Poor O-Net results nationally – but then there’s Supawadi

[webfact]

Poor O-Net results nationally – but then there’s Supawadi

By The Nation

 

Prathom 6 (Grade 6) and Mathayom 3 (Grade 9) students on average scored under 50 per cent in core subjects in the Ordinary National Education Test (O-Net), results released this week show.
 

National Institute of Education Testing Service (NIETS) director Sampan Panpruk said the average scores among 700,000 Prathom 6 pupils were 46.58 in Thai language, 36.34 in English, 37.12 in mathematics and 39.12 in science.

 

Among 640,000 Mathayom 3 students, the scores were 48.29 in Thai, 30.45 in English, 26.3 in math and 32.28 in science.

 

The Prathom 6 math score average was four points lower than last year’s and the science score two points lower.

 

O-Net results for Mathayom 6 (Grade 12) will be announced on March 31, a few days earlier than planned so that they can be applied in the Thai University Central Admission System for academic year 2018, Sampan said.

 

Students can submit requests from March 31-April 1 to see their answer sheets on April 3.

 

General Aptitude Test (GAT) and Professional and Academic Aptitude Test (PAT) results will also be announced early, on April 2, while results for the national test on nine-core subjects will be available on April 8.

 

Supawadi Sripor, a 12-year-old Prathom 6 student at Ban Dong Krapung Nong Na Saeng School in northeastern Bueng Kan province, scored a perfect 100 points in the O-Net math exam, fuelling her dreams of becoming a teacher.

 

Supawadi also scored 82 in Thai, 67 in science and 30 in English in O-Net.

 

Sitthipol Asawaphum, director of the rural school, said Supawadi’s success was a source of pride for its 10 teachers and 135 pupils.

 

He said its students had been among the country’s top scorers in O-Net for the past five years and credited the teachers for effectively managing classes on a limited budget.

 

Math teacher Pisal Phromjak said Supawadi had been brilliant in math since third grade, when she scored 100 points in the National Test.

 

She was among the top fifth of students in mathematics last year and this year in the Bueng Kan Primary Educational Service Area.

 

Pisal bases his lessons on Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology textbooks and practice questions from old exam papers.

 

Supawadi’s mother Khampoon Sipor, a rubber tapper by profession, said she trusted the teachers’ academic guidance.

 

She said Supawadi is her second and younger daughter and a responsible child who willingly helps with household chores.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30341839

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-27

[Just1Voice]

A few years ago a report came out that claimed IQ scores actually went down once a child entered school in Thailand.  Does that tell you anything? 

 

[jenny2017]

Supawadi also scored 82 in Thai, 67 in science and 30 in English in O-Net.

 

  What's wrong with the poor results in English from P. 6 to M.3? I tend to believe that the M6 test results won't be better.

 

   Are the students so bad, are the tests not appropriate, or is it proof that most Thai English teachers seem to have the wrong job? 

[jenny2017]

Here're some O-Net questions from 2012.

 

   Wouldn't we all fail?

 

  

Nid was a beautiful girl and many boys were after her. She rarely turned them down when asked out on a date. In the end, she had sexual relationship with a friend and showed signs of morning sickness. Worried, Nid consulted her male friend and he told her she should have an abortion. She followed his advice and died of vaginal bleeding.

Q1: Why did many boys like Nid?
a) She was beautiful.
b) She was friendly.
c) She liked going out at night.
d) She did not reject their requests.

 

Q2: What is the most common danger for girls going out at night?
a) Being robbed.
Being drugged.
c) Being raped.
d) Being physically assaulted

 

Q3: When running into problems, whom should Nid have turned to?
a) A male friend
b) A close friend
c) Homeroom teacher
d) Parents

 

Q4: What is the best way of dealing with pregnancy while in school?
a) Take maternity leave
b) Undergo abortion because it is impossible to raise a baby at this age
c) Drop out of school to find a job and raise the baby
d) Lodge a complaint with police to force those involved to take responsibility

 

Q5: What should Nid have done to avoid her tragic end?
a) Preserved her virginity
b) Not engaged in sex because she was not mature enough
c) Paid attention to her studies
d) Not engaged in premarital sex

[simon43]

Here're some O-Net questions from 2012.

