examinations have on students, many students like me, had to
sit for the Primary School Examination back in the 1950s and 1960s and LCE (Lower
Certificate of Education) and the SRP (Sijil Rendah Pelajaran).

We obviously had more stress then as we had to write out lengthy answers as our exams were
subjective, but there were rarely any complaints.

A student who excelled in sports and co-curricular activities, but who failed in the exams,
would have to sit for the exams again until they passed. We attribute our success to our
dedicated teachers, our learning methods and the pains we took in studying for our exams
back then.

The authorities have proposed that both UPSR and PMR be abolished because of the stress
and effect they have on students.

I don’t understand their logic. If students can’t cope with the stress of public exams in their
teens, how will they cope with the challenges of life in later years?

L Abdullah

Via e-mail

© 1995-2010 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

The Star Online > Education
Sunday July 18, 2010

Lifting the lid off dirty loos

BY TAN EE LOO
educate@thestar.com.my

Our schools seem to have the filthiest toilets and something needs to be done quickly to
change the mindset of those who use it.

THE stench was unbearable and he was about to throw up, but there was no choice, Wai Sen*
plugged his nose and quickly made his way through the slippery floor to answer nature’s call.

The sharp stench of urine and faeces was enough to force the primary school boy to hurry
things up.

“I always try to get my ‘business’ done as fast as I can because it is just too stinky in the
toilet,” says the 10-year-old boy.

For eight-year-old Gloria*, any thought of lingering in the school toilet longer than necessary
is revolting.

“There are only two basins in the washroom and one is clogged because somebody vomitted
in it recently, so we cannot even wash our hands,” she laments.

As if that isn’t bad enough, Gloria even found an empty fast food container in the toilet bowl.
One just has to bring up the subject of dirty school toilets and chances are adults and children
alike would have lots to say about them.
 Graffiti on the walls and
mirrors is a common sight in school toilets.

School toilets are where students can relieve themselves without having to wade through
pockets of water or taking in the smells of urine, faeces and even vomit.

The cleanliness of toilets, in fact, is also a reflection of the school community, which many
people overlook.

The current education system is so focused on our students achieving A’s, that it tends to
overlook other basic issues that are just as important like personal hygiene and toilet
etiquette.

Based on the feedback StarEducation has gathered from school authorities, parents and
students, there’s still much to do to improve the appalling conditions of toilets in certain
schools.

A common complaint by students is that the school toilets always stink, no matter how often
the janitor cleans them.

“The cleaning lady comes and cleans the toilets in the morning and before you know it, the
toilets are dirty again after the recess,” Wai Sen says.

Other complaints include broken door locks, clogged sinks, lack of hand wash liquid or soaps
and graffiti on the walls.
“The toilets are always ‘flooded’ because others don’t turn the taps off after using them. They
just let the water run and they tend to overflow,” she says.

Unfortunately, sometimes, students’ complaints of dirty school toilets fall on deaf ears.

“I am not happy because my classmates and I have complained to my teacher many times
about the dirty toilets but she never seems to take our complaint seriously,” says Wai Sen.

The cleanliness issue is hardly unique to schools in Malaysia alone. In 2004, the UK
government launched a national campaign to “improve standards and put an end to the
smelly, dirty facilities that often act as a hang out for bullies and smokers”.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), about 84% of pupils thought their
restrooms “were not cleaned adequately”.

While in Japan, the Yokohama board of education for the first time in 30 years decided to
give the chore of cleaning the lavatories to students, in response to the increasing cases of
vandalism and damage to property.

It was said to be a move seeking to “instil a collective public spirit” that would take effect at
all of the city’s 500 public elementary, junior high and high schools earlier this year.

Some cubicles have no doors

while others have faulty ones. The sinks and counter tops could do with a good scrub.

Bring your own

Toilet rolls seem to be a rare commodity in government school toilets.

It was evident that only a few schools provided toilet paper from our random check of school
toilets in the Klang Valley.

In fact, during a recent visit to some schools, this writer was appalled to see some teachers
wiping their wet hands on their skirts!

If adults do not practise basic hygiene habits, how can we expect children to learn?

Gloria, who comes from a middle-class family, brings several packets of tissue paper and a
bottle of hand sanitiser.

She claims that this is because “there are no toilet rolls and the cleaning lady doesn’t refill the
liquid soap regularly”.

“I make sure she has them in her school bag and I teach her how to use them so that she is
clean and protected from bacteria and infection,” says Gloria’s mother, Sally*.

