The types of examinations and assessments conducted in primary, junior secondary, and secondary schools were described in Section A. Some important results of those national assessments and public examinations are presented in this appendix. An attempt has been made here to understand the implications of the results of these national assessments and examinations on improving student learning, curriculum reform, and policy decisions toward systemic change in Bangladesh’s education system.
1. utilization of national Assessment results
Bangladesh introduced national assessments in primary education for grades 3 and 5 in 2006 under PEDP II. Three such assessments were carried out in 2006, 2008, and 2012. The reports of the first two are available, but the last report has not yet been made public. The national assessments, in a sense, are an assessment of the curriculum because they yield “information about strengths and weakness of the students in particular content and skill areas and ensure that this information is provided to teachers, schools, and districts in a timely and comprehensible manner so that they may evaluate their instructional programs, improve professional development and target interventions and resources more effectively.”24 However, the national assessment results in Bangladesh are mainly important
to the education administrators and planners for taking decisions on necessary changes and reform.
As soon as the national assessment is complete, the report is submitted to MOPME. It is the responsibility of MOPME to study and examine the results, and take proper steps to bring about necessary changes and undertake the reform program. To this end, MOPME may form a committee to study and examine the results of the national assessment and to submit a report with recommendations for interventions for improvement of the primary education system. MOPME will decide what to implement immediately based on resources in hand. However, no noteworthy follow-up actions have been seen to be taken by MOPME following the national assessment report.
The primary school curriculum of Bangladesh is competency based. The national
assessments of 2006 and 2008 used standardized tests that were aligned with the primary curriculum. The tests were prepared encompassing a set of 15–20 learning outcomes derived from a total of 50 terminal competencies25 and class-wise attainable competencies.
Two to four items were generally set against each learning outcome for testing the cognitive knowledge and skills of the pupils under those learning outcomes.
Achievement scores of the pupils of the 2008 national assessment were analyzed in terms of important variables including achievement of mastery learning. The percentage of pupils having achieved mastery learning level (80%–100%) in the 2008 national assessment is shown in Table A1.6. These results show very low student performance in terms of mastery learning in general, but specifically worse in mathematics, English, science, and social studies.
An inherent feature of a competency-based curriculum is its linkage with mastery learning. The dismal results of the 2008 national assessment may be attributed to the following: (i) the curriculum may be difficult for the pupils, (ii) the materials used for teaching and learning were not of good quality; (iii) the teachers’ teaching ability was inadequate due to low academic qualifications and lack of adequate training; (iv) an inadequate and inappropriate pupil assessment system was adopted in schools; (v) academic and administrative supervision was weak; and (vi) there was a lack of efficient and effective school management and insufficient facilities in the schools. The 2008 national assessment
24 D. Strater. 2006. Standards-Based Assessment. CUR/562. Arizona: University of Phoenix. p. 1. 25 National Curriculum and Textbook Board. 2003. National Curriculum for Primary Level. Dhaka. p. 23.
Appendix 1
89
results generated a lot of feedback and clamor for policy decisions toward the improvement of the quality of education.
The recent revision of the curricula of both primary and secondary education was in accordance with provisions of the National Education Policy of 2010. The published copy of the primary curriculum discussed the rationale for the revision. However, the results of the 2008 national assessment have not been reviewed and considered in the curriculum revision process.
National assessment reports carry a wealth of information that can be used in improving the quality of education. However, dissemination of the results is limited, mostly through a few seminars offered by the NAC. Seminars are held in the country’s seven divisional headquarters. NAC has also planned to present the condensed results in leaflets in Bangla for wider dissemination, such as at the schools. This, however, is not enough. The National Academy for Primary Education can include the key findings in its in-service training programs for dissemination among the education officers. The findings can also be included in the ongoing subcluster training program of schoolteachers. Even members of the Parliament may be apprised of the national assessment results to inform them about the education quality situation. If the country fails to utilize its results for the improvement of education, the national assessment becomes routine work without impact on quality improvement.
table A1.6: Bangladesh—mastery Scores of Grades 3 and 5 by Strata of Pupils in the 2008 national Assessment
Grade Subjects
Gender Location School types
Boys Girls rural urban rural urban
3 Bangla language 11.33 12.05 11.03 18.42 13.25 8.25 Math 1.09 0.99 1.00 1.41 1.36 0.29 5 Bangla language 14.04 13.35 12.47 24.90 16.33 7.26 Math 2.28 2.21 2.14 3.26 2.78 0.94 English 3.28 3.17 2.99 5.41 4.17 0.92 Environmental Studies: Science 1.82 1.81 1.74 2.54 1.94 1.51 Environmental Studies: Social 2.02 2.69 2.20 4.01 3.07 0.70
Source: Bangladesh Directorate of Primary Education. 2007. National Assessment of Pupils of Grades 3 and 5, 2008. Primary Education Development Program II, Dhaka. pp. 99–109.
2. utilization of Public examination results
The pass rates in the PSC examination are increasing. In 2009, the pass rate was 89.6%, increasing to 97.2% in 2011. It reached a high of 98.7% in 2013.26 However, the high pass
rates do not indicate that the schools are providing quality education. It is possible that the PSC answer scripts are examined liberally so that almost all of the children pass. The high PSC pass rate is expected to decrease the dropout rate and eventually increase the completion rate of 5 years of schooling. The parents feel encouraged to send their children to school to get a certificate, which may become useful to get a job.