Nooooo, I don't believe it!! (spoken with a Victor Meldrew voice)

[Rhys]

Students will be what they are programmed to do...

[jenny2017]

50 minutes ago, Rhys said:

Students will be what they are programmed to do...

And I thought that we have robots to do such tasks for example in the automobile industry. Then it's time for quite a lot of good "programmers."

 

 

 

[BigBadGeordie]

7 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

Here're some O-Net questions from 2012.

 

   Wouldn't we all fail?

 

  

Nid was a beautiful girl and many boys were after her. She rarely turned them down when asked out on a date. In the end, she had sexual relationship with a friend and showed signs of morning sickness. Worried, Nid consulted her male friend and he told her she should have an abortion. She followed his advice and died of vaginal bleeding.

Q1: Why did many boys like Nid?
a) She was beautiful.
b) She was friendly.
c) She liked going out at night.
d) She did not reject their requests.

 

Q2: What is the most common danger for girls going out at night?
a) Being robbed.
Being drugged.
c) Being raped.
d) Being physically assaulted

 

Q3: When running into problems, whom should Nid have turned to?
a) A male friend
b) A close friend
c) Homeroom teacher
d) Parents

 

Q4: What is the best way of dealing with pregnancy while in school?
a) Take maternity leave
b) Undergo abortion because it is impossible to raise a baby at this age
c) Drop out of school to find a job and raise the baby
d) Lodge a complaint with police to force those involved to take responsibility

 

Q5: What should Nid have done to avoid her tragic end?
a) Preserved her virginity
b) Not engaged in sex because she was not mature enough
c) Paid attention to her studies
d) Not engaged in premarital sex

<deleted>. Source Please

[jenny2017]

48 minutes ago, BigBadGeordie said:

<deleted>. Source Please

Please see the "sexual urge" question.....

 

    https://asiancorrespondent.com/2012/02/thai-education-part-1-ridiculous-o-net-questions/

[BigBadGeordie]

1 minute ago, jenny2017 said:

Please see the "sexual urge" question.....

 

    https://asiancorrespondent.com/2012/02/thai-education-part-1-ridiculous-o-net-questions/

Point taken "urge" noted.

[Lupatria]

Don't pick me up on your way down Thailand.

[bkkgriz]

19 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

Here're some O-Net questions from 2012.

 

   Wouldn't we all fail?

 

  

Nid was a beautiful girl and many boys were after her. She rarely turned them down when asked out on a date. In the end, she had sexual relationship with a friend and showed signs of morning sickness. Worried, Nid consulted her male friend and he told her she should have an abortion. She followed his advice and died of vaginal bleeding.

Q1: Why did many boys like Nid?
a) She was beautiful.
b) She was friendly.
c) She liked going out at night.
d) She did not reject their requests.

 

Q2: What is the most common danger for girls going out at night?
a) Being robbed.
Being drugged.
c) Being raped.
d) Being physically assaulted

 

Q3: When running into problems, whom should Nid have turned to?
a) A male friend
b) A close friend
c) Homeroom teacher
d) Parents

 

Q4: What is the best way of dealing with pregnancy while in school?
a) Take maternity leave
b) Undergo abortion because it is impossible to raise a baby at this age
c) Drop out of school to find a job and raise the baby
d) Lodge a complaint with police to force those involved to take responsibility

 

Q5: What should Nid have done to avoid her tragic end?
a) Preserved her virginity
b) Not engaged in sex because she was not mature enough
c) Paid attention to her studies
d) Not engaged in premarital sex

Yep, I've seen similar questions on other standardized tests in Thailand. How can one possiblity answer them correctly when the answers are completely subjective. 

 

They remind of the questions on the TCT tests I had to take a back in the day. Questions such as, "If a teacher is a car, what part of the car are they?" Huh? Amazing Thailand, indeed.

[BobbyL]

I remember seeing an English O Net test that was given to P6 students here in about 13 or 14.

 

It was littered with grammatical mistakes and quite a few spelling errors too. Some of the questions were similar to the post above, just utterly mind boggling.

 

I wish I wrote down the question, but there was one about a boy and girl buying jewellery that made absolutely no sense at all. The multiple choice answers below were laughable with no clear correct answer at all. 