The mother of three says items such as soaps and toilet rolls should be made available to
students in school toilets.

“As a mother, I am horrified at the thought that the children don’t wipe and clean after their
‘big’ or ‘small’ job.

“Tissue paper and soap are basics that should be provided in any toilet. I cannot understand
why schools don’t provide them,” she laments.

A retired principal who wants to be known as Tan says that his former school provided
students with tissue rolls and even sanitary napkins, but students had to get them either at the
administration office or counselling room.

“If you put the rolls in the toilets, chances are they would drop on the wet floor and get
soiled,” he says.

Secondary school teacher Sara* says the lack of toilet rolls is not an issue as many students
bring their own tissue papers from home or just buy them at the school canteen.
Based on the recent pictures of school toilets submitted to StarEducation by students of
several schools who wanted to remain anonymous, the conditions of the toilets were nowhere
near squeaky clean.

Besides, they are also dimly lit, old, and could do with a fresh coat of paint. There are even
foul words scribbled on the mirrors.

Before pointing our fingers at the school authorities for not maintaining the cleanliness of the
restrooms, we should perhaps look at the underlying causes for the shameful state of school
toilets.

The primary reason could be when students lack the sense of belonging for the school, says
Tan.

“When students don’t have a connection with the school, they think that it’s not their
responsibility to maintain the cleanliness of the school, and in this case, it is the school
toilets,” he says.

Tan, who has 40 years of experience in teaching, says school authorities have to instil a sense
of pride and involvement amongst its students.

“I used to send my students a card on their birthdays to make them understand that the
teachers and I cared about them. After all, the school was their second home because they
would spend eight hours a day in school,” he says.

Sara, who is also a counsellor, says other reasons for the sorry state of school toilets could be
the lack of consideration for others.

“Many families have maids these days. So some children think it’s ‘okay’ and ‘acceptable’
not to flush the toilets because they know, at the end of the day, someone will clean up after
them,” she says, adding that vandalism is another serious issue in some schools.

“Even if the school provides students with the facilities, there are some who still damage or
abuse school property because they take things for granted and are unaappreciative,” says
Sara.
As toilets or restrooms are meant to be private, monitoring and enforcement is all the more
difficult when identifying the culprits.

“But we have to point out their irresponsible actions with announcements and reminders at
the school assembly or students will think that their behaviour is acceptable,” the counsellor
says.

Meanwhile, Shanthini* who used to attend a girls’ school in Petaling Jaya says she never had
any problems with her school toilets.

“They were quite clean because we had prefects rostered to check the toilets,” she said.

Primary school teacher Johan* says it would be unfair to blame the pupils solely for the dirty
school toilets.

“Sometimes, the problem is due to water pressure. When there are more students using the
toilets especially during recess, the water tank doesn’t fill up fast enough for the pupils to
flush the toilets,” he says.

Schools are aware of such situations and usually provide pails that pupils can fill up with
water in each cubicle. But the pails with water could prove to be a potential breeding ground
for the Aedes mosquitoes, he says.

Not child-friendly

Cleanliness aside, parents and school children also have plenty to say about the design of the
toilets.

Just ask Gloria, who refuses to use her school toilet, even in an “emergency”.

Gloria had a very bad bout of stomach ache during lessons recently.

Instead of rushing to the toilet, she quickly called her mother to come and pick her up from
school.

She insisted on going home, no matter what.

Her reason: “The toilet is very dirty, and I am used to the sitting one (commode) so my legs
can get a little shaky when I squat too long. I cannot balance myself well,” she says.

Sally says students, especially the younger ones, should be given a choice to either use the
sitting toilets or the squatting ones.

“The design and size of average toilet bowls are not child-friendly. Can you imagine a tiny
Year One child trying to use the adult-size toilet and worrying about falling in at the same
time?” she says.

Secondary school student Natalie*, 14, says there is nothing wrong with the design and
location of her schools toilets. However, she wants her school toilet to have an adequate
supply of toilet rolls, soap and, more importantly, air fresheners, which she says will certainly
make anyone’s toilet “experience’’ a less smelly one. “Is that too much to hope for?” she
asks.

*Names have been changed.

Look out for related stories on the topic in our Aug 1 issue.

Related Stories:
Toil-etiquette

© 1995-2010 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

Examinations: An optimal blend the answer
2010/07/23

Share |
THE products of our school system are generally ill-prepared either for higher
education, work or life in general. Most of our undergraduates lack achievement orientation,
have poor analytical and writing skills, fear public speaking, and have been "conditioned" by
our schooling system to be spoon-fed.

