Test-score manipulation damages students' future<\/p>\n
By Mochtar Buchori<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The manipulation of test scores has been
\npracticed for a long time in Indonesian schools. Not for the
\npurpose of earning additional money, but mainly due to the
\nteachers and their differing perceptions of individual students.<\/p>\n
When I was a young teacher, I also had to manipulate the
\ngrades of some of my students on occasion. One day I gave a
\nconvincing F (4 on a scale of 1 to 10) to one of my students on
\nhis final exam. When all grades were submitted, and the fate of
\neach student was discussed, there was some very active grade
\nbargaining among members of the teaching staff. One senior
\ncolleague asked me to increase the grade of the student I
\nflunked, because otherwise he would not graduate. To convince the
\nother teachers that this particular student deserved to be
\npassed, he said the student had slept in a graveyard for three
\nconsecutive nights before taking the final exam. To this
\ncolleague of mine, this was convincing evidence of the student's
\nmotivation and sufficient for passing the exam.<\/p>\n
I was completely dumbfounded. What does sleeping in a
\ngraveyard have to do with his academic competence? To me, this
\ncourageous act --because I would never have the courage to sleep
\nalone in a graveyard even for one night -- has no relation
\nwhatsoever to his academic ability. But all the other members of
\nthe teaching staff --all older than myself-- seemed to sympathize
\nwith the student, who reportedly had a hard economic life. I was
\noutvoted, and I had to change the grade I previously assigned to
\nhim. No matter how you look at it, that was grade manipulation.<\/p>\n
Changing scores or grades for money, however, is a new
\ndevelopment. Not quite that new, actually. It has been going on
\nfor at least twenty years, but it has never been done so openly.
\nIt is only recently that this practice of "selling" higher grades
\nhas been conducted without the slightest cover, without the
\nslightest shame.<\/p>\n
What is the reason for this blatant malpractice?<\/p>\n
Many people think that this situation is primarily the result
\nof low teacher salaries. Another factor is the lure of an easy
\nand comfortable life, especially in the big cities. I would like
\nto add a third factor, and that is the erosion of professional
\nethics. It is the combination of these three factors that has
\nultimately made some teachers surrender to the temptation of
\nabusing their power.<\/p>\n
This explanation is by no means a justification. No matter the
\nreason, this practice remains a violation of the basic principles
\nof education.<\/p>\n
It should be noted in this regard that grade evaluations serve
\ntwo purposes. One, to gauge a student's achievement as best as
\npossible, and as truly as possible. And second, to provide a
\nguide for the steps that will be taken to advance the student's
\neducational or professional career. These two functions are
\ninterrelated. It is only when reports about a student's progress
\nare accurate that they become valuable instruments for planning
\nthe student's future.<\/p>\n
Viewed in this context, reports that are deliberately
\nfalsified have no educational value whatsoever, and will
\nultimately have a negative impact on the students, their parents
\nand society. Those who manipulate grades directly obstruct the
\neducational process which purports to guide students towards
\nreaching their potential. Those who abuse their power by giving
\nfalse reports distort the student's perception of his ability and
\npotential, thereby misguiding them and their future.<\/p>\n
A still greater damage caused by this abuse of power is its
\nimpact on the students and their parents. Those who succeed in
\nbuying higher grades will eventually think that everything in
\nthis life is for sale. Since real life is not like that, sooner
\nor later they will come across something which they so much
\ndesire but cannot buy. One will then by cured of these illusions
\neither by painfully and humiliatingly accepting the hard reality
\nor by becoming mentally distorted by refusing to accept the real
\nworld. I do not think that those who manipulate grades for money
\nreally realize to what extent their misdeeds damage society.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, in this country it is not easy to ask students
\nand parents to look at a student's report calmly and reflectively
\nand have a discussion about its accuracy and meaning. Most
\nIndonesian students and their parents just accept the report
\nwithout much ado. If they are not satisfied with the report, they
\nwill keep their dissatisfaction to themselves. They do not
\nprotest. If a student's parents want to see better grades in
\ntheir child's report they will just bribe the teacher or
\nteachers. This is an unhealthy situation that must be stopped if
\nwe want to have an educational system that is respectable and
\nreliable.<\/p>\n
Ideally, the parents, the student, and the teacher will come
\ntogether and discuss what is not quite right in the report. Each
\nparty can then suggest how the report can be improved so as to
\ngive a truer picture of the student's capability. This is what
\nGuba and Lincoln called the fourth-generation evaluation, or
\nevaluation by negotiation. In this type of evaluation, a
\nstudent's progress is not judged only by the teachers, but by all
\nparties concerned. If evaluation by negotiation can be
\nimplemented, I think that the practice of "trading grades" will
\nstop automatically.<\/p>\n
But to reach that point, we still have a very, very long way
\nto go.<\/p>\n
The writer is an observer of social and political affairs.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/test-score-manipulation-damages-students-future-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }