Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah
Encyclopedia
Primary School Evaluation Test, also known as Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (commonly abbreviated as UPSR; Malay
), is a national examination taken by all students in Malaysia at the end of their sixth year in primary school before they leave for secondary school
. It is prepared and examined by the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate (Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia), an agency that constitutes the Ministry of Education
. Students in national schools (sekolah kebangsaan) are required to take five subjects, in addition to an aptitude test. Students in Chinese
and Tamil
national-type schools (sekolah jenis kebangsaan) are required to take two additional language subjects, totaling seven subjects.
Multiple choice questions are tested using a standardised optical answer sheet
that uses optical mark recognition
for detecting answers.
This exam is held annually on the second Tuesday of September. The score is calculated based on a bell curve, thus the passing grade is reflected by the yearly performance.
Each of the two Bahasa Malaysia subjects is offered at two different levels: the harder SK level and the easier SJK level, due to the difference in the Bahasa Malaysia syllabus taught in SK and SJK. However, SJK students may opt to sit for the SK paper with permission from their schools.
Paper 1 contains 40 objective questions and the student has 50 minutes to answer them. Each question is worth 1 mark.
Usually, the questions should be in this placement:
Paper 2, which has subjective questions, contains three sections. A total of 40 marks has been allocated for this whole paper.
, is the subjective area of Maths. There are 20 questions here in total, the first five have a one point score value, questions 6-14 have a two-point score value, and the last five have a three point score value. Many students think that this exam is "tough" because section A's time duration is only 50 minutes and they can't finish it in time.
Questions that are frequently asked in this exam are fraction
s, subtraction
, multiplication
, division
, addition
, area
and volume
, mass
, perimeter
, decimal
points, average
, data
, digit
number
s, percentage, money
, time
, date
and duration.
For section A, students are given 30 multiple choice questions with a weight of one marks of each. For section B, students answer subjective
questions. In the subjective paper, there are usually 3-5 questions and each question has 4 to 5 sub-questions which carry 1 to 3 marks depending on the question. Usually, the subjective questions will start with a diagram of an experiment and the questions are based on that diagram. The total weight that can be given here is 20.
When one adds the score of both sections, that person must multiply it by 2 to get the grand total. The first batch who took this exam were the candidates sitting for the UPSR year 1997.
The one and a half hour test comprises 61 multiple choice questions, divided into three sections based on three core areas namely thinking skills, problem solving and decision making. Students are graded according to band scores, ranging from Band 1 (Extremely Limited User) to Band 6.
Occasionally, however, pictures might not be provided and to substitute that, candidates might be asked to write sentences on a graph
, a pie chart
, multiple images, or a time table.
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
), is a national examination taken by all students in Malaysia at the end of their sixth year in primary school before they leave for secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
. It is prepared and examined by the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate (Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia), an agency that constitutes the Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education (Malaysia)
The Ministry of Education is a Government ministry responsible for Malaysian educational matters...
. Students in national schools (sekolah kebangsaan) are required to take five subjects, in addition to an aptitude test. Students in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
national-type schools (sekolah jenis kebangsaan) are required to take two additional language subjects, totaling seven subjects.
Multiple choice questions are tested using a standardised optical answer sheet
Optical answer sheet
An optical answer sheet is a special type of form used in multiple choice question examinations. Optical mark recognition is used to detect answers...
that uses optical mark recognition
Optical mark recognition
Optical Mark Recognition is the process of capturing human-marked data from document forms such as surveys and tests.-OMR background:...
for detecting answers.
This exam is held annually on the second Tuesday of September. The score is calculated based on a bell curve, thus the passing grade is reflected by the yearly performance.
