PETALING JAYA: The abolition of the Form Three Assessment (FTA) in June last year and its replacement with the Classroom Assessment (CA) will not impact the country’s education quality, said Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Center for the Study of Educational Diversity (Faculty of Education) senior lecturer Dr Anuar Ahmad, adding that FTA results are not used to stream students.
He said there is no reason for FTA to be conducted compared with the previous Lower Certificate of Education and Lower Secondary Assessment.
“However, the abolition of FTA will impact motivation of students as they will have less reason to study. Students also would not have a guideline in determining their abilities and their next course of study.
“Teachers too will be impacted as they will now have to deal with students who are not motivated or focused. Secondary school teachers may see a gap in the abilities of their students in certain subjects, such as mathematics.”
Anuar said this is because students would be able to choose their streams without ascertaining their aptitude, making it difficult for teachers to conduct lessons based on the interests of students, thus affecting the quality of teaching.
Explaining further why FTA is not required in the education system, he said the CA and annual exams at the school level would help students focus on their studies.
“We are looking into more effective education systems from other countries, in which there is only one centralised primary school and secondary school examination.”
Anuar said the government and schools could still monitor and follow through with their students’ development, even though the centralised examination has been abolished.
“We have a CA system as well as mid-year and end-of-year tests to evaluate the performance and development of students.
“CA uses a standard rubric or scoring guide that assesses and articulates specific components and expectations for an assignment.
“However, it is subject to teacher assessment, which may differ between schools. It’s the same with mid-year exams, which may not have the same standard from one school to another,” Anuar said.
“The Education Ministry has determined that all schools will implement the CA and the Academic Mid-Session Test according to its plan. Teachers need to key in CA data in a centralised online system managed by the ministry.
“FTA is more organised and systematic because it is a centralised public exam that is consistent for all students. CA is centred on schools only.”
Anuar said the current educational system is sufficient and no immediate changes are required, adding that the only improvements needed relate to execution.
However, a secondary school teacher in Klang, who requested to be known only as Yana, said the constant changes in the education system is affecting the mental health of teachers.
“It’s also a waste of resources. I’m not criticising the government, but a trial should have been done on a sample batch of students before implementing it on a wider scale.”
Yana said a proper education system is required and examinations introduced after thorough discussions as that would avoid burdening parents, students and teachers.
“Students do not know about education systems. They learn what we teach, so students cannot evaluate which one is best for them. Having a better schedule for students to study and attend classes would possibly make their work easier.“
