hasn't it been said that if it ain't broke, don't fix it?
can anyone elaborate the advantage(s) of the move by the ministry of education to overhaul the grading for the SPM exams? read here
from next year, an A could be an A+, A or A-. why do we require an extra A-grade? why the need to attach merit points to the grades? what was wrong with 1A & 2A? or, during my time, A1 & A2?
if there are just too many straight As students, just increase the cut-off mark for the 1A grade, which was set at 87 & above when i sat for the MCE (predecessor of today's SPM). when my results were released, there were less than 10 students who achieved straight A1s. err, no, i wasn't one of them ;)
& you know what? in order to help students pass, a retired teacher friend who used to mark SPM papers revealed the pass mark was lowered to 20 for the maths paper. 20 MARKS!! now you know our current standard of education. so, isn't this regrading a G-grade (ie zero merit point) idea by the ministry of un-education?
unless there's an agenda we are all not aware of.
21 comments:
ya..the examiners have to follow a graph..
Wenn,
in football parlance, i can imagine the goal posts are shifted from time to time.
my goodness 20 markS!! i heard of grades being lowered for certain subjects but never expected it to be that LOW! gosh...
Well, simply put it, cos the EM cannot revamp the whole education policy as of now,but they dont want to be seen as inertia or out of ideas, therefore they came out what they think is the best,"what they think, not what we think"
The fundamental will be everyone is entitled to education to whatever levels if one qualifies, no color, no creed, no religion, no race, no gender....
Claire,
i was just as flabbergasted when the ex-teacher told me that. on the other hand, you can more or less imagine what the passing mark for BM is. when my daughter sat for her UPSR, even i couldn't help her for the BM paper.
Eugene,
to say the education policy is in a mess is not an understatement. in today's papers, you will be surprised to find out when a bumiputra is not a bumiputra.
with the change to BM as language of instruction, i think a lot of parents will seriously consider sending their children to vernacular schools.
your mentioned fundamental right that all should get an education regardless, is i'm afraid just a pipe dream for now!
all I can do is SIGH! My kids are definitely not bumiputera, so, at least we are clear about that. Now, we just need to find a way to swim through the junk left behind by all these policy makers. And pray that I strike it rich tomorrow. We need alot of money to move three kids to a school with the curriculum of our choice.
A rose by any other name will smell as sweet! A or A+ or A-....what difference does it make? A string of As don't make any difference. I always tell my daughter - it's just a piece of paper - the passport to get in. At the end of the day, it is who you are that is important!
They are trying to pull wool over people's eyes...trying to show that they are doing something to upgrade the standard of English...after reverting to teaching Science and Maths in BM for obvious political reasons...
P.S.:
Btw, I heard that the passing mark for Additional Maths is a single-digit mark. Is it any wonder that we have collapsing roofs, cracked bridges and all...and even doctors who asked whether an 80-year old woman still had her period?
JoMel,
God will open the way for your kids, if you believe. wealth will only be a distraction from the purpose He has for your family.
God bless!
STP,
i also told about the single-digit pass mark for add maths but can't verify it.
i agree with you that the frenzy over A's is based on the misguided notion that it equates to success. i hear the 17As scorer from a few years ago flunked 2nd year in med school.
I suppose the new grading system is to fall in line with grading standards from other countries. A+ and A- will be easier to understand compared to A1 and A2.
It's surprising how a paper can be passed with just 20 marks. Imagine those (like me) who worked hard to score 100, wasted so much effort.
aiks..
my year addmaths was at 8 marks to pass...
see..how good is our education system ler..
Adino,
if it's just A+ & A-, then i can understand, but why re-assign 1A & 2A into A+, A & A-?
yeah, your 100-mark paper will receive the same grade as someone who scored 80 marks!
like STP said, it's not about the number of As, now that they have become meaningless. it's who you are & what you are truly capable of achieving.
Mich,
so no need to study so hard la!!
;)
they should leave things be.. it jus bcomes messy every time politicians intervene
Beng,
they should but they won't!
20 is pass mark for maths? OMG! They should instead raise it to 60!
FoongPC,
shocking, isn't it? how else to show the "improvement" in maths results if not by the numerous so-called top scorers??
Once upon a time, there was just A,B,C... Then too many students were scoring As, so we had A1 and A2. Again, many students were scoring A1s and A2s, so next year, we will have A+, A, and A-. By the year 2015, there will be tons of A+, so guess what? Maybe we will be having A+ Platinum and A+ Gold. This may be followed by A+ Platinum Pure and A+ Platinum Alloy.
Fishtail,
the world is just getting too complicated, isn't it? or, did we make it difficult for ourselves?
like, maybe the marks should be set at the appropriate levels, then anyone who scores an A probably deserves one.
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