PETALING JAYA: Parent groups caution the methods used for benchmarking and its intervention plans for Form Three students now that the Form Three Assessment (PT3) has been scrapped.

       Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said while doing away with the PT3 is good, she asked what happens to students who do not meet the desired mastery level based on their school-based assessment (PBS), which will determine the students’ performance in their studies.

       “It may broach the holistic education approach because in theory, it is believed that these intervention methods are already in place.

       “We would like to know the nature of these intervention plans, the timelines and how it will be conducted to ensure the student does meet the desired levels.

       “We are concerned whether teachers have the proper tools, ability, time, sustenance and perseverance to provide personal attention to students who do not make the grade.

       “Is there assurance that the teacher’s evaluation will be standardised across the board post-intervention?” she asked.

       She said there are possibilities such students will not receive the desired interventions and the problem will persist into the next academic year, making it “another teacher’s problem”.

       Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin said teachers may not provide holistic and effective assessments due to various reasons.

       “Sometimes, to achieve their key performance indicator, they may just give a high score. And what about teachers who have children in the same school or class they are teaching in?

       “Are they allowed to assess their own children?” he asked.

       Mak said there are concerns that by abolishing the PT3, and thus making SPM the first public exam students sit for in their schooling years, the country may produce students “without drive and direction”.

       National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Wang Heng Suan believes teachers will have time to provide feedback to their students during the assessments, especially with the one-off intake of 18,702 teachers intended to solve the teacher shortage problem.

       In addition, teachers have been conducting these assessments for several years, he added.

       “The ministry has taken some steps to reduce the teachers’ burden so this should not be a problem.

       “Schools and parents communicating with each other can help students’ learning and mastery levels.

       “What’s important is that there will be no comparison between and pressure on students, teachers and parents to achieve results from the assessment,” he added.