Exam debate should be about credible assessments, says parents’ group

Education activist Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said school-based year-end tests were not consistent across the country.

UPSR was abolished in 2021 while PT3 was cancelled that same year and officially abolished in 2022. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 The review of the UPSR and PT3 examinations should focus on establishing a credible and trusted assessment system rather than whether to revive the major exams or not, says a parents’ group.

While some may debate that the major exams should not be revived due to the pressure it piles on students, Parents Action Group for Education chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said the key issue was confidence in assessment outcomes.

While schools have maintained year-end exams to gauge the academic level of students following the scrapping of the UPSR and PT3, Noor Azimah said these tests were not consistent across the country.

Noor Azimah said school-based assessments were continuous and holistic “but they vary widely between schools” while national exams provide a common benchmark, which help identify gaps and ensure fairness across the system.

“This debate is not about exams versus no exams, but about credibility and trust in assessments,” she told FMT.

She welcomed the education ministry’s study on reviving the UPSR and PT3, rather than giving in to bringing back the major exams purely out of pressure from certain quarters.

Noor Azimah called for a balanced approach, namely to keep major exams at key stages as national benchmarks but reduce the pressure on students by not making them such a high-stakes affair.

“Exams should diagnose learning needs, while school-based assessments track growth and skills. What matters is whether exams help children learn better, not whether we return to old systems out of familiarity.”

On Jan 9, the education ministry announced it would conduct an immediate study on whether to revive the UPSR primary school and PT3 lower secondary examinations.

UPSR was abolished in 2021 while PT3 was cancelled that same year and officially abolished in 2022.

United Nations agencies such as Unesco have encouraged countries to reduce heavy reliance on high-stakes examinations, although they have not called for their complete removal. - FMT