Employers complain that our students and graduates lack self-confidence, communication
skills, strong work ethics, interpersonal skills and that they are poor team players.

It is not the two public examinations, Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah and Penilaian
Menengah Rendah (PMR), per se that are at fault. It is the "what" and "how" (form) of our
examinations (assessment) that need a major overhaul, together with our instructional
strategies (besides having truly competent teachers and effective academic leadership).

The vast majority of questions in UPSR and PMR focus on lower-order thinking (recall of
factual knowledge) which, consequently, fosters rote learning. This is not surprising because
assessment drives learning; it is the nature of the assessment tasks that primarily influences
students' orientation to learning. Hence, teachers focus on preparing students for exams
instead of preparing them for life and the workplace.

Our current education system generally promotes surface and passive learning instead of deep
and active learning which are crucial for creating a quality learning environment.

My interactions with thousands of teachers over the last decade reveal that vast majority have
no clear understanding of critical thinking. Hence, it is not surprising that teachers seldom
pose higher-order questions to students.

The Education Ministry needs to review the current assessment system in schools in the
context of systemic change, and not as a piecemeal approach. The pertinent questions that the
ministry should be ruminating on are:

- Do we have explicit desired learning outcomes for our schools?

- Do current instructional strategies and assessment methods promote quality learning and
holistic development of students?

- Do schools promote self-directed, independent and lifelong learning?

- Do schools provide adequate formative assessment to bring out the best in learners?
- Do schools promote deep learning and active learning?

- Do our schools have high-quality teachers and school leaders?

- Is there a constructive alignment between learning outcomes, teaching and learning

activities, and the assessment tasks?

It may be wise for the ministry to begin with the end in mind by determining explicitly the
desired learning outcomes. As stated by retired academic John Biggs, learning outcomes are
reasonably specific statements describing what students should know, understand or be able
to do as a result of learning.

In this regard, I would first like to propose that schools should help students (besides having a
command of a significant body of knowledge) to develop a sense of achievement orientation
with high self-esteem and resilience; strong and persuasive communication skills (both oral
and written); problem solving and critical thinking skills; interpersonal skills and teamwork;
emotional intelligence; ethics/citizenship; information literacy; and lifelong learning skills.

Second, we need to review the curriculum. The ministry should explore the possibility of
reducing the number of core subjects and eliminating unimportant content. The trend
worldwide is to reduce disciplinary content to the core essentials and to focus on student
understanding and application of core knowledge based upon the famous mantra of Professor
Howard Gardner: "In a lecture, less is more."

Third, the ministry needs to ensure that teachers are competent enough to utilise appropriate
teaching and learning strategies that will contribute towards attaining the intended learning
outcomes. Teachers need to focus more on active learning (role play, drama, brainstorming,
debates, case studies, reflective journals) and cooperative learning (group presentations,
problem solving in teams) which foster critical thinking, teamwork and interpersonal skills.

Fourth, we must ensure schools provide adequate formative assessment (assessment for
learning). Students need frequent feedback that emphasises continuous learning and self-
evaluative reflection. We should also promote authentic learning wherein learners are given
adequate opportunities to actively apply what they know to meaningful, real-life tasks.

Fifth, we need to develop a good and varied system of assessment (including student projects,
performance tasks and student portfolios) that measure a broad range of student abilities (e.g.
critical thinking, effective communication, teamwork) besides core disciplinary knowledge,
attitudes and values.

In this regard, the ministry can determine an appropriate mix of school-based and nationwide
assessments (public exams). Student projects, student portfolios, product assessment (e.g.
essays, paintings or posters), assessment of personal qualities and performance assessments
(e.g. oral presentation, teamwork) are best administered at the school level with explicit
guidelines and scoring criteria (perhaps including monitoring) formulated by the ministry to
ensure some semblance of uniformity among schools.

Sixth, the ministry and schools must ensure that there is a constructive alignment between
learning outcomes, teaching and learning activities, and the assessment tasks.
Seventh, the core business of schools is to promote quality teaching and learning which is
dependent on having truly competent and dedicated teachers. In this regard, the million-dollar
question is whether the ministry is hiring the right candidates or has teacher quality been
sacrificed in favour of non-meritocratic factors.

Take heed that no amount of reforms will bring about substantial improvement in the quality
of our education system without having competent and dedicated teachers.