 

I would love to know who creates these tests. 

[ozmeldo]

On 3/27/2018 at 4:01 PM, jenny2017 said:

Here're some O-Net questions from 2012.

 

   Wouldn't we all fail?

 

  

Nid was a beautiful girl and many boys were after her. She rarely turned them down when asked out on a date. In the end, she had sexual relationship with a friend and showed signs of morning sickness. Worried, Nid consulted her male friend and he told her she should have an abortion. She followed his advice and died of vaginal bleeding.

Q1: Why did many boys like Nid?
a) She was beautiful.
b) She was friendly.
c) She liked going out at night.
d) She did not reject their requests.

 

Q2: What is the most common danger for girls going out at night?
a) Being robbed.
Being drugged.
c) Being raped.
d) Being physically assaulted

 

Q3: When running into problems, whom should Nid have turned to?
a) A male friend
b) A close friend
c) Homeroom teacher
d) Parents

 

Q4: What is the best way of dealing with pregnancy while in school?
a) Take maternity leave
b) Undergo abortion because it is impossible to raise a baby at this age
c) Drop out of school to find a job and raise the baby
d) Lodge a complaint with police to force those involved to take responsibility

 

Q5: What should Nid have done to avoid her tragic end?
a) Preserved her virginity
b) Not engaged in sex because she was not mature enough
c) Paid attention to her studies
d) Not engaged in premarital sex

You're pulling this out of your ass. You know this was a highly controversial question and the nation was on fire discussing the question on ONET in particular. That was five years ago.

 

The school I'm at the students do write well on standardized exams. Really well. Better than everyone reading this well.

 

It all boils down to the teachers. Good teachers impart learning. Success is powerful and infectious. Students succeed, it will drive them on. Thai kids know the stakes very well.

 

Thailand needs to offer incentives for Ed majors and further incentives to teach. It's a long, hard slog that breaks even the best of them. Respect to good Thai teachers.

[ozmeldo]

On 3/29/2018 at 11:05 AM, BobbyL said:

I remember seeing an English O Net test that was given to P6 students here in about 13 or 14.

 

It was littered with grammatical mistakes and quite a few spelling errors too. Some of the questions were similar to the post above, just utterly mind boggling.

 

I wish I wrote down the question, but there was one about a boy and girl buying jewellery that made absolutely no sense at all. The multiple choice answers below were laughable with no clear correct answer at all. 

 

I would love to know who creates these tests. 

They should just have ETS or a British company do it. I've thought this for years. This is high stakes stuff, it must be perfect.

[attrayant]

On 3/27/2018 at 4:01 PM, jenny2017 said:

Here're some O-Net questions from 2012.

 

Wouldn't we all fail?

 

Just reading that was jarring.  

[attrayant]

On 3/27/2018 at 1:40 PM, webfact said:

Supawadi Sripor, a 12-year-old Prathom 6 student at Ban Dong Krapung Nong Na Saeng School in northeastern Bueng Kan province, scored a perfect 100 points in the O-Net math exam, fuelling her dreams of becoming a teacher.

 

That's a shame.  She excels at math and the best thing she can think to do with that is become a teacher.  Not a statistician or actuary, not a data analyst, not an accountant or cryptographer.  Hopefully when she gets into high school, she'll see that some of these other options are within her reach.

[Scott]

1 minute ago, attrayant said:

 

That's a shame.  She excels at math and the best thing she can think to do with that is become a teacher.  Not a statistician or actuary, not a data analyst, not an accountant or cryptographer.  Hopefully when she gets into high school, she'll see that some of these other options are within her reach.

I wouldn't worry too much.  I think most kids change their minds quite frequently.   If not, when I grew up I would have been a cowboy!

 

[attrayant]

I'm worried.

 

A facebook chat I had with one of my former students a few months ago:

 

 

He went on and on telling me about how parents and teachers "tag" their children/students with a very short list of standard careers and those tags are hard to shake.  As you can see, he's carrying a grudge about that.

 

And his definition of 'engineer' is nonstandard - he means somebody who can fix things, like a repairman or technician.

