O-Net Test 'Stuck In 20th Century', Thai Academic Says

[webfact]

EDUCATION

O-Net test 'stuck in 20th century', academic says

Chularat Saengpassa,

Wannapa Khaopa

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Apparent flaws in the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-Net) have provided another strong reminder that Thailand's education system badly needs improvement.

For years, agencies have lamented the falling average of O-Net scores among students in all subjects. But if O-Net exam papers are not really well designed and mired with mistakes, how can we expect the students to do well?

Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) academic Dr Dilaka Lathapipat pointed out that while the ISA test reflected the vision of the 21st century, Thailand's O-Net was stuck to the 20th century.

"The test-design standards for these two tests are much different," Dilaka said.

If the test designers cannot provide reliable and efficient tests, teachers and students will lack trusted indicators of their performance. Relevant agencies, in that case, will also find it hard to check which areas they should concentrate on to improve for the country's educational system.

(click here for larger image)

As part of the country's educational reform, the National Institute of Educational Testing Service (NIETS) sprang into operation and the O-Net was launched.

O-Net has also replaced the decades-long academically tough university exams.

From its inception, NIETS talked about developing standardised tests but years passed and the results were far from satisfactory.

Many universities became so worried about the O-Net ability to select qualified students for some of their fields that they allocated fewer and fewer seats for the central admission system, which has used O-Net scores as admission criteria.

Apart from such reactions from the universities, students and parents have often criticised the O-Net questions too. To them, some questions appear either ridiculous or rather stupid. Multiple choices given in each question have also raised eyebrows.

In fact, when the former director of NIETS looked at one O-Net question for Mathayom students this year, she gave an incorrect answer.

Dr Utumporn Jamornmann, who is now an adviser to the Ombudsman, chose "b" when presented with the following choices for the question - "If you have a sexual urge, what should you do?" a) Ask friends if you can play football together; Consult family members; c) Try to sleep; d) Go out with a friend of the opposite sex; or e) Invite a close friend to watch a movie together."

According to NIETS director Dr Samphan Phanphrut, the answer was "a".

But critics pointed out that both "a" and "b" could been seen as correct answers for boys; furthermore, in the case of most girls, "a" would be a strange option, and therefore not a viable choice. Utumporn said good test questions must be clear and in line with facts.

Test takers who sat the O-Net, so far, did not think NIETS was successful in ensuring that only good questions appeared in test papers.

Institute for Research and Quality Development Foundation chairman Chainarong Indhara-meesup said any minor mistake could ruin the credibility and reliability of the tests.

"If internal panels can't notice the minor mistakes, recruit the help of outsiders," he suggested.

He also recommended that test-design panels first try out some questions with a small group of students so as to test children's reactions.

"In my opinion, tests should use open-ended questions. A few sentences of answers written by students will tell a lot of things about what students know," Chainarong said.

He said when it came to assessment of educational quality, agencies should not tighten the budget too much.

"Look at the PISA exam paper, it contains no multiple choices. We have to adjust to improve," he |said.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) performed its first test in 2000, but its exam has won respect already across the world. It is a worldwide evaluation in OECD member countries (currently there are 65 member nations) of 15-year-old school pupils' scholastic performance, performed first in 2000 and repeated every three years.

TDRI vice-chairman Dr Somkiat Tangkitvanich said he was not an educational expert but he noticed the need for the NIETS to improve its services.

"Let's do some research for test designing. I also think it's a good idea to publicly announce answers of already-used test questions and explain the rationale of the questions," he said.

TDRI's Dilaka said the tests were tools to evaluate not just students' academic performance but also the performance of teachers and schools.

"Good tests should determine children's ability to apply knowledge to their daily life," he commented.

Dilaka said the United States had a clear policy to put emphasis on subjects crucial for the development of the country.

If tests reveal the knowledge of those important subjects is still inadequate on the part of students, schools will be required to reduce learning hours for other subjects and allocate more time for the important stuff.

-- The Nation 2012-02-27

[Unkomoncents]

Nobody will respond to this because it's a good one...hahahahaha. Hahaha! Ha! OK, now what?

[Reasonableman]

No fundamental disagreement here. We have discussed this in another thread, and the deficiencies are pretty clear. Cannot recall anyone attempting to defend the current system. So yes, where to next? I don't think handing out a tablet, even a panacea, will fix this endemic, systemic illness.

Nobody will respond to this because it's a good one...hahahahaha. Hahaha! Ha! OK, now what?

Edited February 27, 2012 by Reasonableman

[rkidlad]

Is a transvestite wearing women's clothing necessarily always a sexual thing?

I wonder if there are any questions about foreigners.

Why do tourists come to Thailand?

