Briefing on Mental Computation Tests

Briefing on Mental Computation Tests

By Amin Hosni

PHOTOS: AMIN HOSNI

Principals from primary schools in all four districts attending the briefing.
Some of the principals and headmasters at the briefing on Mental Computation Tests.
Marks/Grades from School-Based Mental Computation Tests (MCT) will be calculated and added in a student's overall Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (PSR) examination results for Mathematics.
Dayang Hajah Aishah binti Haji Mohd Husain, Director of Schools at MoE, said this is part of this year's implementation of the new school curriculum SPN21.

Its format is to be managed by each individual primary school, she told a briefing attended by 122 primary school principals and headmasters.

The Ministry of Education has empowered the application of MCT and school principals are expected to monitor and make sure that teachers comply with its level of standard, she said.

There are 'issues' currently taking place in relation to the tryouts and risks of MCT, she said, and hoped teachers fulfill the ministry's vision in the new education system.

School principals should approach the ministry on any uncertainties concerning MCT, which the Department of Curriculum Development and Department of Examinations will explain.

The Department of Schools, Examinations, Curriculum Development and Private Educations Section will be looking into the management and progress of MCT in each individual school throughout the year to assist in the ongoing programme.

Dyg Hjh Noramalina binti Hj Mohd Arif, Examinations Officer, gave a report on the school-based MCT trial stages, which took place last year.

Briefings on examination procedures, Mental and Mathematics Curriculum computation and mental computation strategic examples were held in July 2008 for all primary six teachers at government schools, including the Arabic preparatory schools.

The Department of curriculum Development has distributed booklets on MCT as teachers' references.

They contain ways in marking procedures, writing down scores on 'mark sheets' and delivering the MCT marks to the authorities.

Based on the new system, questionnaires in the MCT will be prepared by the subject teachers in primary six and to be formatted and managed by their individual schools.

The experimental stages in 2008 required schools to organise three rounds on MCT for students in July, August and September. The results along with the questionnaires were handed over on Sept 15, 2008.

The MCT marks received by the Examinations Department were processed for further school-based MCT assessment under the school's management.

The same methods used in the trial run last year will be applied this year.

The three MCT rounds will be held from May to August. The examinations department will set the date to handover the results and questions at a later stage.

The report revealed that 167 centres were involved in the school-based MCT PSR, excluding centres for private candidates, overseas, Rumah Kebajikan Pulai and Al-Islah Drug Rehabilitation Centre.

Of the 167, only 150 or 89.82 per cent of participating centres handed over the MCT marks to the Ministry of Education. Seventeen centres did not or have not submitted MCT marks.

MCT analysis showed moderation should be taken by schools having MCT correlation and PSR mathematics marks under 0.6.

Schools having "negative correlation" means students achieve high MCT marks but do very poorly in their PSR mathematics results or vice versa.

Teachers were called on to take the operating procedures seriously.

The validity and reliability of questionnaires and operating methods will play a significant role.

The correlation coefficient analysis data between MCT and PSR mathematics paper 1 and 2, showed 5,569 (82.09%) candidates achieved higher marks when scores from MCT and mathematics paper 1 and 2 were combined, differentiating 1 to 10 points.

Some 1,082 (15.94%) candidates received lower score due to the combination.

The report said correlation between marks in MCT and PSR mathematics 2008 is equivalent to correlation coefficient 0.8377, which is high in terms of the measurement between the two relationships.

On average, schools run the MCT in good quality while marks and questions are reliable.

courtesyof Borneo Bulletien, 15 January 2009