[jenny2017]

On 3/28/2018 at 11:48 AM, bkkgriz said:

Yep, I've seen similar questions on other standardized tests in Thailand. How can one possiblity answer them correctly when the answers are completely subjective. 

 

They remind of the questions on the TCT tests I had to take a back in the day. Questions such as, "If a teacher is a car, what part of the car are they?" Huh? Amazing Thailand, indeed.

May I ask you what the right answer was? I'd chose the engine, if possible. 

[jenny2017]

55 minutes ago, Scott said:

I wouldn't worry too much.  I think most kids change their minds quite frequently.   If not, when I grew up I would have been a cowboy!

 

Inspired by the Marlboro Man, or more an ordinary Coltman? 

[pearciderman]

8 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

May I ask you what the right answer was? I'd chose the engine, if possible. 

 

I would have said the steering wheel, as teachers it is our job to guide students. I would equate the engine to the student, they have the power and drive to succeed.

[jenny2017]

18 minutes ago, attrayant said:

I'm worried.

 

A facebook chat I had with one of my former students a few months ago:

 

 

He went on and on telling me about how parents and teachers "tag" their children/students with a very short list of standard careers and those tags are hard to shake.  As you can see, he's carrying a grudge about that.

 

And his definition of 'engineer' is nonstandard - he means somebody who can fix things, like a repairman or technician.

Somehow scary to see the f-word so many times. Okay, got it, he wants to look "cool."

And yes, quite a few Thais, including teachers believe that an engineer's a car mechanic or anything that would be a "Chang" in Thai. 

 

 Leonardo Da Vinci's knowledge in mechanical engineering was superb, the hang-glider and a machine similar to a helicopter.

 

   Haven't heard of a Thai  Vinci yet...

[jenny2017]

11 minutes ago, pearciderman said:

 

I would have said the steering wheel, as teachers it is our job to guide students. I would equate the engine to the student, they have the power and drive to succeed.

Thanks. I was trying to think like a Thai and see the engine as the most important part. Failed....

[Scott]

Troll post removed.

 

[Scott]

Parents often decide where there child will go to school and what career they will pursue.   A good friend of mine left home at 14 and didn't have any contact with his family until he was 18 because his father had decided he would be a policeman and he didn't want that.   It was not up for discussion.

 

I also taught a student who wanted to go into either fashion design or interior decorating.   He was very talented and his sketches were amazing.   His parents decided he was going to be an engineer (the real kind that goes to University), so that's where he ended up. 

 

The world is short one fantastic fashion designer and one-up on a poor engineer, I think.

 

[jenny2017]

2 hours ago, pearciderman said:

 

I would have said the steering wheel, as teachers it is our job to guide students. I would equate the engine to the student, they have the power and drive to succeed.

Wouldn't the students be the wheels, because that would be common sense if the teacher's the steering wheel?.....A teacher is forming students ( well, usually) in a way that they gain knowledge, but they also need to know how to use it. But I might be wrong....

P.S. The engine would be the school....

[bkkgriz]

4 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

May I ask you what the right answer was? I'd chose the engine, if possible. 

555, hell, I don't know. I am pretty sure I failed that test. I think the right answer must be the tires. They are meant to run over and crush all independent thought. Judging by what I have seen in Thai classrooms anyway.

[SlyAnimal]

On 3/27/2018 at 3:46 PM, jenny2017 said:

Supawadi also scored 82 in Thai, 67 in science and 30 in English in O-Net.

 

  What's wrong with the poor results in English from P. 6 to M.3? I tend to believe that the M6 test results won't be better.

 

   Are the students so bad, are the tests not appropriate, or is it proof that most Thai English teachers seem to have the wrong job? 

 

When I last checked, maybe 2-3 years ago, from memory the average scores for English & Maths in 6 O-NET were 19% & 21% respectively, in a 5 option multiple choice test.

Which is probably why they didn't mention the scores from this year in the article, as they didn't want to distract from Supawadi's achievement by publishing results that are obviously controversal (Why do the majority of students have to study Maths and English for the last 3 years of high school?  Oh yeah, so that they can pick random answers in their M6 ONET exam).

[mommysboy]

Imo most Thai schools are just utterly bad in all aspects.  They undermine a student's ability to learn.