Parents, teachers give O-Net low marks
Parents and teachers are split over whether the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) should provide the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-Net) to grade 6, 9 and 12 students as a condition for their exit exam results - and as a qualification
A representative of parents from Roong-Aroon School, Surapol Thamromdee, is one who disapproves.
“Instead of increasing stress on children, teachers should be more qualified than [their students]. If they have to do O-Net exams to complete their grades, they will [need to] register [for an] extra course– [meaning] I as a parent also have [extra] expenses for their tuition fees. So why does the government not try to improve teacher’s performances?” Surapol said.
The president of the student committee at Suan Kularb Wittayalai School, Sira Simmee, believed the O-Net could set the standard for schools – but the test could not reveal if each student was a good person. And about arts, music and sports – the test could not tell how good or weak they were in these three subjects.
Sira added that students with no confidence in O-Net exams might be influenced to abandon their studies. Students from rural or poor areas might not be able to take extra courses outside school.
Dr Udomrak Kulsriroj, a representative of teachers from Kasetsart University’s demonstration school, said only five subjects – not eight – should be used to evaluate students, because the other three subjects cannot prove students’ ability just from exam papers.
Some schools will not approve of the inclusion of 50 per cent of O-Net scores with school traditional exams. Some also evaluated students not only from the tests but looked at a history of their activities as well.
Representatives from 10 top schools failed to agree on a desirable standard for O-Net exams, saying it was still being disputed. They believed the exams were not stable in terms of correctness and the scope of their study, and they weren’t suitable for the evaluation of Thai students.
OBEC secretary-general Chinnapat Poomrat suggested that if students passed O-Net by more than a score of 20.01 – the lowest measure – they should be considered for school entry. Another plan was to use GPA, including O-Net scores, for a ratio target of 80:20. However there was no final agreement on this, he said.
Somwang Pitiyanuwat, director of the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment said: “National exams to evaluate the average of Thai students used to be organised in Thailand – but we cancelled this system in 1974. Since then we have managed our education system based on that of the Americans.”
The education gap between urban and rural areas is still wide. Sonwang said the O-Net exams should push students to be more industrious, like Indonesia, where the national evaluation of schools aims for scores of 100.
Direk Pornsima, who chairs the Teachers’ Council of Thailand, said “The O-Net system is effective but the problem is how we can manage it.”
Direk gave the example of Singapore and Hong Kong where governments based their student estimates mainly on national tests for maths and language, that counted for up to 60-70 per cent. Arts, music and sports counted for 20 per cent, because these subjects could not be examined in tests.
“The truth is the O-Net results should be empowered to evaluate school administrators. To improve the education system, quality does not only depend on students but also on the schools themselves. So if the system was to help them, teachers would try harder to develop themselves and their students,” Direk explained.
