LETTERS – For many Fifth Formers in Malaysia, the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia SPM Mathematics exam paper has always been a subject in which they earned good grades.
Even those who hated mathematics would push themselves by mastering routine questions to get credits in the SPM paper. After all, SPM Math grades are used as a requirement for post-SPM education.
The Education Ministry and some educationists are quite vocal about our supposed inferior ranking in the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) exam.
The best method to test the students’ understanding of math today is by using daily applications.
Even a base number needs to be incorporated into daily use. In the current mode of thinking influenced by PISA’s exam writers, math needs problem solutions and daily applications.
SPM mathematics is remarkably sufficient to help students to do well in the Scholastic Assessment Test, for example. However, our educationists have something else in mind they churned out the SPM 2021 paper intended only for a small portion of top students in this country.
This is peculiar because SPM is a national exam. It is not an exam created for science stream students with a great passion for mathematics alone.
The SPM is also for students who hate mathematics and who want to study arts and music in college. It is an exam for those who are more passionate about literature than STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields.
In short, it is not only an exam for first-class students but also for the last-class students to showcase their skills and knowledge in mathematics.
The others who should have been able to do reasonably well found themselves with questions far more challenging and tedious than previous SPM Math papers.
The Malaysian Examinations Syndicate always invites the Cambridge International Board to be part of the quality monitoring of SPM.
I hope those representing the Cambridge Board would review our SPM 2021 Math paper and compare it with the Cambridge O-level Math papers when they make any suggestions for future Mathematics exam papers.
Source: MD. Naz (NST.COM.MY)