With regard to the examinations, I am in favour of retaining both. We need standardised

exams to ensure school accountability and a uniform measure to ensure results are fair and
comparable. It should be noted that Singapore (internationally renowned for its high-quality
education system) has a national examination (Primary School Leaving Examination) to
determine competence for secondary education.

What needs to be reviewed are the "what" and "how" (wider range of assessment tools) of
assessing student learning and deciding an optimal blend of school-based assessment and
public examinations.

DR RANJIT SINGH MALHI

Kuala Lumpur

Read more: Examinations: An optimal blend the answer

http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/21exam/Article/#ixzz0uWQMrCrE

Perspective: Deschooling Society

2010/07/10
Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
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SMK Sekysen 24 Shah Alam students during their SPM examination

THE issue of the possible abolishment of examinations will be the subject of round-table
talks soon. This is indeed refreshing as the debate is long overdue. But we must first examine
the context of the discussion.

Almost 40 years ago, Ivan Illich broached the subject in Deschooling Society (1971) where
he made a profound observation about what modern-day "school" and "education" is all
about.

He wrote: "The pupil thereby 'schooled' to confuse teaching with learning, grade
advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say
something new." This is no different when "medical treatment is mistaken for healthcare,
social work for the improvement of community life, police protection for safety, military
poise for national security, the rat race for productive work". Given this as the context, it
would seem that we may be barking up the wrong tree thinking that examinations are the root
of the problem of present-day school and education.

We tend to forget that examinations are just one part of an elaborate system called school
and/or education, and tests are in reality about gauging the impact of the system on learning.

If the system is inherently "bad", it can never be good enough, no matter how good the
measure.

We are missing the woods for the trees! To further illustrate this, Illich said: "Health,
learning, dignity, independence and creative endeavour are defined as little more than the
performance of the institutions which claim to serve these ends, and their improvement is
made to depend on allocating more resources to the management of hospitals, schools and
other agencies in question." Deschooling Society calls for a much deeper discussion on what
scholarship is all about, which is particularly relevant in this increasingly dehumanising and
unsustainable society that schools (including universities) are perpetuating since the
emergence of the industrial revolution.
There is one historical context that is missing in today's discussion, namely the purpose of
modern-day school and education.

The current schooling system has evolved over time to meet the needs of the industrial age as
it moved away from the agricultural age.

Industrialisation was "perfected" in the 19th century to resemble a factory assembly line --
some even sponsored by the powerful and famous of the time to support production.

It is therefore no coincidence that schools including tertiary institutions are organised like
factories.

The "factory" metaphor is more pervasive today when the marketplace has practically taken
over the raison d'être of modern-day education.

We still hear, for example industrial demand for a tailor-made graduate who is regarded as
nothing more than the "product" of the education system. In moulding this product,
examination is a mere process of "quality control" that segregates the ones who meet the
"benchmark" set by the marketplace from those who do not.

We talk in the language of the industry of creating "human capital" -- when education is all
about nurturing a "human being".

It emphasises "employability" rather than "liveability", where "earning" becomes more

important the "learning".

Courses that are deemed to be marketable are given priority over the non-marketable.

As a result, two (of four) pillars of learning -- "learning to be" and "learning to live together"
-- as advocated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation are
neglected. Our biggest concern should be the direction that "education" is heading in the
post-industrial age when "new" physical and mental structures are fast emerging to replace
the old ones across the board -- socially, economically and politically. Is it sufficient to have
a New Economic Model (NEM) when education is lagging behind and based on an old,
outdated and dysfunctional model? Can the transformational demands of the NEM be met
with an education system that is no longer compatible? Can "inclusiveness" be effectively
achieved when we fail to create a unified, if not, a singular educational system? These are but
some of pertinent questions that go far beyond the issues related to examinations alone.

They strike deep at the heart of the purpose of education in the coming era.

What is more pressing is transforming the current system much like the change from
agricultural to the industrial age some 150 years ago.

And this is what the present discussion should be focused on.

We may well decide to do away with a few examinations but we need a transformational
change in line with the needs of an advanced nation.
The writer is vice chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia

Read more: Perspective: Deschooling Society

http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Perspective_DeschoolingSociety/Article#ixzz0uWRVJ9
Wv

To test or not to test

2010/07/07
James Campbell
jamesca@deakin.edu.au
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THE proposal to do away with the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR),
known in English as the Primary School Evaluation Test which is a national examination
taken by all Standard 6 Six (12-year old) students pupils, in Malaysia and the Penilaian
Menengah Rendah (PMR), examinations known in English as the Lower Secondary
Assessment, a public examination test taken by all Form Three students in schools throughout
the country Malaysia, has provoked and stirred an interesting debate.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s suggestion
that these tests be scrapped has opened up the issue of assessment and testing up for debate in
Malaysia and hopefully will provide a good impetus for reform in Malaysian education.

