SPM examination needs transformation

KUALA LUMPUR: It has been almost a year since COVID-19 hit the country and education is one of the sectors that needs a holistic change involving the aspects of the examination and certification system, especially Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), as a student assessment method.

Over 400,445 candidates for SPM 2020 were affected in terms of their learning preparation and were emotionally distraught when the examination which was supposed to be held in November last year had to be postponed to Feb 22.

Introduced in 1964, SPM, as the passport to tertiary studies has since matured but many are of the view that the existing student assessment system needs to change according to current developments.

Former deputy director of the Malaysian Examination Board Dr Khodori Ahmad, who has more than 30 years of experience in the education field said the SPM examination system, which is over 50 years old, should undergo a transformation process to keep up with the times, especially the rapid development of information technology.

The existing examination system has created a subject based exam-oriented environment in schools which sparks concern among educators. Through this transformation, we will not only able to give a 'COVID-proof examination', but we can also change the school atmosphere to be potential driven assessment supported," he told Bernama.

He was commenting on suggestions from academicians and the National Parents-Teacher Associations Consultative Council (PIBGN) to revise student assessments, including the main SPM examination with School Based Assessment (PBS).

Khodori said the SPM examination should not continue to adopt the same method as introduced 50 years ago because it had to be in line with current developments.

If we do not make efforts to transform the examination, we will be seen as outdated for using 'the old toys', he said.

However, he said that any effort to transform the examination system should be done with caution involving a high level of professionalism, adding that those involved in the process should be able to differentiate between SPM as certification and SPM as examination.

"SPM certification which shows the level of educational achievement of Form Five students needs to be maintained because it is recognised worldwide. My suggestion is that we transform the examination without changing the status and position of SPM certification," he said.

Khodori said the transformation of the SPM examination can be done by integrating technologies such as CIB - Comprehensive Item Bank, LTDB Lifetime Database, OLTAS - On-line Test Administration System as an enabler.

Citing as an example the COVID-19 pandemic effect which had caused the examination to be postponed, he said through the transformation, students could sit for the examinations in digital form.

"Through this digitisation, examinations can be done through the multiple delivery approach. There are no more simultaneous examinations and this will help students especially when they are facing a pandemic situation like today. They can take the examination in stages," he said.

Khodori said that through this approach, there is a need for a method to ensure that the different questions are assessed equally.

"Students can also sit for the examination at any time according to the period set by the Examination Board," he said, adding that with the digitisation of the SPM examination, there will be no worries about leaked questions because candidates no longer answer the same questions.

Khodori said the transformation would provide an opportunity to expand the scope of examinations to other aspects such as physical, emotional and spiritual and the new changes would also provide space for experienced students to use a variety of new instruments in digital form compatible with 21st Century Education and Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) in their examinations.

Meanwhile, Uiversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Faculty of Education's Centre for Leadership and Education Policy chairman, Associate Professor Dr Azlin Norhaini Mansor also agreed that the SPM examination be improved to adapt to current changes.

She said education and certification are important elements in ensuring the future of the nation's children is safe-guarded and developed, especially for middle-income or poor families who expect their children to achieve excellent results in SPM for a better future.

Improvements can be made by reducing the subjects that need to be taken in SPM because the current total of eight to 11 subjects for the examination period of about a month is too much for students.

"This will affect understanding as well as add to the stress that encourages a rote learning culture for examinations. When the examination is finished, they forgot everything they had learned.

"I suggest that during Form Four, students can take five subjects and in Form Five they can do the remaining subjects, just like the semester system adopted by universities - semester 1 (Form Four) and semester 2 (Form Five)," she said, adding if students failed any subjects during the first semester, they could resit in Form Five.

Azlin Norhaini stressed that SPM should remain and not replaced by school-based assessments as a standardised assessment system for all students is still needed.

"If there is no more SPM certificate, those who can afford it can take other examinations such as General Certificate of Education (GCE) but for those who are not, they will just be satisfied with the replacement of SPM (as a new student assessment and certification system) which may have uncertain future," she said.

-- BERNAMA