Evaluation test for class five and eight
Romina Dewan Kabir, Free Lance Consultant,Dhaka
Recently, the government introduced an assessment test for the students of class five and eight . As per the system, the students of class five and eight have to sit for an assessment test to prove themselves eligible for the next class i.e. class six and eight. It is an SSC examination in a miniature form for the students at an early age. Because the board sets the questions and they have to go to another school and sit for the exams. It is rather a good step as the students get used to facing the public exams at an early age in a different environment. If the education authorities want to attach value to this system then why the school pressurizes the students with final exams? Moreover, the students of class eight not only have to appear in the final exams, they also have to sit for the selection test for scholarship exams. In addition, the students who are selected have to bear another pressure. The quality of their performance declines as they have to appear in so many exams at the same time. The questions are set differently. For example, for the final exams there are 100 marks allocated for each subject separately, which is not done in the assessment test. In the assessment test, for class eight there is 100 marks allocated for all the subjects excepting Home Economics. As the students have to appear in the final examinations from their respective schools and their promotion to higher class depends on their final exams, they put less emphasis on the assessment test. Moreover, the students of class five have to sit for the test in February, when most of the students are promoted to the higher class. They have to study for the test without the textbooks, because almost all the schools take back the books provided by the government/NCTB. Students have to buy the books again for the test which is difficult for poor students. If at this stage they do not do well in their assessment test and are demoted to the lower class, they will be psychologically affected. If they are not demoted and the school keeps the students to the classes based on their final exams, then what is the value of this assessment test? Moreover , knowing the quality of primary education, especially in the rural areas it is doubtful whether the students will be able to do well after not being in touch with the books for two to three months. Why the students of class eight have to sit for this test at the end of that particular year and why the students of class five have to appear in the test at the beginning of the next year? Is their any particular reason for this? I think the education authorities should look into this matter.
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