New grade of A+ For SPM!! really stupid!!

THAT day, I had the shock of my life when GIN told me that SPM had a new grade.

So i decided to surf on the net after few days.... and this is what i found...

from THE STAR NEWSPAPER WEBSITE

New grade of A+ for SPM
A new grading system for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) will be implemented from this year.

Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said the change would provide a detailed breakdown of excellent candidates who obtained grade As in the examination.

“The change means there will now be a new grade of A+. Previously, the highest grade possible in the SPM was 1A,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Under the present system, students are graded as 1A, 2A, 3B, 4B, 5C, 6C, 7D, 8E and 9G while the new grades would be from A+ to G (see chart).

Alimuddin said the change was based on feedback from various quarters that the existing system did not provide a more detailed breakdown of excellent students.

“The change in the grading system will enable more qualified candidates to be chosen for training programmes and new scholarships, such as the one announced by the Prime Minister recently,” he said.


Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said in June that a new category of Public Services Department scholarships would be introduced next year based purely on merit, regardless of race.


Alimuddin said the Cabinet approved the change in the grading system last month.“This will not affect the examination at all as it only involves a change in the grades given,” he said.

He said school principals have been directed to explain the new grading system to students sitting for the SPM this year.

End!!

As it stands, the marking scheme for SPM subjects seems to make it so easy for students to score straight A's. With this new grading scheme, it seems that the authorities are more interested in adding feathers to the caps of mediocre students and to give them a false sense of security by allowing them to think that they are good - but only at national level because when they compete at the international level, they are not in the running at all.

And why so?

Because the SPM system DOES NOT encourage independent critical thinking at all. Students are taught to memorize, regurgitate and to meet standard requirements as tailored according to the so-called marking scheme.


An 'A' is an 'A'. How can there be A+??? Does it mean the achievement of the student is beyond 100%?

Instead of coming up with A+, should they not TIGHTEN the system so that the examination does not become a programmed machine that churns out "A's" without keeping a tab on standards?

Doesn't the range of grading show the "detailed breakdown of excellent candidates" by virtue of the fact that each paper should have a grading scheme and marking scheme?

With the high number of students achieving straight A's, this new move seems meaningless.

It would be easier to RAISE standards rather than to add a new grade which would cost a lot in terms of printing and other logistic requirements.

I wonder who the DG was referring to when he said that "the change was based on feedback from various quarters". Are these people from the education sector and actively involved in moderating SPM papers?

I cannot understand the rationale that the new grading scheme can enable more qualified candidates for scholarships when such a system means FEWER will be getting A+ whilst MANY will still be getting 1A and 2A.

Apart from that , it is about 1.5 months before the SPM exam begins. Don't you think this news will rattle the current cohort of SPM candidates and give them undue stress because of uncertainties instead of reinforcing a sense of confidence in the system that seems to have no system?

Other international examination systems have had A* grades for many years - since 1989 and my former colleagues have also lamented on how an A* is meaningless these days because standards have deteriorated and the calibre of students is certainly in a pathetic state of want not just in Malaysia, but also in many parts of the world.

So are we improving or worsening the state of affairs in the education system?


Think!!! Is this new grading system going to make a REAL difference in our system? If one is mediocre, slapping an A+ is meaningless and just a ploy to make people happy with a false sense of security with a "syok sendiri sahaja" (satisfy oneself) reaction.