In a sense the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin has thrown down the gauntlet to parents,
academics and teachers to enter a debate discussion as to the future direction of Malaysian
local schooling and the way students are assessed in the future.

The question that arises is why have this debate now? What is the problem with examinations
as currently constituted? What are the likely outcomes of scrapping these examsthem?

The whole issue of exams and testing in schools is now on the agenda because of the
perceived problems that a singular single-minded focus on testing has wrought in the
Malaysian education system.

Critics of the way exams are currently constituted in Malaysia argue that the their summative
nature of exams produces students who are good at rote recitation of facts learnt in the
classroom, but lack an inability to critically think critically or innovate in their thinking. In
other words the argument put by critics of currently constituted testing is that it encourages
rote learning but does not provide us with useful data on a student’s deep understanding or
cognition of a topic or a problem.

Why is the issue of exams considered a problem now?

To understand the arguments over assessment, in Malaysia, we have to grasp it in a deeper
context of social, economic and educational change.

Socially, schooling should produce students who have the capacity to work together,
cooperate, and trust each other.

Seen from these perspectives, forms of assessment can either add to an environment in school
that develops collaboration, discussion and social creativity or assessment they can create an
atmosphere in schools which focuses simply on individual achievement and rote recitation.

To be sure, in schools we must be able to assess the extent to which a student actually knows
and has learnt something.
We must also recognise that not all forms of testing and examinations are simple right/wrong,
or multiple-choice type examinations.
However, when most of us think of exams we do tend to think of exams in terms of
summative tests and the regurgitation of facts by students in a pressure cooker environment.

High stakes testing of students accentuates a competitive individualistic and rote centred
approach to knowledge.

What is wrong with that you may ask?

The problem is that the social, economic and learning needs of society, the nation and the
student are ill served by an over emphasis on rote and summative testing.

Assessment is in fact a social process. Assessment can either be summative insofar as it

measures what a student can recite at the end of the semester or year, or formative insofar as
it can be used to the help students develop their learning but also help aid teachers to improve
their teaching.

The extent to which exams and tests help assist students to improve their learning and
teachers to improve their teaching in learning and teaching is an open question.

However, with the needs of Malaysian society evolving and changing under the pressures of
globalisation and economic development, the need requirement to have forms of assessment
which can help students and teachers learn and adapt to change is all the more necessary.

Economically, forms of traditional exam-centred summative assessment have served the

needs of rapidly developing industrial economies well. Exams have acted as a sorting
mechanism, which has been useful for providing the proper numbers of students to the
requisite needs of an industrialising economy.

However, the shift towards the knowledge economy suggests the need to rethink our attitude
towards assessment and exams.

A knowledge economy needs workers who are productive, creative and adaptive to change.

A knowledge economy It needs requires workers who can think in creative and innovative
ways to solve and address problems that are dynamic and challenging.

Rote learning and the habits and stresses that are built up in students through preparation for
high stakes assessment need to be looked at closely to see if they provide the necessary
aptitudes, abilities and cognitive capacities necessary for the knowledge economy.

As reported in Bernama (June 21) in an article titled, ‘Abolishing UPSR/PMR: Views of

Teachers, Parents to be Considered, director-general of education Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd
Dom also agrees that,’ “the country’s education system has been too examination-oriented
and change should thus be made, in line with the current education philosophy that places
importance on human capital development”.’

There is, however, one thing everyone can agree on in regard to exams, assessment and
testing. in Malaysia. Before any reform is initiated, there needs to be a rigorous and thorough
study of the problems, implications and issues that characterise shifting away from exams in
Malaysia’s schools.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s Yassin’s recognition that of the stress and pressure placed on Malaysian
school schoolchildren by exams is problematic is a welcome and humane contribution to the
debate over about educational reform in Malaysia.

The issue before us is to combine empathy for students with a commitment to shifting
assessment towards encouraging deep learning and growth.
This is critical, not simply for the needs of a knowledge-based economy but, more
importantly, for the growth and development of student’s capacities and potential.

NB: The writer is a Lecturer in Education in Australia and a visiting researcher at Universiti
Sains Malaysia (USM). He is currently working on the APEX monograph series with USM
on sustainability and education. Email him at jamesca@deakin.edu.au

Read more: To test or not to test

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