This blog post about a current issue in Malaysian education caught my eye. How much is too much when it comes to test-taking and grades?
The government recently announced a reshuffling in the education system by requiring students sitting for the SPM examinations to take a maximum of ten subjects from 2010 onwards. SPM, short for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Malaysian Certificate of Education) is the equivalent to the British General Certificate of Secondary Education. It is an examination for fifth form students before entering pre-university studies.
Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says, “We want to streamline this as it will also be an easier way to determine the awarding of scholarships.”
In recent years, however, there are students scoring straight A’s for as many as 17 and up to 20 subjects, prompting many Malaysians to query the grading system as well questioning whether students and parents are merely interested to break the record for having the most A‘s.
Read the rest of the Global Voices article here.
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