Ministry of Education to revise exam formula
Ministry of Education to revise exam formula
P.C. Naommy, Jakarta
Amid a public outcry over the National Final Exams' (UAN) score
conversion formula, the education ministry decided on Friday to
revise the formula to make the results fairer for high-performing
students.
Head of the Research and Development (R&D) Division at the
ministry, Dodi Nandika, said the decision was made after
reviewing the results of score conversions in Jakarta, Banten,
and East Java.
"We have already adjusted the input variables used in the
formula for the previous conversion. With the new formula, the
scores of extremely high ranking students will standardized
closer to their original marks," Dodi said.
A staff member in charge of the standardization said
"extremely high" exams scores were those with an accuracy of more
than 92 percent -- 37 correct answers out of a total of 40
questions.
Education observers, teachers and students have condemned the
standardization system, calling it deceptive and unfair and
saying it discriminated against bright students.
The House of Representatives Commission VI overseeing
education said the conversion was merely a tool to mark up
students' scores nationwide. The reason the ministry originally
took central control of the UAN was to eradicate markups by
teachers and schools.
The initial conversion process is likely to have made it
difficult for high-performing students to get scholarships or
enter good high schools.
The wide disparity in the quality of education between regions
has forced the ministry to attempt to standardize the marks in a
bid to get comparative figures for exam results.
The previous conversion system slashed the scores of students
who could correctly answer more than 50 percent of the test
questions and raised the scores of those who answered less than
50 percent.
"We will use this experience to establish a better way to
evaluate the performance of students and monitor education
standards in the country," Director General of Elementary and
Intermediate Education Indra Djati Sidi said.
The Ministry of National Education and the House
Representatives have created a working committee to discuss
education policies, including the formulation of an acceptable
final examination for the future.
The committee will also discuss the establishment of an
independent body to monitor and control the quality of teaching
staff and school management.