PRESSURE, anxiety, stress and panic attack — these are common terms used to describe the predicament of students who are sitting for major examinations. It is not the anticipation of having to answer difficult exam questions that creates this immense pressure, but the strong desire to do well that makes students so uptight and tense. Under such circumstances, many students make mistakes that significantly affect their results.
A recent case in point involved the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) English Language paper. In one of the essay options, students were asked: “If you had the opportunity to move to another part of Malaysia, where would you choose to live? Explain your choice.” Apparently, some students wrote about living in other countries.
The question is straightforward, well-structured and the assigned task is very clear too. It is a valid and fair question as it focuses on a local context that candidates are familiar with. Hypothetically, it will be less fair if students are required to write about other countries when most of them are presumed to have little information on living abroad. The best approach is to localise the topic, unless the subject of living abroad is in the syllabus.
I feel sad that students continue to make silly but costly mistakes like this. Read the question carefully. Teachers and parents have reminded them so many times to first understand the question, or break it down into key components, before attempting to answer them. Having been through numerous tests and examinations before sitting for the SPM, students should know what is required of them. Mistakes are committed, in many cases, due to over-enthusiasm, lack of preparation or loss of concentration caused by factors such as poor health.
Although pressure and surprises are not components of academic exercises, these elements are present in all examinations. Previously, students were only required to master the “remember” and “understand” level to score in examinations. However, to improve their critical thinking skills, students now have to apply, analyse, evaluate and create — these are the stages that signify higher order thinking skills.
Having been in the education sector for some time, I know that the process of preparing exam papers is a meticulous one. Examiners need to follow specific guidelines, rubrics and measurement mechanism to ensure that questions are well-structured according to the various cognitive levels and taxonomy. Answer schemes are prepared to ensure consistency when correcting the answer scripts and in allocating marks.
Examiners also need to look out for additional but relevant factual information that students present in their essays, based on their own reading and self-learning.
It is not an overstatement to say that examiners spend long hours to formulate questions accordingly to meet specific course learning outcomes. Plenty of time is spent on vetting the questions to ensure validity in terms of accuracy to measure students’ competencies. Student learning and study time on particular topics have to be factored in as well when preparing and allocating marks for the questions.
The time allocated for students to answer questions has to be calibrated too. For example, a multiple-choice question (MCQ) with four one-word answers to choose from may be allocated half a minute. Students will need more time to answer MCQs with all the correct options that are written in full sentences. This category of questions is normally more difficult and requires more than half a minute to answer.
Examiners do not create questions to confuse or deceive, but to test competencies according to the study objectives and established standards. The public examination system is one of the mechanisms for measuring students’ achievements in relation to predetermined course learning outcomes and the national policy. In this aspect, the SPM is an important one.
But, examinations are not the answer to everything. There are many people who did not do well in school but have become very successful in life. This, however, is not an excuse for students to not strive for excellence, because good results open doors to a multitude of opportunities in life. There is a saying that goes: “Success is 90 per cent hard work and 10 per cent intelligence”. For some, a little bit of luck counts too.
Despite these realities, many parents and students think that scoring straight As in examinations paves the way to success. But, creativity, good communication skills, talent, passion, hard work, perseverance, determination and a positive attitude can make us successful in life too.
The writer is a former associate professor at the Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah Alam.