Education Minister says PISA, TIMSS and SPM comparisons misleading

 

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said that direct comparisons between the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination and international assessments like PISA and TIMSS are inaccurate and can lead to misleading conclusions if viewed out of context. — NSTP/L.MANIMARAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Direct comparisons between the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination and international assessments like PISA and TIMSS are inaccurate and can lead to misleading conclusions if viewed out of context.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said both forms of assessment are built on different foundations regarding their purpose, design, and evaluation methods.

Fadhlina explained that in terms of purpose and scope, SPM is a national curriculum-based examination that evaluates a student's mastery of the syllabus taught throughout their schooling, serving as a certification instrument and an educational pathway.

Conversely, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is designed to evaluate the ability of 15-year-old students to apply knowledge and thinking skills in real-life situations, without being tied to any specific national curriculum.

Meanwhile, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) focuses on the mastery of Mathematics and Science content, which differs from Malaysia's national curriculum.

Fadhlina said that in terms of target population and sampling, SPM evaluates all registered upper secondary candidates based on their selected streams and subjects. PISA and TIMSS, however, use student sampling based on specific age limits or forms that do not necessarily represent the entire SPM cohort.

"This structural difference in sampling means raw score comparisons are inherently unequal," she added.

Fadhlina noted that in terms of format and methodology, SPM assesses deep subject content mastery through written examinations aligned with the national syllabus.

PISA and TIMSS focus more on higher-order thinking skills, problem-solving, and cross-contextual knowledge application using international question formats and marking schemes.

"Therefore, due to these three main reasons, SPM and international assessments such as PISA and TIMSS should be viewed as complementary instruments rather than competing or directly comparable measures," she said in a written parliamentary reply yesterday.

She was responding to a question from Rodziah Ismail (PKR-Ampang) on why annual SPM achievements have failed to reverse the continuous decline in Malaysia's international assessment scores.

Rodziah highlighted PISA metrics for 15-year-old students in Mathematics, Science, and Reading, as well as TIMSS achievements for Grade Four and Grade Eight in Mathematics and Science.

Fadhlina further explained that SPM reflects the mastery of the national curriculum and the effectiveness of school-level teaching, while PISA and TIMSS offer a broader view of the national education system against international standards, especially in higher-order thinking and knowledge application.

However, she said the Education Ministry takes the findings of both types of assessments seriously in an integrated manner.

"As student performance is influenced by various factors, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, learning access gaps, higher-order thinking skills mastery, as well as student motivation and well-being, the ministry continues to strengthen literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills.

"This is being done through curriculum, pedagogical, and assessment enhancements, alongside targeted interventions," she said. -- NST