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My TWO CENTS: Projects, not exams, show students' real abilities
Sun, 06/21/2009 1:18 PM | Discover
The ongoing debate as to whether the corruption-riddled National Examinations should be continued has raised questions as to which system could best measure the accomplishment of primary and secondary school students.
The basic idea of education is not to see if students can pass a multiple choice test, but rather to ensure they actively retain the knowledge and skills needed not only to survive in, but to be a benefit to society.
Why not assign students a final school project in which they can apply their knowledge while learning new skills and, at the same, gain a mark that more accurately reflects their abilities?
The existing national exam, simply known as the UN, only evaluates math, English, Indonesian and three other subjects for high school students, based on their majors.
The current system means students only learn enough of these subjects to be able to reasonably guess the answer of the UN's multiple-choice questions.
It is not fair for primary school students, who have studied hard for six years, or for secondary students who have spent three years learning, to have their future determined in one five-day examination. Worse still, the school or the students can cheat on the exam.
With a final project, however, students would be able to put into practice what they have learned during their many hours at school. Primary students, for instance, could demonstrate what they have learned with a creative handicraft project, while older students could do research or execute a program that betters their community.
Not only would this allow greater creativity, the students would learn the importance of hard work, and would take an active role in, and learn responsibility for, their surrounding environment. It would be an accomplishment on its own for both the students and the school.
It is time to find a new method of evaluation for students that is not only effective in improving education but also nurtures a creative generation.
Ferril Irham M
Student of State University of Malang, East Java
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Hyouda (not verified) — Fri, 06/26/2009 - 5:51am
we all should know the problem of the UN as the final exam the student must take to graduate from their school. we all know that the UN didn't have much representative of the knowledge we get in school.
however there is something wrong with the solution that you give. if we judge that the Un system is not effective, then WHAT is the more effective way? is the new system of your solution can give assurance to the student to graduate more effectively (as you know, the one who didn't graduate will have a great mental shock and in their CV, it will be the HUGE bad mark if they want to apply in most of work vacancy)? it will have less cheating on it?(is final project is unlimited? do you know how many school in the Indonesia? get real man, even if there are enough for everyone there will be leaking everywhere, if you consider how important the graduation in the first try for the most of people in Indonesia)
I though something that we must change is the way people think about school, about lecture inside the school, and about how important the process and final exam as well. the school is not just the place we get lecture, we get the other that is as important as that. there is mental building, socialization skill, inspiration, and much more if we really think about it. the final exam is not perfect, however the exam is just an exam. if we have no exam then on what purpose we do the process? we must change the way we think about the exam itself. about the system of the exam, that is just variation, it will not change the general problem we have.
Hyouda (not verified) — Fri, 06/26/2009 - 5:49am
we all should know the problem of the UN as the final exam the student must take to graduate from their school. we all know that the UN didn't have much representative of the knowledge we get in school.
however there is something wrong with the solution that you give. if we judge that the Un system is not effective, then WHAT is the more effective way? is the new system of your solution can give assurance to the student to graduate more effectively (as you know, the one who didn't graduate will have a great mental shock and in their CV, it will be the HUGE bad mark if they want to apply in most of work vacancy)? it will have less cheating on it?(is final project is unlimited? do you know how many school in the Indonesia? get real man, even if there are enough for everyone there will be leaking everywhere, if you consider how important the graduation in the first try for the most of people in Indonesia)
I though something that we must change is the way people think about school, about lecture inside the school, and about how important the process and final exam as well. the school is not just the place we get lecture, we get the other that is as important as that. there is mental building, socialization skill, inspiration, and much more if we really think about it. the final exam is not perfect, however the exam is just an exam. if we have no exam then on what purpose we do the process? we must change the way we think about the exam itself. about the system of the exam, that is just variation, it will not change the general problem we have.