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New Straits Times (Malaysia)
March 4, 2012 Sunday

`Less exam-oriented'
BYLINE: Chandra Devi Renganayar
SECTION: Pg. 8
LENGTH: 481 words
KUALA LUMPUR: THE education system is set to be less exam-oriented with the introduction of a new system of
assessment named Pentaksiran Berasaskan Sekolah (PBS). It will involve all primary and lower secondary students
beginning 2016.
The assessment system, which was introduced to Year One pupils last year and Form One students this year, will also
see the introduction of "an enhanced" Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) for Year Six pupils in 2016, and the
discontinuation of Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) in 2014 for Form Three students.
Deputy director-general of education Datuk Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof said students would be assessed on academic and
non-academic fields.
"Such assessment will be carried out continuously in schools by teachers for all subjects throughout the year. It will
include school and central assessments; assessment of physical, sports and co-curricular activities; and a psychometric
(aptitude) assessment.
"The questions for the central assessments will be prepared by the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate and it would be
used by all schools.
"Teachers will evaluate both the school and the central assessments in their respective schools," he told the New
Sunday Times.
Pupils in Year One, Two and Three, however, Khair added, would not be involved in the centralised assessments.
For UPSR, he said, 40 per cent of the final results would be based on school assessments with the rest to be divided
between centralised assessment and the public examination.
"Points accumulation will begin from Year Four based on school and central assessments. The public examination will
only contribute a small percentage to the overall UPSR results," he said, adding that the objective of the PBS was for all
primary and secondary schools to focus more on learning rather than examinations.
Khair also said that although Form Three students would no longer sit for a public examination, they will be evaluated
and certified based on the school and central assessments.
"They will be evaluated based on their performance from Form One up to Form Three.
"This means students who are in Form One now would have begun accumulating their points which will add up to their
final results in Form Three."
The Education Ministry, he said, would give out an achievement certificate to Form Three students based on their
performance.
Khair, however, said the ministry had yet to name the certification.

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Teachers, Khair said, would conduct formative assessments and also summative assessments during the learning
process, which is normally carried out at the conclusion of a learning unit or at the end of a semester or at the end of the
year.
"This does not mean that teachers have to create test papers or handouts as instruments every time they have to assess
pupils' achievement."
With these assessments in place, school-based tests and examinations would be reduced, he said.
( END )
LOAD-DATE: March 4, 2012
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2012 New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad
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