KUALA LUMPUR: THE Ministry of Higher Education today launched the Malaysia English Assessment (MEA) for university students in an effort to enhance the Ecosystem for English Language Learning and Assessment in Higher Education.
Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said MEA is a unique and holistic assessment ecosystem where it will transform students’ experience in mastering English.
“The integration of formal and informal learning, and assessment is expected to produce graduates aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) English proficiency level after graduation.
“The assessment is critical for learning because not only it provides the bridge between teaching and learning, but enhance the learning process and drive a student’s educational experience as well,” Idris said, at the launch of MEA held at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Also present were Higher Education deputy minister Datuk Dr Mary Yap Kain Ching, Higher Education Department director-general Datin Paduka Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir and UKM vice-chancellor Prof Tan Sri Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali.
MEA is embedded within the ecosystem and consists of formal assessment (MEA 1) and informal assessment (MEA 2).
While MEA 1 is aligned with the CEFR, MEA 2 is addressed through task-based assessment and students’ everyday activities.
MEA 1 has started its operation through the development of the Higher Education English Language Test Repository (HELTR) last month.
This question bank will be used to build CEFR standard exam questions for the English empowerment programme in the public universities at the end of Semester 1 Session 2017-2018.
“It will provide a wealth of materials for lecturers to construct future exam papers,” said Idris.
There are three development phases of MEA. The first phase involves the construction of the HELTR system, developed and hosted by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris.
The second phase is the construction of test specification for formal and informal assessments while the third phase outlines the publication of MEA Guidebook and Test Repository Manual for the Users.
These developments are expected to be completed in stages by the end of next year.