The Junior Secondary Certificate (JSC) examination, held at the end of grade 8, was first administered in 2010. Up to 2012, three JSC examinations were conducted. The pass rate in 2010 was 73.0%, increasing to 83.7% in 2011 and to 87.0% in 2012. Lastly, the results of the five SSC examinations, held at the end of grade 10, show a similar trend. From 67.4% in 2009, it moved up to 82.2% in 2011 and to 89% in 2013. More details of the results of PSC, JSC, and SSC examinations are given in Table A1.7.
table A1.7: Bangladesh—Public examinations results, various Years a. Results of Primary School Completion Examination, 2009–2012
Year
no. Appeared no. of Passers % Passed
total Female total Female total Female
2012 2,481,119 1,355,353 2,415,341 1,317,268 97.5 97.2 2011 2,185,747 1,184,990 2,125,868 1,150,340 97.2 97.0 2010 1,940,331 958,026 1,791,651 905,825 92.3 92.1 2009 1,823,465 905,325 1,634,118 823,413 89.6 89.3
Source: Education Management and Information System, Department of Primary Education, Ministry of Mass and Primary Education, Dhaka.
b. Results of Junior School Certificate Examination, 2010–2012 Year
no. Appeared no. of Passers % Passed
total Female total Female total Female
2012 1,841,726 972,936 1,610,750 837,118 87.0 86.0 2011 1,862,866 1,000,331 1,506,783 794,594 83.7` 82.5 2010 1,509,847 802,483 10,020,047 518,825 73.0 70.7
Source: Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka.
26 Education Management and Information System of Department of Primary Education, Bangladesh Ministry of
Mass and Primary Education.
Appendix 1
91
c. Results of Secondary School Certificate Examination, 2009–2013 Year
no. Appeared no. of Passers % Passed
total Female total Female total Female
2013 1,297,034 631,150 1,154,778 560,940 89.0 88.9 2012 1,048,144 529,610 904,756 451,610 86.3 85.3 2011 986,650 495,610 810,666 400,065 82.2 80.7 2010 912,577 453,779 713,560 346,494 78.2 76.4 2009 797,891 393,599 537,878 256,106 67.4 65.1
Source: Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka.
The JSC and SSC examination pass rates have also been increasing since 2010. Ideally, the high and increasing pass rates may be attributed to the efforts of the teachers and schools and the impact of school-level continuous assessment or SBA officially introduced in secondary schools in 2005. However, this is not the case since the contribution of SBA to the results of public examinations, especially for JSC, was not significant. The implementation status of SBA is not satisfactory, according to a 2012 study on the SBA system conducted by the Curriculum Development Unit of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB).27 The high pass rate in the JSC examination is due to the
participation of students in private tutoring offered by coaching centers and extra care of the parents. It should also be noted that the SBA approach has been introduced in grades 6–8 only and not yet in grades 9 and 10.
There are some schools that have proven their excellence and gained public recognition due to their continuous outstanding performance in public examinations. The first preference of the parents is to enroll their children in these schools. As such, the results of public examinations have also become the basis for selecting schools among families. The results of public examinations, especially in the primary level, are quite encouraging. It appears from the results that quality improvement and reform initiatives are hardly a necessity. However, public examinations cannot provide reliable information for bringing changes and reforms for enhancing the quality of education. Although public examinations are aligned with the curriculum, they cannot provide an accurate reflection of the curriculum. The instruments used in public examinations are not standardized. The reliability and validity are not known. The question items are selected arbitrarily by the question-paper setters,28 and generally encourage producing factual and memorized
knowledge. The private tutoring offered by coaching centers plays a very important role for high achievement in the PSC examination. The liberal marking scheme used is also responsible for extremely high pass rates.
27 National Curriculum and Textbook Board, Curriculum Development Unit. 2012. A Study on SBA System Report
2012. Dhaka. p. 2.
28 Generally, question-paper setters are experienced teachers who prepare the question papers for the public
examinations. They are appointed by the board of examination. Table A1.7 continued
3. utilization of School-Level Assessment results
a. Primary Schools
The government is preparing to introduce SBA in primary schools by 2014–2015. The implementation of SBA requires a lot of time, energy, labor, adequate training, and above all, a positive attitude toward SBA on the part of the teachers. It is expected that it will take time to see the efficacy of SBA system in schools. The current assessment system practiced in the primary schools consists of recording the results of class tests and terminal examinations in the student examination results book. These are supposed to play an important role in improving student learning and developing effective teaching and learning programs.
In the classroom, students receive their answer scripts to the class test and the first- and second-term examinations, which indicate mistakes and knowledge gaps, along with suggestions from the teacher for improvement. However, teachers rarely take the initiative to conduct extra classes or remedial actions for the low achievers in the examinations.
b. Secondary Schools
SBA was introduced in the secondary schools in 2005 in grades 6–8. After 6 years of SBA implementation in secondary schools, a survey was conducted in 2012 by the Curriculum Development Unit of NCTB to evaluate the progress of SBA implementation. The survey report revealed a dismal picture, with only 7% of the schools fully implementing an SBA system, 83% partially, and 10% of schools not at all.29
The overall objective of SBA is to improve learning and teaching based on the results of assessment to ensure progress in student learning. To achieve this, SBA should be continuously administered throughout the year. The use of SBA results is very broad, including provision of feedback to the students. Generally, the assessment is done in each lesson and at the end of every unit (or chapter), in addition to weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and annual assessments. The teachers are to use assessment results to diagnose the students’ deficiency at every stage and arrange extra classes, if necessary. However, based on the results of the NCTB survey, the teachers are not using the SBA results for improving teaching and learning of the students in schools.