KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Examinations Syndicate (MES) has given its assurance that the implementation of School-Based Assessments (PBS) has not led to a complete lack of examinations to grade schoolchildren.
PBS, in fact, is complemented by examinations throughout the school year.
This comes after concerns were raised by parents that PBS cannot prepare their children for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exam.
Their concerns have led to them urging the Education Ministry to reinstate centralised exams, such as Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and the Penilaian Menengah Rendah exam, to better gauge their children's academic performance.
MES principal assistant director Rohesan Muhamad said PBS provided more exams that could gauge a student's development.
"Previously, there was only UPSR for Year 6 pupils and the PT3 exam for Form 3 students. Now, assessments will be made for Years 4, 5, and 6 pupils as well as for students in Forms 1, 2 and 3.
"This is called 'Ujian Akhir Sesi Akademik', a written exam with the same format as UPSR and PT3," he told the New Straits Times.
He said this would allow the monitoring of a student's academic development.
Rohesan said the only difference between the previous and current assessment methods was the grading system.
He said the Mastery Level or TP (Tahap Penguasaan) grading system used to grade schoolchildren provided greater detail on which aspect of a subject they had mastered.
"The marks that schoolchildren obtained in their (PBS) exam will be converted to TP, which ranges from one until six.
"The TP system explains (their academic progress) better and can give an analysis on what topics schoolchildren have better knowledge on compared with 'A+' or 'A', which only states 'excellent' or 'good'.
"A 'TP 6' grade can be considered as A+ or excellent.
"This shows that claims that PBS cannot prepare schoolchildren for SPM are false."
Rohesan said with PBS, more details could be share with parents on their children's academic performance, behaviour, curricular activities and interests.
"These are the aspects that we want to report to parents, and at the same time, we want to provide a fair learning environment for schoolchildren.
"What we want to stress is that PBS is a fairer assessment for schoolchildren, which is why it is a holistic approach.
"For example, the best pupil is very good in every subject, while a pupil in lower classes is excellent in sport or others.
"We don't want to just have one major exam that every schoolchidren will have to take. Instead, we want to factor in all of their potential through PBS."
Rohesan said parents would be provided with a report on their children's exam results.
"We want to share the results with parents online to make it easier for them to access the information," he said, adding that the MES was communicating with the ministry to discuss matters relating to the exam.
"Whatever the ministry has said, it is something that we also shared with them.
"And just as the Education Minister (Fadhlina Sidek) said, any decision made would be based on the Education Development Plan."