Indian teacher

One of the differences is teachers don't give students marks and there are no objective
questions in their test. Most of the papers are without MCQ so students can think and answer.
But when no exam, students tend to neglect the subject. They will be graded by band. All the test
elements have their bands. If they get band 6, they are very excellent. However, they must at
least get band 1. Teachers must help students to get at least band 1. Teachers maybe can modify
their questions for their level so that weak students can get band 1, at least. For last year, students
had no exam for English subject. However, this year they have exam. The benefit from this type
of assessment is that teachers can take their own time to teach the students according to the
students' levels because there is no exam. However, the weakness of the system is that, students
will neglect their study for English language subject because there are no exam. Teachers are
provided with formal training before this new SBA is implemented like how to give worksheets
according to their levels and how to handle the class. The worksheets for different classes are
different. Teachers get the worksheets from different sources. The students from the weak class
do not bother with the new system but the good class are very troubled with the system because
they cannot prove how good they are. This year the students are given exam and they are very
happy. But we did not reveal the marks of the exam to the students. The marks of the exam are
used by teachers to classify the students according to their level. Every time the teachers have an
activity or a task, teachers will let them know the band and how they can achieve the band
through the task given. Teachers have to write that down first. The problem the teachers face in
SBA is that students hardly understand that even there is no exam, they should study the subject
as well. The seriousness of students are not there when they are not tested with exam. In her
opinion, she feels that if the students do not know where they have achieved, giving them a lot of
worksheets will not help them. The doubts of teachers being bias is not seen as a negative effect
because she thinks that teachers will definitely value their students more and thus should view
this at a positive site. Parents are still not clear about SBA now even though they have came to
ask about it and the teachers have explained about it to them.

Puan Tan

SBA is assessment done by teachers in their school. It is good because teachers are the
best person to decide how to evaluate their students as they know their students well and thus
carrying out assessment and evaluate students based on their students' level is something better
and suitable. For example, teachers can have observation when they give tasks to students.
Teachers teach the students the item that the teachers want to test before the evaluation is carried
out, in a same period of class or in a different period of class, depending on the item the teachers
want to assess the students. Students are tested individually or in a group. The assessments are
very flexible, that is, teachers are able to modify the assessment according to the students' level.
In other words, not all students in a same class are going to have the same assessment. This is
also an effort to help weaker students to get at least band 1 in the assessment. Teachers can also
slot in an assessment during a class. The assessments are not following the order of the band and
students who have already get their band can still participate in the similar assessment. The
strength of SBA is that students can be assessed more accurately by teachers because their
teachers know them well and are able to give them the suitable assessments. Besides that,
teachers, parents and students can understand the proficiency of the students in the language
because the reports and bands are given according to their ability to communicate in the
language. For example, if a student get band 1 in speaking test, we at least know that he can
describe himself in public occasions and this is his level. Compared to the old system, if a
student get 10 marks out of 100, we only know he is weak but we do not know who proficient
the student is and which level is he, "we don't know what he can do?". The cons of SBA is very
time consuming. This is because teachers give the band to students according to the evidences, it
is already simplified now though, teachers still need to have plenty tasks and activities in order to
make sure the students get at least band 1 and so on. In the new system, PT3, students are now
given written and oral examination. These new evaluating systems, PBS and PT3 however add
work load for teachers. Teachers also have to attend seminars and trainings to be briefed on the
new systems. Students are fine with the systems and parents are given explanations on school
open days. Teachers are trained to create questions to assess their students however some
teachers also adapt the questions from the books in the market. In the previous assessment
method, PMR, which is a public examination, teachers can drill their students without teaching
the students according to the syllabus because teachers are familiar with the types of questions
that will be coming out in different sections of English papers in PMR. Nevertheless, teachers
are not able to do so now because they have to design an assessment method to assess their
students according to the syllabus and teach the students according to the syllabus as well before
testing them. The SBA cannot avoid the situation where the teachers want to be bias when
grading their students and it is only depends on the integrity of the teachers. Nevertheless,
teachers are to grade and to award bands to students according the descriptors with evidences.
Students must be able to complete all the tasks in the descriptors in the respective band in order

to be awarded the band. The implementation of SBA is ensured by a constant checking and
supervising of "nazir" from school to school and teachers must have report on the SBA carried
out in school. Teachers cannot always lower down the level of a test or an assessment for weak
students because teachers still need to follow the descriptors. Furthermore, if the students cannot
get band 1, there is no such thing as lower level because band 1 is the lowest band in the grading
system. Teachers however can give more guidance and descriptions or more explanations to the
students so that they are clear with the assessment and thus perform accordingly.