Readiness of Implementation of School-BasedAssessment among the Malay Language

Teachers in National SchoolsFong Peng Chew", Noriah Muhamad/

l' 2Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This study aimed to identify the slcills readiness of Malay language teachers in National Schools in implementation of SchoolBased Assessment (SBA) and identify whether there was any relationship between experiences of teaching among the Malaylanguage teachers in National Schools with their skills in implementation of SBA. A questionnaire was used as an instrumentin the study. The respondents consisted of 110 Malay language teachers in 35 National Schools located in the Klang Valley,Kuala Lumpur. Data analysis was carried out with the aid of the SPSS program. The results showed that the readiness ofteachers in terms of skills affect the implementation of the SBA, while Pearson'r correlation analysis showed that there wassignificant correlation between the teaching experiences of the Malay language teachers in National Schools with their skillsin the implementation ofSBA. The researchers also proposed some recommendations to make the SBA a success.

Keywords: Malay language, National Schools, School-based assessment, skills.

1. INTRODUCTION

Several countries, such as Australia, Finland, Greece,Portuguese, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Israel, NewZealand, Korea and Ireland, have implemented SBA formany years1.2,3.4,5.Study in Hong Kong" suggest that thebenefits of SBA of fieldwork to create a positivebackwash effect on teaching, as well as to enhance thevalidity and reliability of fieldwork assessment. Generally,the researches in these countries signify the need for anon-going evaluation of the SBA. The effectiveness of theSBA depend on a variety of variables, such as thoseconcerning the teachers and learners.

Malaysia is actively moving towards Vision 2020 tobecoming modem country; various efforts have beenmade especially in the education system. In accordancewith the Master Development Plan of Education", theMinistry of Education has implemented a transformationof the education system from 2010 to enhance academicquality, curriculum and personality development of pupils.With the implementation of school-based assessment(SBA) which is an alternative and authentic assessment ofcoursework, projects, performances, physical activities,and curriculum, the personality, character and personalitydevelopment of pupils can be achieved?

SBA was carried out through a new curriculum that

is called Standard Curriculum of Primary Schools (KSSR)

*Email Address:fpchew@um.edu.my

Budget 2011 has seen the creation of a newcurriculum to produce first class mind's pupils who areable to compete and face the challenges in the 21stcentury. The old curriculum called Integrated Curriculumof Primary Schools (KBSR) was reviewed and amendedwith emphasis on "mindset, personality, and creativity,innovation and competitiveness'",

KSSR is a curriculum developed to strengthen thelanguage subjects such as Malay language and Englishlanguage. Hence forth, these languages can be taught increative and interesting method such as singing, drama,music and games". New and more interesting teachingmethods are certainly draw more attention and interest ofpupils to learn in a more concise and efficientcircumstances.

2. STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS

On December 17, 2010, the Cabinet had agreed thatimprovements of National Education System Assessmentfor the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) andLower Secondary School Assessment (PMR) wasperformed with an emphasis on assessment for learningand assessment of learning.

6

School Based Assessment (SBA) is a holisticassessment of the rating of cognitive, affective andpsychomotor in line with the National EducationPhilosophy and the national educational curriculum.These assessments need to be designed, built, managed,checked, recorded and reported by the respective schoolteachers. SBA should be implemented by teachers basedon the School Based Assessment Guide, Document ofStandards Performance and Assessment (DSKP) andManual SPSBA provided by the Examination Board (LP).

Under this assessment, standards performance used toevaluate the progress and growth of learning andachievement of P1UnarY school' pupils. Assessment servesas the process to obtain information about the extent towhich pupils know, understand and can do or havemastered what is learned based on the standardsperformance. This standards performance statement wasset by the levels of authority as envisaged in thecurriculum document. Pupils are assessed fairly andequitably as individuals based on their ability, talent, skillsand potential without comparison with other pupils.

Teachers are the most important agents in realizingSBA a success in schooI10,I1,12. Teachers are given theassignment to carry out assessments for each pupilaccording to their ability. Ratings are to be fair and do notapply the bias. According to the School BasedManagement Handbook", stage of development set by theband (band 1 to 6) for phase one and of the proficiencylevels (mastery level of 1to 6) for phase two.

To ensure that justice is maintained for each pupil, theteachers are responsible for recording every evident whichwas mastered by pupils for online reporting scheduleprepared by Examination Board at any time appropriately.Teachers also need to provide reporting process thatdetermines the level of pupils' mastery of the subjectstaught by descriptors and evident contairted in theDocument of Standards Performance. Reporting can bedone in the formative and c > ulative form. EvidentFormative Reporting of pupils is used as evidence ofinterpretation materials for pupils' mastery, whereasReporting Cumulative Descriptors Statement are used asreport of pupils' performance.

