Kuala lumpur: Around 400,000 Year 4 pupils are expected to sit for the Year 4 Learning Matrix, the first cohort of the new assessment system, scheduled over three days from Oct 6 to 8. Education Ministry Examinations Board (LP) director, Ab Aziz Mamat, said the assessment will be conducted simultaneously nationwide, with each subject tested in a written paper lasting one hour and 15 minutes.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the assessment will cover four core subjects - Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics, and Science, as well as Chinese or Tamil for national-type schools. Ab Aziz Mamat stated that additional time of 30 to 60 minutes will be provided for pupils with special learning needs in mainstream schools.
He emphasized that schools are responsible for registering all Year 4 pupils to ensure adequate preparation of question papers and to avoid any candidate being left out. The assessment instruments are developed by the LP in collaboration with teachers, focusing on the Curriculum and Assessment Standard Document that encompasses Year 1 to Year 4 content.
The examination papers will include objective and subjective questions of varying formats and difficulty levels, aimed at assessing knowledge, application, problem-solving, reasoning, and Higher Order Thinking Skills. Ab Aziz mentioned that international assessment frameworks such as the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, and the Programme for International Student Assessment were considered to align pupils with global standards.
To ensure public confidence, the LP centrally administers the assessment. The LP will coordinate the printing of question papers and distribute them to secure storage facilities nationwide, ensuring uniformity across examination centers.
Pupils under the Dual Language Programme will receive bilingual papers for Science and Mathematics, while others will sit for papers in the Malay language. Regarding marking, scripts will be assessed by pupils' own subject teachers using marking schemes provided by the LP, with moderation and verification processes in place to maintain assessment standards.
Ab Aziz noted that this approach allows teachers to better understand their pupils' strengths and weaknesses. He clarified that the grading and scoring system will mirror that of the Final Academic Session Examination, but the results will not be used for entry into fully residential schools, MARA Junior Science Colleges, or other specialized institutions, which will continue to use the Special School Entry Assessment.
In January, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government would introduce a new assessment approach under the Malaysia Learning Matrix as part of the National Education Blueprint 2026-2035, beginning with Year 4 pupils in 2026 and Form Three students in 2027.