TIMSS 2011: An Analysis of

Malaysias Achievement

Prepared by : Anne Sebestina, Durga Kanabathu Sattiyan Nayar & Bhavani Ramasamy
 Introduction

Paulo Freire (Brazilian academician)

proposed an intimate two-way relationship between teachers and
students.
He stressed upon the teachers responsibility to teach and at the same
time learn from the students; while students learn but also teach
their teachers.

How about our education system ???

 Malaysia is in an arguable dilemma between its own
national education standards and an international
education standard. There are to issues that need to be
considered :

the feasibility of a country as the Finnish and South Korean

socio-culturally unique as
Malaysia to make other
countries with highly-touted
education models such as South
Korea and Finland as reference
templates.
education models being vast
opposite extremes of each
other; where one is extremely
open and flexible while the
other adopts a very closed and
structured system.

How can any of these two different systems be suited to the

Malaysian context ???
 On this issue, we side on the affirmative of Malek
Bennabis (1905-1973) views in his article Basics of
Social Education, where it is largely worth quoting
that:

It is truly a waste to refuse guidance from the experiences of

others, or gain benefits from their successes. However, every act
of borrowing or emulating must take into consideration the
cultural and fundamental social elements of that borrowing state.
 Malaysia has emerged bottom in three separate
studies conducted by standardized international
indices :
The Program for
The UN Education Index International Student
ranked Malaysia 98 out of Assessment (PISA),placed
181 countries. Malaysia 55 out of 74
countries.

The TIMMS 2011 report revealed a plummeting trend in the

position of Malaysia in the Mathematics subject where the rank
fell from 16th (1999) to 10th (2003), 20th (2007) and 26th (2011).
Meanwhile our position in the rank for Science subject is 22nd
(1999), 20th (2003), 21st (2007) and 32nd (2011).
 Ironically, there is this bizarre contradicting trend
prevailing at home where the Gred Purata Nasional (GPN)
for PMR examinations (undertaken by 15-year old Form 3
students in public schools) showed steady increases in the
past five years. The GPN climbed from 2.83 in 2008, to
2.78 in 2009, 2.74 in 2010 and 2.71 in 2011.

the number of students who obtained A in Mathematics

increased from 26.7 percent in 2010 to 28.9 percent in
2011, while the number of those who obtained A in
Science increased from 18.5 percent in 2010 to 21.7
percent in 2011.

Why the contradictory results?

 There are a few notable issues that may be
responsible for these differences:

Most of the questions in

The teaching and The sampling method PMR and SPM are
learning system in for students chosen to structured in more
Malaysia is heavily take the TIMSS and PISA predictable ways
examinations-based. is randomized. compared to that of
TIMSS and PISA

Effort has been made to

incorporate and encourage
critical solutions problems via
KBKK in PMR and SPM
questions, the relative
percentage of these type of
questions remain negligible.
we observe with interest that
the standard of SPM and PMR
questions are not too far off
when compared to PISA and
TIMSS questions.
 Suggestions of some early steps which can be taken by the
authorities, as alternatives and improvements onto the current
programs.

a special committee of education experts from across Malaysia

special modules to go through a pilot test using a group of the best and most
willing teachers.

reallocating the best teachers in each school to be responsible to the bottom-

ranked classes.

the ministry has to ensure only the best candidates are chosen to enter the
teaching profession.

a study of students performances needs to be carried out independently

monitoring from private bodies, the corporate sector and non-governmental

organizations onto selected schools.
 CONCLUSION

We believe that the time has come for

us to begin to appreciate our
differences, embrace our weaknesses
and move together towards a better
education system.