masterwordsmith-unplugged

I am really thankful my son did not take the PT3 this year. I would have died even before he took te exam...died from worrying!

This year, six from his school had straight As. Apparently, 83 in Malaysia scored straight As. @_@

Here's a letter written to The Star.

AFTER the recent UPSR fiasco and its ensuing results, I think it’s time for us, parents of students who sat for the PT3 examination, to air our grievances.

The results were made available this morning (Monday) and needless to say there were tears and heartbreak when some students saw their grades.

For those who have scored straight As in their mid-year and also their trial examinations respectively, not obtaining straight As for the actual examination was a big blow to them, especially for those who intended to apply to fully residential schools which required grade A for both Mathematics and Science.

I have not done an official survey nor do I know the actual statistics but from asking around friends and family members in other schools and states, there appears to be a discrepancy in the results.

A “good” school in state A only had eight students with straight As compared to 14 straight As in an “average school” in State B. Not to mention another “good” school with one straight As student!

Does that mean those high performing students, who have worked hard since Form 1, have suddenly done so badly in the actual examination? Or perhaps schools with a higher number of straight As students obtained easier sets of questions from the question bank? Or the marking is inconsistent? Which central body or agency rechecks all the results submitted by the schools before preparing the national graph?

And if it is true that only 83 students obtained straight As in the whole of Malaysia, then something is obviously not right somewhere.

There are so many questions playing on the parents and also the students minds at the moment.

Questions, which I’m sure, if and when answered by the relevant authorities, are not going to change the results.

The Education Minister has a legal and moral duty to explain this “mystery” to parents and students who sat for the PT3 examination.

I’m all for introducing a new system if it brings more benefits to the students as a whole, but if the implementation is irresolute from the very beginning, then don’t make the students pay the price.

They should be given the benefit of the doubt and not be penalised by strict or non-standardised marking.

Anyone conducting a pilot project would surely know the do’s and don’ts of introducing something new.

When we question the sorry state of our education system or when we send our children to international school, whether local or abroad, we risk being accused of being unpatriotic.

A letter “Students not prepared for ‘HOTS’ questions” (The Star, Dec 19) also seems to indicate that something is not right with the way the SPM examination was conducted this year.

Any change in a system should be well thought out and implemented gradually and not abruptly.

Anything done in haste is destined for failure and the casualty will be the children who are the future of this nation.

Since the PT3 results cannot be changed, I hope that the ministry and other relevant authorities, such as Mara, will reconsider the entry requirements for fully residential schools.

As for SPM, please spare a thought for the students’ future when grading their papers.

Don’t ruin their future just to prove a point that whatever system being implemented is right. No one will end up a winner.

SHARIFAH SAEEDAH SYED MOHAMED

Shah Alam