A) To visit temples and go sightseeing

Because they want to try Thai food

C) The weather

D) Because Thailand is number 1 greatest country in whole world

Correct answer is D

[Thai at Heart]

Why are they giving opinions about transvestites? Yet again the mighty brains of Thailand completely MISS the POINT of what they are trying to achieve. Is this some kind of attempt to stop sexual discrimination, to create a more liberal society, so stop gay bashing?

I have a feeling that in the back ground of the results, they are actually also according negative points for wrong answers to build some kind of social profile of a student beyond just measuring intelligence.

[Unkomoncents]

No fundamental disagreement here. We have discussed this in another thread, and the deficiencies are pretty clear. Cannot recall anyone attempting to defend the current system. So yes, where to next? I don't think handing out a tablet, even a panacea, will fix this endemic, systemic illness.

Nobody will respond to this because it's a good one...hahahahaha. Hahaha! Ha! OK, now what?

True. Rehash and rehash. I stopped reading, though, at the emoticon (though still acknowledging that in some situations, there is no other way to express emotions). It's hard to even READ this all the way through....

[Thai at Heart]

No fundamental disagreement here. We have discussed this in another thread, and the deficiencies are pretty clear. Cannot recall anyone attempting to defend the current system. So yes, where to next? I don't think handing out a tablet, even a panacea, will fix this endemic, systemic illness.

Nobody will respond to this because it's a good one...hahahahaha. Hahaha! Ha! OK, now what?

True. Rehash and rehash. I stopped reading, though, at the emoticon (though still acknowledging that in some situations, there is no other way to express emotions). It's hard to even READ this all the way through....

The answer in this situation is to get hold of the syllabus from a neighbouring country i.e. Singapore and copy it word for word and let the sticks fall where they fall to get a genuine idea of how good or bad the teaching and quality of students is in the country. What is happening in Thailand at the moment is a joke and not a very funny one when considering that Thailand wants to attract ever increasing amounts of FDI in an ever increasingly competitive environment.

[maidu]

A few people are good at designing tests, most are not. When I was a lecturer at a Thai University, I would design 'pop quizes' every day - on the previous day's lecture. As soon as the students learned that they weren't allowed to view other students' papers (while taking the tests), they did rather well. They enjoyed the lecture series and learned a lot of useful things relating to science, geography, environment, and language.

[DocN]

"...in the very early days of the 20th century" one might ad!

[Unkomoncents]

No fundamental disagreement here. We have discussed this in another thread, and the deficiencies are pretty clear. Cannot recall anyone attempting to defend the current system. So yes, where to next? I don't think handing out a tablet, even a panacea, will fix this endemic, systemic illness.

Nobody will respond to this because it's a good one...hahahahaha. Hahaha! Ha! OK, now what?

True. Rehash and rehash. I stopped reading, though, at the emoticon (though still acknowledging that in some situations, there is no other way to express emotions). It's hard to even READ this all the way through....

The answer in this situation is to get hold of the syllabus from a neighbouring country i.e. Singapore and copy it word for word and let the sticks fall where they fall to get a genuine idea of how good or bad the teaching and quality of students is in the country. What is happening in Thailand at the moment is a joke and not a very funny one when considering that Thailand wants to attract ever increasing amounts of FDI in an ever increasingly competitive environment.

That's just it: Thailand doesn't want to attract too much FDI. That would be called colonialism, and because Thailand is obsessed with a long-discarded political approach (Thailand is at least 30 years behind the cutting edge as it prevents the spread of 'communism'; it does nicely though compared to Laos and other black hole countries), it doesn't even realize that not being colonized is NOT proof of the general superiority of the local culture. But try telling that to the world's most lame-brained simpletons. Lord bless them!

[Thai at Heart]

That's just it: Thailand doesn't want to attract too much FDI. That would be called colonialism, and because Thailand is obsessed with a long-discarded political approach (Thailand is at least 30 years behind the cutting edge as it prevents the spread of 'communism'; it does nicely though compared to Laos and other black hole countries), it doesn't even realize that not being colonized is NOT proof of the general superiority of the local culture. But try telling that to the world's most lame-brained simpletons. Lord bless them!

Well, maybe I should have changed "wants" to "needs" FDI.

[fire and ice]

O-Net test 'stuck in 20th century', academic says

Don't they mean late-19th century? Or at the most recent, the 1950s?

[Bluespunk]

20th century seems a bit generous, mid 19 appears to be closer to the mark.

[sparebox2]

"Look at the PISA exam paper, it contains no multiple choices."

PISA will be ban in Thailand. It does not fit the culture of Thai education.

Have you really seem a test/exam in Thailand with NO mutiole choice?

[Xangsamhua]

"Look at the PISA exam paper, it contains no multiple choices."

