By Panithan Onthaworn

 

A high school student group urged the Ministry of Higher Education on Monday to reassess the admission exams of nearly 1,000 students who earned zero scores, as their examiner allegedly did not instruct them to mark down the test’s serial number.

 

When the General Aptitude Test (GAT) and Professional and Academic Aptitude Test (PAT) results were announced last week, the Thai University Central Admission System (TCAS65) said that 983 students failed to provide the test’s serial number on their answer papers.

 

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Following that, several student complaints were raised to clarify that this was because of the examiner’s negligence to instruct them to write down the number even being asked twice.

 

Full story: https://www.thaienquirer.com/39648/almost-1000-thai-students-seek-help-after-receiving-0-admission-score-due-to-missing-tests-serial-no/

 

-- © Copyright Thai Enquirer 2022-04-26

 

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"who is accused of failing to instruct the student to write down the serial number, told him they had misunderstood the question and that the test time had already expired"

 

Just like first world problems,Thailand's problems are unique. Man ....out of box thinking, reasoning, logic and problem solving has no place in what they teach in school.

For this I think we can fairly blame Falang teachers as they are running the show!! Pun intended!

 

Come on. Give them a break. They have a hard time passing it without this silly mistake. 

2 hours ago, RandiRona said:

"who is accused of failing to instruct the student to write down the serial number, told him they had misunderstood the question and that the test time had already expired"

 

Just like first world problems,Thailand's problems are unique. Man ....out of box thinking, reasoning, logic and problem solving has no place in what they teach in school.

For this I think we can fairly blame Falang teachers as they are running the show!! Pun intended!

 

First world?

What might that be?

"Told him they had misunderstood the question".

Ah!  So, that explains it. It's all a misunderstanding.

The last line of the linked article states that these were not from one school but from several schools across the nation.

 

 

If you fail a whole test by not writing a serial number on it (which is something the students shouldn't be doing anyway) then it is a bad test.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

their examiner allegedly did not instruct them to mark down the test’s serial number.

 

That's what happens when you hire Win Motosai riders to stand-in for such positions. 

Troll post removed

I tell my students multiple times to write their name in English only on their tests and their student number.

I warn that failure to do so will result in losing 10% of their mark.

Guess how many still write their name in Thai??

 

Similarly, when they email work to me, I ask them to put a particular heading in the subject line as I need to know who they are, their student number and the subject ( I have 100's of students each semester).

 

Guess how many cannot follow this simple instruction ?? The majority of them. I even created a PPT showing in detail what to do and guess how many followed the instructions??

 

You can see where I am going with this & it is the same every year for 12 years. ????

 All thailand students should get zero, they've had a two year holiday, cuz online teaching is about as much use as a solar-powered torch!

Removed an off-topic post.

 

The Thai language forum would be the correct place to discuss the romanisation of the varied pronunciations of a Thai word in regional Thai dialects.

I remember a test from 5th grade...........

 

We were instructed very clearly: "Read ALL the questions before you begin. You have 15 minutes." 

 

We were told this, and it was the first thing mentioned in the written instructions. 

 

The very first item on the test was: "1) Use your pencil to punch 3 holes in the top of the paper." 

 

The very last item on the page said: "20) Ignore all the questions before this one. Sign your name to the top of the page and put your pencil down." 

 

Of course, the test wasn't to see if we could answer the questions. The test was to see if we could/would follow instructions! ("Read ALL the questions before you begin. You have 15 minutes.") 

 

Of course, there I sat........... CAUGHT! There was simply no way to hide those 3 holes I had punched in my paper.......... because I hadn't......... as instructed.......... read ALL the questions FIRST. ????????????

 

Having had THAT embarrassing/humiliating experience myself............ I'd sure like to see these recent tests in Thailand!

 

Is it clearly part of the written instructions that you have to write the serial number for your test on the answer sheet? 

 

If it is, then whether or not the instructor told them to......... is moot. It was in the written instructions. 

 

Of course, if instructors around the country specifically told them. NOT TO.......... that's a very different situation.

 

It would be reasonable once specifically instructed NOT TO by the instructor......... to believe the instructor has the most up-to-date information, while the written instructions may be dated or obsolete. 

 

So, how would I judge this situation? Answer: I can't!

