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New History Format encourages SPM takers to Think Critically

Published by Afterschool.my on Sep 04, 2012, 05:49 am

  • History, a must-pass subject in SPM 2013 onwards, takes on a new format. Previously it had two papers but now it has third paper which is an open book examination.
  • Paper One consists of 40 multiple choice questions to be answered within one hour and accounts for 30% of students' overall marks.
  • Paper Two has 4 structured questions which students will have to answer. They can choose to write 3 out of the 7 essay quesions provided. This paper takes 2.5 hours and accounts for 50%.
  • Paper Three is a guided, open-book essay examination which takes three hours to finish. It accounts for 20%.
  • A month before the examination, students will be given the general topic of Paper Three so they can prepare. The exact question, however will only be revealed during examination day.
  • Students will be allowed to bring relevant printed materials such as textbooks, magazines and reference books into the examination hall.
  • An officer from the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate said that the reason for the new examination format is to encourage “higher order thinking skills” instead of rote learning.
  • Likewise, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said that the country's education system should undergo continuous transformation in an effort to produce people whom excel at critical thinking. Without critical-thinking people, a country would be left behind in development, he said after launching the national-level Science Fair for Young Children (SFYC) 2012 at the German-Malaysia Institute last Sunday.
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