[WATCH] Sixth form revamp will see shift from exam to module oriented system

Sixth form revamp will see shift from exam-oriented system to skills enhancement

The MATSEC system at Maltese sixth forms will be shifted away from an exclusively academic and exam-oriented system, as part of a proposed major revamp of post-secondary education.

"The current examination system, a rush to gain certificates, is not the best sort of education," education minister Evarist Bartolo told a press conference. "We should not confuse certificates for skills, and indeed students often forget 80% of what they had studied two years after completing their exams. Just as fast food is bad for your health, so is fast examination bad for children’s education."

During the press conference, Bartolo launched a document with proposals to improve Maltese sixth-forms for public consultation. The document was drafted by a working group composed of sixth form officials, who had consulted teachers, as well as students past and present.

The education minister has long been a critic of Malta’s education system, repeatedly warning that it doesn’t provide students with crucial life skills – such as innovation, entrepreneurship and critical thinking. The 277-page document launched today is his first major significant move to update the post-secondary system, and comes a few months after a proposed reform of secondary education.

Read more: 'We are preparing students for exams, but not for life' - Bartolo 

The document will be open to public consultation for two months

It places a lot of emphasis on a modular approach to curricula, with each subject split up into smaller modules and the student’s progress frequently assessed at different stages as opposed to a single exam at the end of the year. As such, sixth form exams will resemble more closely the structured credit systems used by the University and MCAST.

The report states that the modular approach allows for better evaluation and more focused revision and improvement, more flexible courses that can be adapted to students’ individual needs, and lower emotional and psychological stress experienced by students when encountering summative exams.

Different assessment methods will be used – presentations, practical work, computer-based assessments, group work, peer assessment, problem solving, projects, written assignments and tests.

What a modular system of assessment could look like

The MATSEC syllabi will also be updated so as to ensure that students are taught skills that are relevant to the 21st century – including the development of critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration, and adding multimedia communication into the teaching of traditionally academic subjects. Syllabi will also have to nurture creativity, entrepreneurship and sense of initiative, digital competences, competences in foreign languages, e-literacy and media literacy.

The document also proposes spacing out MATSEC exams - with the first exam session moved to May-June, the supplementary exam session moved to November-December, and oral, aural, and practical exams taken place throughout the year. Results of the first session will be published around mid-August and those of the second session around the end of January.

Students sitting for supplementary exams will still be allowed to apply for University of Malta courses, which will then be obliged to accept them on a provisional basis pending their results.