DEBATE CIE: SHOULD UPSR BE ABOLISHED?

GOVERNMENT
1) NABILAH
Leak exam paper
Costly
Not relevant *
2) FYZA
Competitiveness (rebut Amals
point)
Stress
Lost value *
3) FIZZY
Achievement
(rebut
Fatins
point)
Standard drop (rebut Fatins
point)
Example from other coutries

OPPOSITION
AMAL
Easy to control and mark
Competitiveness *
FATIN
Not relevant (rebut Nabilahs
point)
Standard drop
Achievement *
IVY
Stress (rebut Fyzas point)
Lost value (rebut Fyzas
point)
Ready or not?

MAIN POINTS (OPPOSITION)

AMAL
1)Easy to control and mark the paper

It will be marked by experienced teachers

There will be fair and no bias
Teachers have undergone training and courses to mark national
examinations paper

2) Without the UPSR, students will most likely be less compelled to learn

What is the point of going to school for six years without a proven
evidence?
The students will not study because there is nothing to be asses
Lack of quality in the student knowledge content

3)Promote competitiveness among the students

It will prepare them to face the real, harsh, cruel, cut throat world
The nature of UPSR will create competitiveness and challenges for
students to obtain good grade for recognition and enhance excellent result

FATIN
1)It is still relevant

Many scientific studies have been done to improve the students

assessment

The examination board would refer to the principles of assessment and

evaluation
It is essential to assess and check the students progress (Step 9 in
Gagnes)
Before they move to SBA, it is important to check and determine the
learning achievement of each and every students

2)Standard drop

The abolishment will cause the standard of students to drop further from
the present level

3)Achievement

To determine the learning achievement of each and every students

To test the students achievement on core subjects (Mathematics and
Science)- TIMSS and PISA
Need to model after Singapore, who emphasizes on the STEM (Science,
Technology, English and Mathematics)- it is essential to move from being a
developing to developed country
The data gained from the assessment could be used by the teachers to
reflect on the effectiveness of their methods/approach used in class

IVY
1)Stress

Stress and anxiety is very treatable.

teachers and guidance counselors can take to help children to deal with
their stress.
There are many different therapies that are available to help children cope
with stress, but there are also many simple techniques that can be taught
to children to help them to deal with stress and anxiety in a proactive
manner.
According to experts, stress is a burst of energy that basically advises you
on what to do.
In small doses, stress has many advantages.
For instance, stress can help you meet daily challenges and motivates you
to reach your goals.
In fact, stress can help you accomplish tasks more efficiently.
It can even boost memory.

2)Loss of Value

Lim Mun Fah said that UPSR results may determine whether a student to
attend an additional year in Remove Class or not and PMR may be used as
a consideration in the decisions on whether to study in the Science or Art
stream. The spirit, purpose, development, and reform of education have

all been forgotten, or even discarded. As such, the UPSR and PMR

examinations have indeed lost their essential values, and the

abolition of the two examinations should not cause much negative
effects. http://www.mysinchew.com/node/40776

UPSR still has its own important value- it allows the teachers and parents
see their students and childrens potential/level in academic
It is like an early detection to help the problematic students- it is better to
detect the problem at the early stage- can find the possible solution
If UPSR supposed to be abolished and replaced with SBA, will it guarantee
the teachers will focus on developing the students holistically?
SBA demands a lot more works and commitment from the teachers.
Teachers will be burdened with a lot of works because they are responsible
to determine and evaluate the students holistic progress

3)Ready or Not?

Are we capable enough to abolish UPSR just because we want to be like

other countries like Finland and Japam?
They have practiced their own system for a long time- it will take time and
effort before we could see the result
Malaysian would always expect instant result- are they ready to accept the
change?
We Asians are commonly associated and obsessed with academic
excellence

The parents are concerned only about the number of As their

children score while the schools care only the number of students
who score straight As. The Education Ministry is only interested
about the school achievement rankings.

It is really hard to change peoples way of thinking and mindset

FATIN
1)It is still relevant

Many scientific studies have been done to improve the students

assessment
- Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 that was launched , has
achieved many goals one year on, but theres still work to be done and
goals to be achieved. Suffice to say, we are on track.
The examination board would refer to the principles of assessment and
evaluation
It is essential to assess and check the students progress (Step 8 in
Gagnes)
- According to Robert Gagn (1985) there are nine events that provide a
framework for an effective learning process:Number 8 is to assess
performance. It is to evaluate the learners to determine if the lesson
has been learned and provide general progress information. It is alsoo
show that they've learned the material or skill effectively
Before they move to SBA, it is important to check and determine the
learning achievement of each and every students

2)Standard drop

The abolishment will cause the standard of students to drop further from
the present level
- without examinations in place, students would lack motivation to work
hard and perform well in school. Without UPSR, it would be pointless
going to school..

3)Achievement

To determine the learning achievement of each and every students.

- How are you going to asses students achievement? The abolishment of
this examination would leave us with no objective method of assessing
a students academic performance in school. This means that certain

academically-elite secondary schools which typically depend on UPSR

results for admission purposes would be left without a way of deciding
which students to admit.

To test the students achievement on core subjects (Mathematics and

Science)- TIMSS and PISA
- According to Pisa's 2012 results, Malaysian students scored below
average and ranked 52 out of the 65 countries. In contrast, students in
Vietnam ranked 17 out of 65.
- Malaysia also ranked 39 out of 44 countries under Pisa's first assessment
on creative problem-solving, while neighbouring Singapore came out tops.
- In TIMSS 2011, Malaysias ranking in mathematics fell from 20th in 2007
to 26th in 2011 while its ranking in science dropped from 21st in 2007 to
32nd in 2011.
- The average mathematics score fell from 474 in 2007 to 440 and the
average science score plunged from 471 in 2007 to 426 in 2011.

Need to model after Singapore, who emphasizes on the STEM (Science,

Technology, English and Mathematics)- it is essential to move from being a
developing to developed country
The data gained from the assessment could be used by the teachers to
reflect on the effectiveness of their methods/approach used in class
- From this data teachers would be able to improve their methods and
approaches. Choosing a suitable method that is significant to their
students weaknesses is important. And in order to know their
weaknesses we need to assess them first