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The 'Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia' (SPM), or the Malaysian Certificate of Education, is a national examination taken by all fifth form students in Malaysia. It is set and examined by the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate (Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia).

Contents

History

Subjects

Compulsory subjects

Elective subjects

Science Stream

Commerce Stream

Art Stream

Additional Subjects

Results

References

History

The SPM is equivalent to the British GCSE, and provides the opportunity for Malaysians to continue their studies to pre-university level. Up to 1978, the examination was handled by UCLES, which still advises the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate on standards. The English paper is separately graded by the national examination board and UCLES, and both grades will be displayed on the statement slip. On the real certificate, only the national examination board's grade is listed. The minimum requirement to get a certificate is a pass in Malay and sat for all compulsory subjects.
Generally, the SPM is taken at the age of 17, though students who attended pre-secondary school class would take it at the age of 18. Students who successfully passed their Penilaian Tahap Satu (PTS) examination at Primary Three would take their SPM a year earlier, at the age of 16. The PTS was introduced to Primary Three students in 1996 but was discontinued in 2000. Students who are taught at home generally take it at some point at the end of their secondary education as well.

Subjects

Compulsory subjects

Certain subjects are made compulsory for students. These are:

★ Bahasa Melayu / Malay Language

★ GCSE O Level English / Bahasa Inggeris 1119

★ Islamic Studies / Pendidikan Islam - For all Muslim students

★ Moral Studies / Pengetahuan Moral - For all non-Muslim students

★ History / Sejarah

★ Mathematics / Matematik

Elective subjects

Science Stream

★ Additional Mathematics / Matematik Tambahan

★ Physics / Fizik

★ Chemistry / Kimia

★ Biology / Biologi

★ EST - English for Science and Technology
Additional Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry are compulsory for students in this stream.

Commerce Stream

★ Additional Mathematics / Matematik Tambahan

★ Basic Economics / Ekonomi Asas

★ Business Studies / Perdagangan

★ Principles Account / Prinsip Akaun

★ Science / Sains (Counted as a compulsory subject)

Art Stream

★ Sastera Melayu / Malay Literature

★ English Literature / Kesusasteraan Inggeris

★ Geography / Geografi

★ Science / Sains (Counted as a compulsory subject)

★ Arts / Pendidikan Seni Visual

Additional Subjects

★ Chinese Language / Bahasa Cina

★ Chinese Literature / Kesusasteraan Cina

★ Tamil Language / Bahasa Tamil

★ Tamil Literature / Kesusasteraan Tamil

★ Arabic Language / Bahasa Arab

★ Syariah Studies / Pengajian Syariah

★ Higher Quranic Studies / Pendidikan Quran Tinggi

★ Modern Mathematics / Matematik Moden

★ Additional Science / Sains Tambahan

★ Agriculture Science / Sains Pertanian

★ Sports Science Studies / Pengajian Sains Sukan

★ Household Economics / Ekonomi Rumah Tangga

★ Bible Knowledge / Pengetahuan Bible
As Malaysia is revolutionizing its education system, science and mathematics subjects are being tested in English. Other subjects are still being tested in Malay. Due to this, the SPM Papers for these science and mathematics subjects from 2003 up to 2006 have questions in both English and Malay. The first year to do the Science and Mathematics papers in English will be the students taking the November 2007 papers. In 2003, a new SPM subject, English for Science and Technology (EST)^[1] was introduced. It is an English test based on science and technology.^[2] Inexplicably (yet as usual), students set to take the English Science and Mathematics SPM papers in 2007 are still required to do this subject.
The minimum number of subjects that students have to sit for is 8. Students generally take 9 subjects, if they are in the Arts stream, or 10 subjects, if they are in the Science stream (after the introduction of EST in 2003). However, due to the competitive nature of receiving scholarships to further studies, there has been pressure to take as many subjects as possible. Currently a maximum of 21 subjects is allowed to be taken.

Results

The evaluation scheme is 100% exam-based. The examination for SPM usually takes place around early November and lasts for more than 3 weeks. There are also papers in June, but only for the compulsory subjects. The subjects are graded as such:

★ 1A

★ 2A

★ 3B

★ 4B

★ 5C

★ 6C

★ 7D

★ 8E

★ 9G(G stands for 'Gagal', which means 'Fail')
The results are officially released around early March or late February. Due to the standardised nature of the exam, the results are generally well publicised. Although no list of rankings is released to the public, the names of the top ranked students in the country and in each state are released to the press. These students may achieve the level of temporary celebrities, and are approached by companies to advertise their products.^[3] Politicians usually visit some of these top ranked students a day before the official results in order to congratulate them. There is some controversy with the national rankings, where a string of straight 1As are preferred to a combination of 1As and 2As.^[4] The highest number of 1As achieved so far are 19A1s, achieved by a student from Johor in the 2006 SPM examinations.
Because the SPM examination is the final nationally standardised examination taken by the majority of Malaysians, a lot of scholarships are awarded based on results. Generally, it is considered that the more 1As you achieve, the better you are. Thus, there is pressure to take as many subjects as possible in order to secure a scholarship. This is especially true of non-bumiputera students, since the government allocates a certain amount of scholarships to bumiputera students. However, things are expected to change as the government decided to take action by limiting the number of subjects, which means students can only take maximum 12 subjects for their SPM, which has now been put into effect.

References

1. English for Science and Technology (EST), Good English Essays
2. SPM EST - How to Score EST?, Malaysia Students
3. Stamp of approval
4. Not top student despite best results