KUANTAN: Parents and teachers in Pahang welcome the Primary School Assessment Report (PSAR), saying that it is a holistic assessment system that encapsulates both the pupil's academic achievement and non-academic aspects.
For mother-of-three Yanti Mohd Yassin, PSAR allowed her eldest daughter Herdina Yasmin, 12, to excel not only in PSAR's academic component - Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) - but also perform well in the sports, physical and co-curricular activities component.
The 40-year-old entrepreneur said PSAR - now in its second year of implementation in primary schools nationwide - allows candidates to "shine in their own way".
"In the old assessment system (UPSR), pupils who are more left brain-oriented and perform excellently in subjects like mathematics and science.
"However, with the PSAR system, pupils who are more oriented to the right side of their brains, would perform admirably in non-academic components like sports and co-curricular activities, among others.
"They (pupils) can then showcase their non-academic capabilities such as in public speaking and sports like football," said the resident of Indera Mahkota 14 here.
She was met after taking Herdina's results at SK Tunku Azizah, Bandar Indera Mahkota here today.
As for Herdina's overall performance in PSAR, she expressed great satisfaction in her daughter, a Year Six pupil who is also a member of the Girl Guides Malaysia who had represented the country in South Korea.
Yanti said her daughter's experience in PSAR would prepare her for later adult years, with its various nuances that do not merely focus on the academic.
Meanwhile, at the same school, father-of-three Nasrol Azwat Abd Basir praised PSAR for giving exposure to pupils on the academic and non-academic aspects of education in order to help form well-rounded individuals.
"If a pupil only undergoes learning in the classroom, then it will be very limited.
"PSAR grants the opportunity to pupils to also give focus on other aspects of learning like being active in co-curricular activities," said the 38-year-old who lives with his family near the school.
Nasrol, his wife Sazliyani Alias, 37, were all smiles as the couple and their equally smiling daughter Sofea Batrisya, 12, looked through the Year Six pupil's PSAR results.
For the school's headmistress Siti Ruhana Md Anuar, PSAR is an effective system in molding well-rounded pupils.
"PSAR can ensure all pupils who sit for UPSR (the academic component of PSAR) be equally celebrated. No longer would there be (pupils) who are excellent or otherwise as all components (of PSAR) need to be taken into account before issuing the (PSAR) results to pupils.
"At SK Tunku Azizah, we have 153 candidates, including three candidates of Primary School Alternative Assessment (PSAA). They all are feted today and they good results as a whole," she said.
Ruhana noted that primary school pupils' diversified focus on both academic and non-academic elements would help prepare them for education at secondary schools.
She said that the school's co-curricular achievements on the national and international stage is in line with the philosophy behind PSAR.
"We have pupils who took part in national and international robotics competition, active (school) clubs that succeed in becoming champions at the (East) zone level, and the school's hockey team are among the best in the state.
"Close cooperation between teachers, parents and pupils would put variety in methods of learning, decreases pressure on pupils (to merely excel in examination), and allow schools to unearth their (pupils) hidden talents," she said.
It was reported that beginning this year, the complete assessment for Year Six pupils will not only encompass the UPSR, but also three other non-academic components.
Called PSAR or Pelaporan Pentaksiran Sekolah Rendah, the other three components were sports, physical and curriculum activities assessment; classroom assessme
nt and psychometric assessment.
Today nationwide, Year Six pupils have received four reports in total - not only for the academic component, but the other areas as well, all of which will be taken into account for their selection into fully residential schools.