It's better results overall for SPM 2016 students, but fewer straight As

According to the Education director-general Tan Sri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof, candidates’ overall performance in the 2016 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations improved compared to 2015.

The National Average Grade (GPN) improved, with a score of 5.10, compared to 5.15 in 2015. A lower GPN score indicates better performance.

However, out of 434,535 candidates who sat for the examination at 3,732 examination centres nationwide last year, only 8,647 scored straight As, compared to 9,721 students in 2015.

"Only 102, or 1.94 per cent of students, achieved straight A+, compared to 163 students (2.6 per cent) in 2015.

"(The number of students) who scored A and A- also decreased, with only 2.13 per cent in 2016, compared to 2.38 per cent in 2015," Khair Mohamad said.

Achievements of candidates in urban and rural areas also improved, with rural students showing an increase of 0.08 in GPN, compared to their urban counterparts with 0.05.

With compulsory passes for Bahasa Melayu and History, 340,698 students qualified for SPM certificates.