However, problems arise in the implementation of theSBA such as usage of Document of StandardsPerformance (DSP) that caused teachers tied to thenumber of descriptors and statements evident, extensivefile management include pupils' files (FPM) and Recordof Transit, recording of pupils' performance through on-line SBA Management System that are difficult to accessand time-consuming. Among these problems, thecongestion online problem at website of the Ministry ofEducation is the most serious problem because it involvesall subjects from Standard 1 to 6 in National Schools andForm 1 to 5 in the National Secondary School. SBA alsocarry out formative testing involving the assessment of alltime. This hot issue was discussed in the media, andfinally caught the attention of the Ministry of Education

After further investigation, the MOE decided that filingmarks SBA online abolished and replaced with a fillingmark offline effective from April, 1201414.

Constraints and complaints from various quarters, about the weakness of the SBA carry on until now, issomething that needs to be curbed. Our second EducationMinister Datuk Seri ldris Jusoh has acknowledged that"there is a weakness in the implementation of the SBA,which was introduced inschools since 2011 and SBA hascharged the teachers other' than teaching duties in theclassroom 15.

According Rosni and Siti Fatihah", teachers should begiven early to ensure availability of the effectiveness ofSBA for pupils' performance that the approachesimplemented meet the objectives of the Ministry ofEducation. In this context, the skill level of teachers is animportant element. Teacher skills are equally importantfactors for achieving the objectives of teaching andlearning. Professional skills available to teachersinvolving pedagogy, epistemology, evaluation andreflection skills is something that is needed in curriculumteaching. Teachers who have certain skills will give themthe expertise to handle an instruction5

,7,1O. If the teachersdo not mastered the implementation of the SBA, thepupils will drop out of the studies.

In implementing basic education, teachers' skills isnot something to be taken lightly as it can affect theeffectiveness of teaching and learning. Incarrying out thisSBA, particularly the subject of Malay language, teachersneed to be open to accept the change. Malay languageteachers became the focus of study because Malaylanguage as the national language in Malaysia, always bethe pioneer to implement all the government policies andthey become the role model for other teachers.

However this is not something easy to beimplemented. With this new system, the reforms raised a,number of concerns in the wider school community,including sociocultural, technical, and practical concerns".With the skills mastery, teachers will easily understand thecontent of the curriculum and convey knowledge tostudents more effectively. Readiness here refer to therelated knowledge that teachers acquired from variouschannels: training/courses, mentoring system, ICTfacilities besides their skills to prepare the assessment.Therefore, the research questions in the study were:1. How was the skill readiness of National School'teachers in the implementation of SBA?2. Was there any relationship between the teachingexperiences of the Malay language teachers at NationalSchools with their skills in implementing the SBA?

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study applied the Theory of CurriculumDevelopment by Hilda Taba" (1966) who argued that ateacher usually has existing knowledge and experiencerelated to the job. In this context, he/she will associate the

2

7

knowledge he/she receives (received knowledge) withhis/her knowledge through experience (experientialknowledge) which are two important sources ofknowledge in professional training. Both sources of such .knowledge are interdependent with each other to allowteachers more willing to carry out his professional duties.Based on Hilda Taba's (1966) study, a conceptualframework was drawn up in connection with thewillingness of Malay language teachers from Nationalschools to master the skills in e implementation of SBA.

Quantitative methods through the survey was used incollecting data in this study. The questionnaire consistedof two parts, A and B. Part A is the profile of respondents,meanwhile part B was related to Malay language teachers'skills in implementing the SBA(10 items).

To obtain the reliability of the instrument, a survey wasconducted on 30 Malay language teachers in NationalSchool by using questionnaires. Alpha value was at thelevel of .80, indicating that the questionnaire wasconsistent and can be used in subsequent studies.

Location of the Sf.udy

The study was conducted in 33 National Schools in theKlang Valley. In other words, the surveyed schools arelocated within 30 km from the city of Kuala Lumpur. Thislocation was chosen because Klang Valley is the central ofFederal Government that started the implementation ofSBA, and the assessment system is better than otherplaces. The sampling method was purposive samplingwhile the sample size in this study were 110 Malaylanguage teachers involved with SBA under KSSR.

Profile of the Respondents

In terms of gender, there were more female teachers(84 people) compared to male teachers (24 people). Atotal of 58 teachers (52.7%) aged 30-39 years, 33 teachers(30%) aged 40-49 years, 15 teachers (13.6%) aged lessthan 30 years, and 4 teachers (3.7%) aged over 40 year.This means that simple majority of the teachers weremedium young. However 44 teachers (40%) have morethan 10 years of teaching experience, 33 teachers (30%)teach 1-5 years, 28 teachers (25.5%) teach 6-10 year, and5 teachers (4.5%) teach less than a year only.

