Rethinking assessment: A fairer and in-depth method through school-based assessment | Jude Zammit

Jude Zammit is Director general Department for Curriculum, Lifelong Learning and Employability

Our education system emphasises inclusivity, equity, and lifelong learning. For too long, our assessment systems have filtered rather than understood, and compared rather than helped.

The introduction of the school-based assessment (SBA) system marks a significant shift in this paradigm—a step forward in aligning assessment with learning, and not merely as a means to rank students.

The SBA system is a planned and well-thought-out change that will improve the quality of learning by putting it in the real classroom setting. It is used in all secondary schools in Malta. It’s not lowering standards; it’s changing them. Instead of high-stakes, one-size-fits-all tests, we now use a variety of ongoing assessments that better show what students actually know and can do.

A better picture of how students are learning

Traditional exams favour memorisation and test-taking over comprehension. They also favour a select group of students who perform well under pressure and punish those who need more time or different conditions to shine.

This system changes this dynamic. Allowing students to demonstrate their learning through projects, investigations, presentations, and other methods, it gives teachers a fuller picture of their progress.  Students can then take responsibility of their learning and develop critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.  Malta’s National Education Strategy 2024–2030 emphasises these competencies for 21st-century learners.

Inclusion and equity at heart

A more equitable and open education system is one of SBA’s key goals. A rigorous and final assessment system has disproportionately disadvantaged students with varied learning styles for years. This system gives the student a chance to fix this problem. It values both progress and performance, and growth as much as grades.

This move supports Strategic Objective 2 of the National Education Strategy, which calls for fairness and inclusion in all educational activities. SBA promotes a healthier learning environment by reducing high-stakes exam stress and recognising success.

Teachers’ professional role

The system puts teachers back in charge of assessments as experts. SBA doesn’t decrease standards; it trusts teachers to make wise judgements about student learning. It involves collaboration, moderation, and training and rightly places assessment in the classroom, where learning occurs.

A holistic SEC qualification

Importantly, the SBA system is now part of the Secondary Education Certificate final evaluation. The final level is the SBA score plus the SEC Paper 2 grade. This integrated method considers classroom performance and formal exam outcomes to provide a fuller picture of student success.

This integration follows the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) recommendations for testing students’ ability to apply what they know, solve challenging issues, and think critically.  Thus, SBA is part of an international vision for modern, relevant education, not just a national reform.

Having a goal, not pressure

Some critics say that SBA may make school easier. But should education develop people who can take exams or help them think?  Do we want young people who can remember information under stress or use what they know creatively?

SBA accepts intellectual challenges but redefines them. Students study key ideas, apply them in real life, and reflect on how they learn. It makes people appreciate learning rather than the result.  Strategic Objective 3 of Malta’s National Education Strategy emphasises high-quality teaching and learning, learner agency, critical thinking, and effective evaluation for learning.

More specifically, Strategic Objective 3 calls for:

The systematic integration of formative and summative assessment approaches;

The promotion of diverse pedagogical methods that allow students to demonstrate their understanding in multiple ways;

Strengthening student engagement and motivation through relevant and personalised learning experiences.

The SBA targets these goals.  Making evaluation a moving component of the learning process ensures that everyone, regardless of background or skill level, can succeed and progress.

A system with a human face

The SBA reform’s most essential change is humanising assessment. It realises that each student learns differently and that one test score doesn’t indicate success. Our education should prepare pupils for life, not simply tests.

Problems will arise. Any worthwhile change is difficult. However, fairness, relevance, and integrity underpin this development.  It is a vote of confidence in our students, our teachers, and our collective commitment to an education system that measures what truly matters.