 

As published, too many critical pieces of information are missing from the story to draw a conclusion. 

 

But my inclination  is this............ 

 

We shouldn't measure the scale of the problem by how many DIDN'T put the serial number down........... but by how many DID! 

 

If the vast majority DID include the serial number............ then unless you can point to one or two instructors who are responsible for ALL the missing serial numbers.......... then you have to ask: How did all the other students......... manage to get it right? 

 

Seems to me............. 

 

There may be a whole lot of students who metaphorically have three holes punched in the tops of their papers........... nearly a thousand(!)............ who are now desperately trying to lay the blame on someone else! 

 

But I dunno! Cuz the story doesn't even TRY to provide the answers that would clarify the situation! 

 

????????????

 

Cheers! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 hours ago, paulikens said:

 All thailand students should get zero, they've had a two year holiday, cuz online teaching is about as much use as a solar-powered torch!

The absolute worst teacher I had in High School............... Mrs K. Ross.......... taught me the single most important lesson I learned I High School. 

 

On the first day of class, she said: 

 

"I can stand up here and teach until I'm blue in the face............. but I cannot make you learn!"

 

There's nothing wrong with online learning.......... if the student is willing to apply him- or herself to learning.

 

Because..........

 

LEARNING is the student's responsibility, NOT the teacher's!

 

And that remains true whether the class is online............ or in a classroom. 

 

Cheers! 

13 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

If you fail a whole test by not writing a serial number on it (which is something the students shouldn't be doing anyway) then it is a bad test.

or they weren't given adequate exam preparation/clear instructions, or they were and they weren't paying attention... 

26 minutes ago, KanchanaburiGuy said:

LEARNING is the student's responsibility, NOT the teacher's!

As a teacher I assure you, that is not true. Learning is a collaboration between the teacher and student. Yes the students must want to learn, but it is my duty to ensure that I create a safe, nurturing and positive environment where students will want to learn and have the confidence to challenge themselves. 

the test answer paper is one of those scantron where you have to pencil in the the answers, and the test serial no. is needed because students sitting adjacent to each other might be given alternate test questions with their corresponding serial no. 

 

It's a national test, being held at the same time on the same day, the fact that there are up to 1000s of students being told not to pencil in the serial no must mean that there are at least multiple examiner giving out the incorrect information, as most test center held in assembly hall or gymnasium probably won't hold 1000s of student in one place

 

it also probably cost next to nothing to run the answer against the key for all the test variations, and look at what net them the highest marks

“The answer papers with no serial number were found among test fields across the country, not in a particular one,” Chalie added.”

 

So it wasn’t students from one test centre but from across the country.
 

983 seems to be a relatively low number, so would that suggest that most students in those test centres did include the serial number? 
 

Unless of course only a small number of students took this particular test. 

10 hours ago, it is what it is said:

or they weren't given adequate exam preparation/clear instructions, or they were and they weren't paying attention... 

It is really simple, if you fail a whole test based on one thing to do, it IS a really bad test. 

And if your whole test hinges on writing a serial number on it, again, BAD test.

 

Let's say it was a math test, how is writing a serial number on it a test of your math knowledge?

 

So, if you get the majority of actual test questions correct, but you don't put a serial number on it, you fail?

 

Also, was it designed to test their ability to 'pay attention'? 

Give them a "50"?

 

That's what they do in thai "schools".

 

IMO the Proctor should probably review this before the exam with an oral statement and a demonstration, and review each exam submitted.

 

 

Anyone with a hard zero should be retested, or made Prime Minister.

 

 

 

 

 

 

17 hours ago, KanchanaburiGuy said:

The absolute worst teacher I had in High School............... Mrs K. Ross.......... taught me the single most important lesson I learned I High School. 

 

On the first day of class, she said: 

 

"I can stand up here and teach until I'm blue in the face............. but I cannot make you learn!"

 

There's nothing wrong with online learning.......... if the student is willing to apply him- or herself to learning.

 

Because..........

 

LEARNING is the student's responsibility, NOT the teacher's!

 

And that remains true whether the class is online............ or in a classroom. 

 

Cheers! 

@KanchanaburiGuy while i definitely agree. its also easier for students to do nothing, but in the classroom they can't get away with that as they do online. hiding behind a screen with the camera closed and the mic closed.