‘I Feel Burnt Out’: Were Primary And Secondary Schools Better Off With The Half-Yearly Exams?
Now that primary and secondary school students do not have any more half-yearly examinations, but instead have weekly or monthly assessments throughout the year which affect their final grade, does this mean that January is easy-breezy for these students?
Lovin Malta spoke to some students and parents to get a feel of the general sentiment. Has the removal of half-yearly examinations made life less stressful for them? Or is it the other way round?
Sarah*, a Form 4 Church school student who no longer has half-yearly exams admits that she is feeling burnt out as she prepares for the highly anticipated O-levels.
“I feel like the pressure they put on us students is too much because of the assessments that happen every week,” she said.
Another secondary school student admitted to preferring the previous mode of assessment, that is the half-yearly and annual examination system, because “the assessments are so frequent and sometimes we’re not even told about them”.
“I’m the kind of person that freaks out two weeks before the exam and writes a bunch of notes then, so I feel like if we had the half-yearlies, people like me would find the annuals much easier since half of the notes are already done,” she continued.
Mandy*, a Form 5 public school student said that the current assessment system gives her more anxiety.
“The assessment marks have a percentage of the final annual mark, so I have to study hard, as if I’m sitting down for an exam.”
Whereas during the run-up to the exams, students are usually given a study period to revise their material, with the current system, since half-yearly exams were abolished, “students still have to manage doing their homework while studying for the assessments,” Mandy said.
“I don’t feel that the randomised assessments are a fair way to grade students,” she continued.
“I feel that the mid-yearly exams were a better preparation for the annual exams since they were like mock annual examinations, and served as a guide for students to show them how they are doing in each subject and in which particular subject one needs to study more.”
“Some may argue that with the assessment system students can still know how they are faring in each subject, however, half-yearly exams were under the proper examination conditions with proper preparation for each exam,” Mandy continued.
On the other hand, a Form 1 private school student told the newsroom that they prefer the current assessment system and find it on the whole less anxiety-inducing.
Lovin Malta also reached out to some parents:
“Half-yearly exams mean that they have half the syllabus for the first portion of the year, and then the other half for the annual. That way the year is split in two, which is a good thing because students wouldn’t have a full year of material in one sitting,” one mother said.
“It is also quite a shock to the kids’ systems to prepare for the whole year at one go,” she continued.
“While the assessment system has huge potential since it could allow students to learn more, the problem is that it all boils down to preparation for the same O-level structure in the end.”
“Before that changes, it is like they are developing skills for an eventual end-goal that requires parrot-like studying and regurgitation,” she continued.
“I’m torn between the pros and cons of the current assessment system,” another parent said, adding that while she’s glad that her kids only have to prepare for exams “once a year,” she feels more pressured on the weekends when “the kids should be off from school,” but instead they are “revising or studying for a test, over and above their homework.”
Lovin Malta also spoke with some teachers to get their point of view on the whole half-yearly vs assessments debate.
A public secondary school maths teacher told the newsroom that they believe that high-achieving students are more stressed than ever since they must “always be prepared since while some teachers tend to inform the class that they will be having an assessment, others surprise their students with a random assessment”.
“Many students have told me that they very much prefer having half-yearly exams, as opposed to assessments throughout the year, since they would know when to study and be able to prepare themselves for an exam setting, whereby they are tested on more than one topic”.
According to the teacher, students who take their academic studies very seriously are becoming more and more stressed, “especially since these randomised assessments affect their end of year grade”.
“Students who don’t care much about their performance in school take it easier now since they consider the assessments as just normal schoolwork”.
“The level and quality of work that is being produced by students has declined,” she continued.
Another teacher shared a similar sentiment, saying that “since students now have a different assessment every week, which isn’t necessarily a simple test but could also affect the overall annual grade, students are becoming all the more anxious and stressed, particular those who are high achievers.”
In 2021, a Journal Article issued by the Ministry for Education stated that the removal of the half-yearly exams and the “introduction of a more balanced assessment system” is part of a “much lareger reform aimed at emphasising and offering a higher quality education for all by equipping learners with the necessary skills and competences to become lifelong learners thus leading them to be active and employable citizens.”
The 2023 O-level results, however, did not put the newly-implemented assessment system in a good light, with a whopping 25% of students who sat for the Maltese and Maths O-levels receiving a ‘U’ grade.
To half-yearly or not to half-yearly, that is the question. What are your thoughts?
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the individuals
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