Should they stay or go?
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Sunday July 4, 2010
Should they stay or go?
Stories by KAREN CHAPMAN, TAN SHIOW CHIN and TAN EE LOO
THE STAR ONLINE
[email protected]
With academic achievement overshadowing all other aspects of holistic education in Malaysia, it is time to re-assess our assessment system.
AT some point in their schooling life, every student is likely to experience some form of centralised exam. Whether as a form of evaluation, assessment or examination, these paper-based tests are used to ensure that students of the same level have achieved the objectives of the education system they are a part of.
In Malaysia, primary school pupils have the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) at the end of Year Six, while secondary schoolstudents have the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) at Form Three and the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia Vokasional (SPMV) at Form Five.
Learning should be centred on the student’s interest and curiosity, rather than mugging for the exams. – SHARON OVINIS / TheStarWith Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin having recently reminded the public that the Education Ministry is still mulling the possibility of doing away with the UPSR and PMR (see sidebar), the debate for and against these exams has stirred up again.
The question StarEducation has posed is: are exams really necessary for learning?
Learning is not about exams
“There is no evidence that I’m aware of that shows a positive correlation between exams and learning,” says International Medical University (IMU) Psychology head Prof Dr Ray Wilks.
“Nowadays, we are talking a lot about authentic learning and authentic assessment; that is, assessing life-long learning skills, rather than an end-of-the-year exam,” he explains.
Learning, he believes, should not be about the passing, or not, of exams.
“Learning should be about the interest that teachers inculcate into students.”
Although he has only been in Malaysia for two years, Prof Wilks speaks from his experience as an education psychologist and former primary school teacher in Australia.
He says: “It’s up to teachers and parents to motivate kids to enjoy learning, rather than just learning for exams.”
His colleague, Faculty of Medicine and Health deputy executive dean Prof Dr Peter Pook, agrees.
“We should create more curiosity in our children’s learning to nurture creative and innovative people.”
He adds: “Continuous assessment is a more reliable way of looking at the learning process.”
Prof Wilks shares that the educational assessment system in Australia for primary and secondary schools relies on continuous, school-based assessment.
PROF WILKS: Learning should be about the interest that teachers inculcate into students.“The type of assessment they have looks at broader education skills, like communication, critical thinking and teamwork, rather than just textbook skills.
“Those sort of skills are assessed by teachers and through activities like debates, dramas, analysing issues and project work.”
He adds that the type of assessment conducted here is consistent with the type of teaching being done.
“There is an over-emphasis on the academic aspect of children’s education, which is just one part of holistic education.”
Mother of two Chua Hooi Dean agrees that if there were no public exams, her children would have more time to explore areas like music and the arts, which could help instill creativity in them.
“Abolishing the UPSR and PMR could even mean more opportunities for parents and children to spend quality time together.
“I’ve always wanted to teach my children to play the piano, but they are tired most of the time after school,” she says.
One way to reduce emphasis on academic achievement, while still maintaining public exams, is to lower the weightage given to those exams.
Father of three Dr Theng L C, who takes that stand, says: “It’s no harm sitting for an exam.
“However, if the goal is to make the education system more holistic, there should be more activity-based learning in the school curriculum.”
When there is less emphasis on exams, he says, teachers would have more time to organise activities such as field trips and excursions, which would allow school children to be in contact with nature and discover new learning opportunities that may not be present in the classroom.
Father of four Dr Arzmi Yaacob agrees that public exams should stay, but does not oppose the suggestion of reducing their weightage.
“It’s like a check and balance.
PROF POOK: It’s not just the assessment system that has to change, but we ourselves have to change as we are the ones driving our kids.“The exams will serve as an indicator for students to gauge how well they have done in schools, and will give students positive pressure and motivate them to work hard for what they want,” he says.
However, Form Three student Esmeralda Noor Mohd Junaizee thinks that school-based assessments are good enough to test students on their knowledge and skills in the subject areas they study in school.
“There is competition among the students when we undergo school-based assessments, so it will still motivate me to study and work hard,” she says.
“It would definitely take the pressure off the students if the Government ever decides to abolish the UPSR and PMR,” she adds.
Form Two student Sally Lim agrees.
“I would probably feel more relaxed in school, and have more time to pursue my interest in drama and performing arts.
“However, I’d still study hard for school based-assessments and the SPM,” she says.
Chua shares their opinion.
“Children will find going to school and learning even more fun when there is no pressure of getting good grades in exams like the UPSR, which many people use to determine if the child is smart or not,” says Chua.
The bad aspects of exams
Picking up her point, Prof Pook says: “We need to understand what the UPSR and PMR are doing; they are actually streaming kids into different classes.
“But in terms of psychology, it is actually bad to label kids like that.
“It’s positive reinforcement for the smart kids — smart, as is defined by our assessment system — but not for the kids who don’t do well.
“The tools that we are using at the moment are picking up all the rote-learners.”
Adds Prof Wilks: “From a psychological point of view, to label a child of 12 is kind of a life sentence.
“Experiments show that if you tell a teacher that a child is of a certain achievement level, they will teach to that level.
“They won’t raise their teaching to the next level for that child.”
Prof Pook says that it is the negative aspects of the examination system that worries educationists like himself and Prof Wilks.
“It’s not just the assessment system and education system that needs to be changed, we also have to change as we are the ones driving our kids.
“It will take an enormous change; but when the education system changes, the method of assessment will also follow suit,” says Prof Wilks.
“Speaking as a former teacher, I have to say that we do take comfort in having one set of questions to test students on, and also, having that threat of a big exam over our students.
“But a written exam shouldn’t be used as a one-fit-for-all. Some people don’t react well under those type of situations.
“Different forms of assessments should be used throughout the year, so that all students have an opportunity to show what they have learnt in situations they perform best in.”
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IS EXAM AN ENJOYMENT OR BURDEN TO YOU!
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So long article never read finish