REPORT AND ANALYSIS OF MALAYSIA’S EDUCATIONAL

ACHIEVEMENT

1) IN THE COUNTRY2) INTERNATIONAL

Lecturer: Dr. Balakrishnan S/O Govinthasamy

Presenter: Mohd. Shaifuddin Bin RazaliSiti Hajar Binti Zaid @ SahidSiti Nabihah Binti MustaffaNur Azimah Bt. Md. SallehNajwa Adibah Binti Bukari

INTRODUCTION

As a developing country made of a rich medley of various cultures and ethnicities, Malaysia is in an

arguable dilemma between its own national education standards and an international

education standard.

IN THE COUNTRY

National examinations

• Student performance in national examinations is improving.• Malaysian students’ performance in the three national

examinations(UPSR, PMR, and SPM) has shown fairly constant and even improving outcomes. • Two common measures used to assess outcomes are theschool Grade

Point Average or Gred Purata Sekolah (GPS) and percentage of students achieving passing and excellent grades. • From 2004, both these measures have shown an improving trend in

terms of absolute values across all three national examinations.

• The national examination results appear to show absolute improvement in grades over time in the core subjects of Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mathematics, and Science; though there are significant differences in performance in each subject.• Students perform better in Bahasa Malaysia than in English language

at all levels. • For example, 9% of students failed Bahasa Malaysia in SPM 2011, as

compared to 23% for English language. • At the other endof the spectrum, 30% of students received an

excellent grade in Bahasa Malaysia, as compared to 16% in English language.

INTERNATIONAL

Malaysia’s performance in TIMSS• When Malaysia first participated in TIMSS in 1999, the students

scored above the international average for Mathematics with 519 points and was ranked 16th out of 38 countries.• The Science score of 492 was also above the international average,

although the country was ranked lower at 22nd position.

Comparability of International Assessments

• Comparability of TIMSS and PISA: • As described above, the TIMSS tests focus on elements of the

curricula common to participating countries, while the PISA tests focus on applied assessments of real-world problems, irrespective of the curricula of the participating countries. • Nonetheless, researchers at Stanford University, USA, have found that

the two are highly correlated at the country level—up to 0.87 for Mathematics, and 0.97 for Science. • This means that a country that performs well on TIMSS is highly likely

to perform well on PISA, and vice versa.

Malaysia’s performance in PISA 2009+• Malaysia participated in the PISA assessment for the first time in its 2009+

exercise. Out of 74 countries, Malaysia performed in the bottom third for Reading, Mathematics and Science, well below both the international and OECD average in all three areas.• In the latest assessment, Malaysia’s performance was at least 100 points

below that of regional peers like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong on all three dimensions (Exhibit 3-12). In PISA, a 38 point difference is the equivalent of one schooling year of learning.• This means that 15-year-olds in Malaysia are performing as though they have

had three years’ less schooling than 15-year-olds in these countries—the very countries that Malaysia seeks to compete against in today’s knowledge economy. Compared to Shanghai, the world’s best performing school system in PISA 2009+, the gap is equivalent to four years of schooling.

• Almost 60% of Malaysian students failed to meet the minimum benchmarks in Mathematics—the baseline proficiency required for students to participate effectively and productively in life.• Similarly, 44% and 43% of students do not meet minimum proficiency

levels in Reading and Science respectively.

Below minimum proficiency as defined by PISA means:▪▪ In Reading, students are unable to do one or more of thefollowing: -locate one or more pieces of information in a text, recognise the main idea in a text, make low-level inferences or comparisons between information in the text and everyday knowledge;▪▪ In Mathematics, students are unable to employ basic algorithms, formulae, procedures, or conventions. -They are not capable of direct reasoning and literal interpretations of the results, even though they can answer clearly defined questions involving familiar contexts; and▪▪ In Science, students have very limited scientific knowledge that can only be applied to a few familiar situations. -They can present scientific explanations that follow explicitly from the given evidence, but will struggle to draw conclusions or make interpretations from simple investigations.

Performing at an Advanced level in PISA means:▪▪ In Reading, students are able to make multiple inferences, comparisons, and contrasts that are both detailed and precise. -They are also able to develop critical evaluations or hypotheses, drawing on specialised knowledge;▪▪ In Mathematics, students are able to interpret more complex information, and negotiate a number of processing steps. -They demonstrate insight in identifying a suitable solution strategy, and display other higher-order cognitive processes to explain or communicate results; and▪▪ In Science, students are able to identify, explain and apply scientific knowledge in a variety of complex life situations.-They consistently demonstrate advanced scientific thinking and reasoning. Students are able to use scientific knowledge and develop arguments in support of recommendations and decisions that centre on personal, social, or global situations.

Resources

• Ministry of Education (2013). Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025. Putrajaya: Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.