Teaching to the Test

I'm feeling much better now than 2 days ago. I'm still on medication, though.

Speaker sharing information about MUET lessons in the classroom

For the past 2 days, I was having a course at the Exams Office. It was to do with the teaching and assessment of MUET. In the past, courses were held at hotels. But now, funding is very limited and we have to resort to schools or education offices as our venues.

I'd waited for 1 1/2 years for a course like this. Why? Well, the MUET examination format changed since November 2008, and we, MUET teachers in the Northern Sarawak zone were still kept in the dark about the demands of MPM. How then were we to help our students to score?

In reality, schools are measured by their public examination results. Good results equals to good school. So, in examination classes, we prepare our students to face public examinations. And so, we teachers need to know the details involved in the marking of the examination scripts.

Of course, marking schemes are kept confidential. What speakers share with us are often diluted versions of the actual marking schemes. It helps, nonetheless. It gives us a rough idea of what MPM wants from the students, and it helps us teachers to help our students give MPM what it wants.

After attending the course, I realised that I had not prepared my students adequately, especially where writing was concerned. Sure, they could write, but it was not specific to what MPM wanted from them. I really felt remorseful. There's nothing I can do now, except to prepare them better for the end of the year examination.

I believe every child who goes to school wants to do well in their examinations, and all teachers need to equip themselves to help these children to do well. No matter what people may say about teaching to the test, in reality, teachers who can produce good results are deemed as good teachers. I'm so going to help my students SCORE in their tests!