IS REMOVING ALL EXAMS GOOD FOR PUPILS IN LEARNING?

Bismillahirahmanirahim,

Assalamualaikum, and a very good morning to judges, audience and my fellow

friends. Let me introduce myself. My name is Tuan Nur Irdina Humaira Bt Tuan
Yusnizi and I’m from Sekolah Kebangsaan Lepar, Pekan.

Ladies and gentlemen

Today, I would like to talk about, “Is removing all exams good for pupils in learning?”

FOR many years, standardised examination scores were central in the assessment
of school students in Malaysia. The overuse of testing, however, can damage an
education system when there’s too much emphasis on data from the exam. Most
schools had focused on exam-preparation programmes to get more students to
score straight As. Extra focus was also given to those who showed potential in
scoring for exams.

Students who performed well during exams were grouped together in a class and
taught by more experienced teachers while the rest were usually left behind. In
return, parents realised that in order to receive more attention in school, their
children must score during exams to be placed in the classes. As a result, the harm
had probably been more severe in rural schools.

However, more recently, we have seen a reduction of central exam . During the
announcement of the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) in 2018, even the
latest one, the abolishment of PT3 examination, the Education Ministry stressed on
the need to focus not only on the results but also the overall Primary School
Assessment Report. This includes Classroom Assessment; Physical, Sports and
Extracurricular Activities Assessment; and, Psychometric Assessments.
This trend of abolishing stressful examinations is not just happening here in this
country. Schools in Singapore also will reduce the number of examinations across
different levels. The country is consistently ranked at the top in programme for the
International Student Assessment (PISA). This proves their education system has
worked for their students.

Removing exams may not be the answer to a better education system. We should
make sure what mix of assessment tasks is most suitable for our students. In order
to do that, teachers must be guided in producing different types of assessments like
class tests, projects and presentations. These assessments too need to work for
both students and teachers. The methods should make a real difference to learning.

Project-based task is one of the assessments that is seen as an option to replace

exams. It can draw on students’ creativity and interest which helps in develop several
important higher-order thinking skills, such as decision-making and analysis.
Examinations may be stressful, but they are not all that bad. They can also improve
learning. Studying and sitting for exams deepen the learning process. When sitting
for an exam, the process of searching through one’s memory can strengthen the
memory pathway.

School assessment is a process of gathering and analysing evidence about student

learning, and used to enhance teaching and learning. It can also help educational
decision-making. Information from these assessments can also indicate students'
academic competencies and readiness for the next learning. When implemented
properly, the information can support students to achieve intended learning
outcomes through feedback and ensure that they are not left behind in studies. That
way we will get better results for our children, not only the number of As that we
chased.

That is all from me, Thank you