Syndicate

BOX 3.2. Malaysia’s Ministry of Education and the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate

The Malaysian Examinations Syndicate (MES), a unit within the General Directorate of Education in the Ministry of Education created by law in 1956, plans, develops, and conducts national large-scale assessments and examinations. The standardized assessments and examinations that MES implements include the following: • Primary School Achievement Test (national large-scale assessment program) • Malaysia Certificate of Education in Secondary School • Malaysia Vocational Certificate in Secondary School • Malaysia High School Certificate in Post-Secondary School • Malaysia Higher Islamic Religious Certificate in Post-Secondary School The assessments and examinations that MES develops are based on Malaysia’s national curriculum and learning goals. MES also advises and supports teachers with professional development and materials for school-based assessments and develops guidelines and instructions for assessment administration. Core responsibilities of the MES are as follows: • Formulate educational testing and measurement policies based on the National Education

Philosophy and curriculum goals • Articulate specifications for educational testing and measurement, administration methods, reporting forms, and quality control tools • Develop test and measurement tools and scoring methods to assess students based on the curriculum • Coordinate, produce, print, and distribute assessment and examination materials • Manage logistics of and conduct assessments and examinations • Perform data entry and data cleaning tasks, review and calculate statistics, and report results • Conduct research to improve the quality of testing and measurement of education and certification • Administer auxiliary services and provide advice regarding educational assessments • Administer assessments and examinations and enforce examination rules and guidelines.

Source: Adapted from Malaysia Ministry of Education 2020.

to establish priorities and ensure that the assessment maintains an appropriate focus aligned with its objectives and purpose. The appointment of an NSC also has symbolic importance, lending visibility and credibility to assessment activities in the eyes of key stakeholders, which influences stakeholder involvement and use of assessment results (Greaney and Kellaghan 2008).