In terms of ethnicity, the majority (96 teachers; 87.3%) .consisted of Malay teachers than 6 (5.5%) Chineseteachers, and only 4 (3.6%) Indian teachers and natives ofSabah and Sarawak respectively. However as many as 43teachers (39.1%) are not majoring in Malay language.More than half of the 63 teachers (57.3%) haveundergraduate degree, whereas other teachers have SPMcertificate as the lowest qualification to master degree asthe highest one.

5. FINDINGS

3

Research question 1: How was the skill readiness ofNational School' teachers in implementation of SBA?

Table 1:Readiness of Malay Language Teachers at National Schools interms of skills on SBAN ITEMS SD D UC 3A M &

SDA

SBA Training Icourses helpedme acquire skills

2 Internal coursesprovided mebasic informationto convey SBAimplementation

3 Implementationof the SBA

o 13 16 18 3.78630.0%) 11.8%14.5% 57.3% 16.4% .86

o 9 18 10 3.76.73

730.0% 8.2% 16.4% 66.3% 9.1%

o 12 35 6 3.52.76

570.0% 10.9%31.8% 51.8% 5.5%

successfulcommunicated toall teachersthrough variouschannels

4 I get adequateassistance andguidance frommentors forimplementingSBA

12 39 51 7 3.460.9% 10.9%35.5% 46.3% 6.4% .80

5 ICT and online 31 37 23 17 2 2.29facilities greatly 28.2% 33.6%20.9% 15.5% 1.8% .09simplifies mywork in teaching

6 Preparation of 12 29 39 27 3 2.82various instrument 10.9% 26.4%35.5% 24.5% 2.7% .02does not burdenme

7 I need more time 3 20 58 4.85to prepare an 0.9'1/0 2.7% 18.2% 52.7% 0.9% .09instrument of SBA

8 I prepare questions 0 8 19 72 11 3.78of SBA according 0.0% 7.3% 17.3% 65.5% 10.0% .72to individualabilities of pupils

9 Preparation 0 10 31 61 8 3.61instrument of SBA 0.0% 9.1% 28.2% 55.4% 7.3% .76at my school havebeen adjustedaccording to theflow of subjects

10 I always diversifythe assessment ofSBA to test thelearning ability ofpupils based onto ic

6 9 3.81.69

15 790.9'1/0 5.5% 13.6% 71.8% 8.2%

Table 1 shows that as many as 59 teachers (53.6%) needmore time to prepare an assessment instrument of SBA(M4.85, SD.09). Many teachers (80; 80%) has beendiversifying the assessment of SBA to test the learningability of pupils based on topic (3.81, SD.69), means that

8

thev set different types of test to measure the pupils'performance from topic to topic. In addition, 81 teachers ~(73.7010) perceived that SBA Training/courses helped them ,to acquire the skills (3.78, SD.86).

On the other hand, a total of 68 teachers (61.8%) didnot agree that the IT and online facilities greatly facilitatetheir work (2.29, SD.09). A total of 41 teachers (37.3%)did not agree that the preparation of various instrumentdid not burden them.

Research question 2: Was there any relationship betweenthe teaching experiences of the Malay language teachersat National Schools with their skills in implementing theSBA?

The Pearson correlation coefficient between teachingexperience and skills in SBA was at -.18, p = .04, showedsignificant relationship between the two. Overall the moreexperiences the Malay language teachers are, the moreskills they have in implementing SBA.

6. DISCUSSION

According to the theory of Tabal6, teachers who goesthrough the process of teaching and learning haveexperiences of teaching and learning skills at the firstplace so the teachers can present content with a good andeffective teaching method. This theory is consistent withthe fmdings that have been conducted

Based on the readiness of Malay language teachers inNational School in terms of skills, the analysis showedthat most teachers were prepared with specific skills to'perform basic SBA especially those are experienced. Mostteachers also have confidence in implementing the SBAbecause of the skills that have helped them to performtheir duties properly.

However, most teachers expressed their displeasurestudy on the use of lCT in teaching and learning. Thesefactors caused by the provisi~ of infrastructure andfacilities are inadequate in schools. Such situationimpedes the efforts of teachers in the use of thistechnology to the pupils. Studies done by manyresearches'v'i'" proven that the teachers' skills is anImportant factor in determining pupils' achievement. Thechange in attitude toward ICT skills are needed by ateacher. In this context, it is closely related to the use ofcomputers by teachers. Computer use is an importantresource in helping teachers to achieve pedagogicalobjectives. The use of computers also give pupils theopportunity to try out new ways of learning in line withthe 21st century millennium. Now usage of computersbecome more important due to the rapid advancement intechnology development in Malaysia, so for the lessknowledgeable in the field of rCT, they should strive toachieve such progress".