PISA will be ban in Thailand. It does not fit the culture of Thai education.

Have you really seem a test/exam in Thailand with NO mutiole choice?

Thailand is one of 65 countries or regions (of China) that participated in the 2009 PISA tests, and was ranked 50th.

The Shanghai region, Korea, Finland, Hong Kong and Singapore were the top 5.

http://www.oecd.org/...12/46643496.pdf

[arrowsdawdle]

No fundamental disagreement here. We have discussed this in another thread, and the deficiencies are pretty clear. Cannot recall anyone attempting to defend the current system. So yes, where to next? I don't think handing out a tablet, even a panacea, will fix this endemic, systemic illness.

Nobody will respond to this because it's a good one...hahahahaha. Hahaha! Ha! OK, now what?

The problem is the lack of value placed on education and hyper-value placed on the diploma or degree; witness the degree buying at colleges and it is a reflection of cops, military, and gov officials buying promotions from their superiors. Graduating classes at foreign universities rarely have Thai names, certainly not near the top of the class, whereas Vietnamese and Indian students populate the top of their classes, especially in the hard sciences.

[arrowsdawdle]

A few people are good at designing tests, most are not. When I was a lecturer at a Thai University, I would design 'pop quizes' every day - on the previous day's lecture. As soon as the students learned that they weren't allowed to view other students' papers (while taking the tests), they did rather well. They enjoyed the lecture series and learned a lot of useful things relating to science, geography, environment, and language.

Bet they ran you out of there on a rail, they being the teachers and administration. It's not polite to educate where others may not be because you cause them to lose face. Funny how nobody here causes their own loss of face, it's always the person that points out the obvious, by word or deed, that gets blamed.

[Thai at Heart]

A few people are good at designing tests, most are not. When I was a lecturer at a Thai University, I would design 'pop quizes' every day - on the previous day's lecture. As soon as the students learned that they weren't allowed to view other students' papers (while taking the tests), they did rather well. They enjoyed the lecture series and learned a lot of useful things relating to science, geography, environment, and language.

Bet they ran you out of there on a rail, they being the teachers and administration. It's not polite to educate where others may not be because you cause them to lose face. Funny how nobody here causes their own loss of face, it's always the person that points out the obvious, by word or deed, that gets blamed.

That is what makes the whole concept utter nonsense. You only lose face when you KNOW others are laughing at you. Until then you are perfectly free to make an utter p***k of yourself, and no one will ever mention it.

But then, Thailand wouldn't be half as entertaining if the people had self analysis to work out when they were making idiots of themselves.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Thai at Heart

[Starrysky]

Content of the tests is irrelevant. When I worked at a 'High' school in Phuket, I discovered that the students were taught the answers to the multiple choice exams a week or so beforehand. Working as an invigilator, I asked some of the students about the English exam questions that the Thai teachers had set them, knowing from my lessons with those students that their level was - on average - only elementary. Obviously not one of the students had understood a word of the exams set by the Thai teachers. But memorizing a list of A, B, C, D, E answers is easy...

[sparebox2]

Thailand's "O" Net is equivalent to UK's GCE "O" level, if not more superior.

Thailand's "A" Net is equivalent to UK's GCE "A" level, if not more superior.

Both "O" Net and "A" Net are 100% multiple choice question tests.

[harrry]

Thailand's "O" Net is equivalent to UK's GCE "O" level, if not more superior.

Thailand's "A" Net is equivalent to UK's GCE "A" level, if not more superior.

Both "O" Net and "A" Net are 100% multiple choice question tests.

more superior.....speaks for itself.

[animatic]

Sometimes stuck in the 19th century still

[connda]

The test is an embarrassment.

[maidu]

Tests are moot in Thailand. Every student is going to pass, regardless. After that, when you start your 'career,' you simply pay the top banana to advance. Then later, when you're top banana, people pay you to get promotions. That's why people with top positions in Thai gov't / military / police / education / hospitals etc. ......are quite rich - waaaay beyond what their salaries would reflect. In contrast, U student apprentices toiling at a multi-million dollar biz, might get 25 baht for a 10 hour day (particularly those run by Chinese-Thais, who have glycol running in their veins). In Thailand, the adage; 'Rich get richer, the poor get poorer' is flush with vigor.

addendum: that's also why top administrators are often inept at their positions. They get promoted via payments to the right people, rather than getting promoted for skills and knowledge. If in doubt, look at the people heading Yingluck's government. Or look at the top brass who ordered deaths of protesters at Krue Sae, and Tak Bai. If the military had officers promoted on skills & wisdom, those 100+ young men would be alive today.

Edited February 28, 2012 by maidu

[kimamey]

I showed this to my Thai gf and she said "I hope they are joking". If only.