Page 67 - Jurnal Kurikulum BPK 2018

and plan for various strategies to enhance learning. ‘Assessment for learning’ occurs when
teachers give constructive feedback to students based on inferences of student progress through
observations, anecdotes, question-answer sessions, simple tests and so on. This motivates and
encourages students to improve on their learning.

Classroom Assessment in Malaysia

Earliest document found to be related to classroom assessment was in 1983 which was
initiated by the Curriculum Development Division (CDD), formerly known as Curriculum
Development Centre (CDC) at that time. The document was recognised as Panduan Penilaian
Dalam Bilik Darjah KBSR (Classroom Assessment Guide in KBSR Classroom) for primary level.
Kurikulum Baru Sekolah Rendah (KBSR) or New Primary School Curriculum was the first
national curriculum by the Ministry of Education in 1983 since independence. From the inception
of independence in 1957 until 1982, different types of schools in Malaysia had been using British,
Chinese and Tamil curriculum from origin countries. Malay schools had been using localized
curriculum. The assessment document for KBSR illustrated the aim, assessment activities, steps
in formal and non-formal assessment as well as steps in detecting the progress and level of
achievement of a child. Samples of instruments of assessment were also attached to the document.
A second document review of classroom assessment was done in 1996 and renamed as Buku
Panduan PKSR. Penilaian Kendalian Sekolah Rendah (PKSR Guidelines: Primary School
Operational Evaluation). This time, the contents have improved in terms of concept, aims, features
of assessment, ways of assessing, reporting on assessment and building of instruments in
assessment. A similar guideline was also done for secondary level. In 2001, a review of the school
curriculum was done, hence another review of assessment guideline was done and named as
Penilaian Kendalian Sekolah (School Operational Evaluation) where it served as single guideline
for the primary and secondary school teachers. However, at this point of time, classroom
assessment was not considered seriously and not given much thought by the educators throughout
the country. New pedagogical strategies were deemed imperative to inculcate new learning
experiences since the turn of the millennium. It was only in 2011 that the Pentaksiran Berasaskan
Sekolah (School-based Assessment) was officially started by the Malaysian Examinations
Syndicate based on Surat Siaran Lembaga Peperiksaan Bil. 3 tahun 2011 dated 29 July 2011
(Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum, 2016). It consists of four components: Central Assessment,
Classroom Assessment, Physical Activity Assessment, Sports and Co-Curriculum and
Psychometric Assessment. School-based Assessment is considered a holistic assessment as it
assesses the cognitive, affective and psychomotor of a child in align with the National Philosophy
of Education. Teachers are required to adhere to the procedures by the Ministry of Education and
assess students continuously during the process of teaching and learning in the classroom.
Classroom Assessment is an important dimension to ensure the effectiveness of the
curriculum carried out in classrooms. It is done in formative and summative assessment using
various approaches and methods. Classroom assessment is part of an assessment approach to
gather information on the progress of a child in a formal or non-formal way to enable the teacher
to decide on the child’s level of mastery. Principles of inclusive, authentic and localized are
applied to classroom assessment in a holistic manner. Information gathered from classroom
assessment will be used by administrators, teachers, parents and pupils to plan out further action
to upgrade or to improve the development stage of the child (Wiliam & Leahy, 2015).

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