On the other hand, the findings showed that majorityof teachers need more time to prepare an assessment

instrument of SBA (M4.85, SD.09). This situation existsbecause SBA is formative assessment of all time, and isburdensome because each teacher should formulate theirtests and questions according to the level of the pupils andtheir classes. Therefore, they had to diversify the SBAevaluation to test the ability of pupils' learning based ontopics (3.81, SD.69). Although most teachers acquireskills tlrrough SBA training or courses (3.78, SD.86), theyare having trouble filling marks online for their work.

Weaknesses in skills vaspect was related to theconstruction of assessment insti.-uments or assessments tomeasure pupils' ability levels. SBA requires holisticassessment or evaluation in accordance with pupils'ability. Inother words, the construction of the instrumentby teachers need various levels and needs. However, dueto constraints of time and energy to do other works havemade difficulty for teachers to meet this requirement. Thisfmding was found similar to Suseela and Hoonl9 whoseanalysis revealed three major themes in implementingSBA: insufficient guidelines on the implementationprocess, lack of teachers' knowledge base, and lack ofexternal monitoring of school-based.

Efforts have been made to improve, enhance andstrengthen the country's education system, multipleassessment is a method that can provide a form ofassessment in fmding the overall potential of pupils in theaspects of physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual".To overcome the problems that arise will not only have tobe borne by the teachers, but it would require the couplingof various parties, especially the academic supervisors,respective committees, subject teachers and so on.

On the other hand, informed decisions can be madewhile planning for the in-service teacher trainings onSBA. Similar to the fmding by Somchit et.al", this studysuggests a need for more focused, comprehensive andongoing mentor training for mentor teachers. The successof this would require collaboration between all'stakeholders involved in departments of education andNational Schools. Developing teachers' knowledge aboutassessing Malay language is critical for achievingintended policy outcomes of improving teachingespecially those all new or junior in teaching line22

This study also showed that teachers have experiencesin certain skills will be enough to help pupils to achievethe objectives of their teaching. According to Wahid andJahya", skills stack occurs through experiences that occureither vicariously, through readings, discussions, meetingsand similar intellectual. This proves that the skills aspectis one of the important aspects that need to be addressedby teachers for effectiveness in implementing SBA.

Normally teachers' skills and excellence is measuredby the period of their working experience in the areas theyoperate. Experience duration of a teacher enable toinfluence their willingness in the process of teaching andlearning. Experiences of the teachers and meet the needsof pupils can help them to achieve the learning objectivesthat involve abilities, skills, talents and interests of pupils.

4

9

According to Kim et.af", the accumulation of experiencesoccur either vicariously, through reading, period ofteaching time, various intellectual meetings and so forth,This is an experience that accumulate as daily routine andlead to piles of skills, attitudes, interests that could lead tothe achievement of the objectives of teaching andlearning.

Based on the analysis of the correlation, the resultsshowed there was significant correlation between teachingexperiences of the Malay language teacher in SBA withtheir skills (r = -.18,p = .04) to implement SBA. Analysishas earned the similarity with a study conducted bySanitah and Norsiwati" who found a close correlationbetween the experiences of teaching Mathematics YearOne with their skill in performing the SBA under KSSR.

They study revealed the importance to train the MalayLanguage teachers the skills in implementing SBA,especially use of technology (IT) in teaching and learning.They need to be equipped with professional training ofsetting various type of assessment instrument to help toenlighten their work load as well.

The renovation of curricula and program is not ashort-term effort but a long process, lasting for years.According to Taba 16, school curricula and program, aremore likely to be effectively rearranged if, instead of thecommon way of administrative reorganization - from topto bottom-a well-founded and coordinated system ofdevelopment from bottom to top can be used. Therefore,the feedback gathered from the teachers as well as thepupils should be able to provide relevant information tothe ministry in order to do the necessary changes andmodifications to the existing assessment's policies andguidelines.

5. CONCLUSIONS

In summary, the study showed the skill readiness ofteachers is a factor that plays an important role for thesuccess of the SBA policy that have been enacted by thegovernment. In other words, teachers need to equipthemselves and get ready with certain skill aspects beforeimplementing teaching and learning to the pupils. Theyalso need to create lesson plans and determine teachingand learning objectives to ensure the direction of pupils atthe end of the teaching being forced as quickly as possible.Therefore, the cooperation of senior teachers, supervisors,and administrators is important to ensure theimplementation of the SBA achieve its noble goals.

REFERENCES

[1] Gavin T.L. Brown, Robert Lake & Gabrielle Matters. Queenslandteachers' conceptions of assessment: The impact of policypriorities on teacher attitudes. Teaching and Teacher Education.27 (2011) 210-220.S. Kupiainen, 1. Hautamaki & T. KaJjalainen. Finnish Educationand PISA Ministry of Education Publications, Finland (2009).

[2]

5

[3] Rita, B. Assessment Reforms around the World. In R. Berry, B.Adamson (eds.), Assessment Reform in Education (p. 89-102).Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns andProspects Springer Science &Business Media. 2011.

(4) Chris D. Views From the Chalkface: English Language School-Based Assessment in Hong Kong Language AssessmentQuarterly. 4(IX2oo7) 37-68.

(5) Carmel, G, R. Hipkinsb, & A Zoha, Positioning thinking withinnational curriculum and assessment systems: Perspectives fromIsrael, New Zealand and Northern Ireland. Thinking Skills andCreativity. 7(2X2012) 134-143.

(6) Pelan Induk Pembangunan Pendidikan. Kementerian PendidikanMalaysia. (2006).

(7) Rosni, Z. S. & Siti Fatihah, M. S. Kesediaan Guru SekolahMenengah eli Daerah Kota Bharu dalam Melaksanakan SistemPenilaian Prestasi Pelajar Berasaskan Sekolah, Johor: UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia. (2012).

[8] SR bakal lahir minda kelas pertama. (2013) Downloaded fromhttps/www.hmetro.com.my

[9] Berita Harian. KSSR Lengkapi Kemahiran Hadapi Cabaran. 201l.Downloaded from http://eyesnews.wordpress.com

[10] Faizah A M. School-Based Assessment in Malaysian Schools:The Concerns of the English Teachers. US-China EducationReview, 3 (2011) 393-402.

[11] Sanitah M. Y. & Nosiwati I. Kesediaan Guru Matematik TahunSatu dalam Perlaksanaan Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah(KSSR) di Daerah Kluang. Journal of SCience and MathematicsEducation. 6(2012) 26-38

[12] J. Martin, M. Sanjana & R. Nicky. Assessment, aim and actuality:insights from teachers in England about the validity of a newlanguage assessment model. Pedagogies. 1O(2X201S) 128-148.

[13] School Based Management Handbook (2014). Ministry ofEducation, Malaysia.

[14] Penambahbaikan Pentaksiran Berasaskan Sekolah (PBS). 2014.Downloaded fromhnp:/lwww.kssronline.coml2014/03/penambahbaikan-pentaksiran-berasas!can.html

[15] Nizam, Z. Kerajaan Akui Kelemahan PBS, Bukan Niat BebankanGuru. 2014. Downloaded from http://www.sinarharian.com.mv

[16] Taba, H. Teaching Strategies and Cognitive Functioning inElementary School Children. Washington D.C.: U.S. Departmentof Health, Education and Welfare. (1966).

[17] Brown, G T. L., Chaudhry, H. & Dhamija, R. The impact of anassessment policy upon teachers' self-reported assessment beliefsand practices: A quasi-experimental study of Indian teachers inprivate schools. International Journal of Educational Research.71(2015) 50-64.

[18] Ambigapathy. P Penggunaan ICT dalam PengajaranlPembelajaran Bahasa Melayu: Hala Tuj u Guru Pelatih BahasaMelayu. USM Pulau Pinang. (2004).

[19] M. Suseela & S.K. Hoon. Teacher perspectives of school-basedassessment in a secondary school in Kuala Lumpur. WorldConference on Learning, Teaching and Administration Papers.Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9 (2010).

[20] Noor Azreen A. A & Sulaiman Y. Pentaksiran AlternatifMenujuKe Arab Transformasi Sistem Pendidikan di Malaysia, UniversitiTun Hussien Onn, Malaysia. (2011).

[21] 1. Somchit, K. Piyawut & T. Nattaporn. Reliability of pubertalmaturation self-assessment in a school-based survey. Journal OfPediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism, 28(3-4 X2015) 367-374.

[22] Kim. E., James & B. Bridget Toward Sustainable EducationalChanges through School-Based Professional Development onELL Assessment for New Teachers. Theory into Practice.53(3X2014) 228-235.

(23) Wahid, AH., & Jahya. Pendidikan Pembanguan Modal Insan(Vol. 370.9595). Tanjung Mali: Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris-(2009).

lO