Subjects
The subjects that are taken in this exam include:- Bahasa MalaysiaMalay languageMalay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
(Pemahaman or Malay Comprehension) - Bahasa Malaysia (Penulisan or Malay Writing)
- EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
- ScienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
- ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
(Pemahaman or Chinese Comprehension) - Compulsory for Chinese school students only - ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
(Penulisan or Chinese Writing) - Compulsory for Chinese school students only - TamilTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
(Pemahaman or Tamil Comprehension) - Compulsory for Tamil school students only - TamilTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
(Penulisan or Tamil Writing) - Compulsory for Tamil school students only - Apitude Test
Each of the two Bahasa Malaysia subjects is offered at two different levels: the harder SK level and the easier SJK level, due to the difference in the Bahasa Malaysia syllabus taught in SK and SJK. However, SJK students may opt to sit for the SK paper with permission from their schools.
English
The English examination is divided into 2 papers.Paper 1 contains 40 objective questions and the student has 50 minutes to answer them. Each question is worth 1 mark.
Usually, the questions should be in this placement:
- Questions 1-4 - general questions
- Questions 5-7 - fill-in-the-blanks based on short paragraph with pictures
- Questions 8-15 - choose the best answer/question to a dialogue
- Questions 16-21 - grammar
- Questions 22-23 - punctuation
- Questions 24-25 - spelling
- Questions 26-30 - similar to questions 1-4
- Questions 31-40 - comprehension questions based on a story, label etc.
Paper 2, which has subjective questions, contains three sections. A total of 40 marks has been allocated for this whole paper.
- Section 1 asks the students to describe a picture in 5 sentences. This question bears 10 points.
- Section 2 has two questions. The student is given 3 choices of items, packages, etc., each with their own pros and cons. In the first question, the student has to correctly fill in the details of the items mentioned in a table. In the second question, the student is given a situation that involves the three items (birthday party, movie with friend, etc.) and has to pick one of the three items and write a paragraph about why he chose it. Question one bears 10 points and Question two bears 5 points. Section 2 can also have a notice/advertisement and another paragraph is given at the bottom, related to the notice/advertisement which the person must fill in the blanks given there by using the information from the notice/advertisement, which is why it is sometimes called "Information Transfer"
- Section 3 contains 3 or 4 pictures that tell a story. Below each picture, words are given to guide the student. The student is to write an essay using all the words given in any order they like. This section is worth 15 points.
Mathematics
The mathematics examination is one hour and thirty minutes long, and is divided into two sections, a "section A" and "section B". Section A is multiple choice and consists of forty questions, all have a one point score value. Section B, like ScienceScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, is the subjective area of Maths. There are 20 questions here in total, the first five have a one point score value, questions 6-14 have a two-point score value, and the last five have a three point score value. Many students think that this exam is "tough" because section A's time duration is only 50 minutes and they can't finish it in time.
Questions that are frequently asked in this exam are fraction
Fraction (mathematics)
A fraction represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, we specify how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, five-eighths and three-quarters.A common or "vulgar" fraction, such as 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, etc., consists...
s, subtraction
Subtraction
In arithmetic, subtraction is one of the four basic binary operations; it is the inverse of addition, meaning that if we start with any number and add any number and then subtract the same number we added, we return to the number we started with...
, multiplication
Multiplication
Multiplication is the mathematical operation of scaling one number by another. It is one of the four basic operations in elementary arithmetic ....
, division
Division (mathematics)
right|thumb|200px|20 \div 4=5In mathematics, especially in elementary arithmetic, division is an arithmetic operation.Specifically, if c times b equals a, written:c \times b = a\,...
, addition
Addition
Addition is a mathematical operation that represents combining collections of objects together into a larger collection. It is signified by the plus sign . For example, in the picture on the right, there are 3 + 2 apples—meaning three apples and two other apples—which is the same as five apples....
, area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
and volume
Volume
Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by some closed boundary, for example, the space that a substance or shape occupies or contains....
, mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
, perimeter
Perimeter
A perimeter is a path that surrounds an area. The word comes from the Greek peri and meter . The term may be used either for the path or its length - it can be thought of as the length of the outline of a shape. The perimeter of a circular area is called circumference.- Practical uses :Calculating...
, decimal
Decimal
The decimal numeral system has ten as its base. It is the numerical base most widely used by modern civilizations....
points, average
Average
In mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....
, data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
, digit
Digit
Digit may refer to:* Digit , one of several most distal parts of a limb—fingers, thumbs, and toes on hands and feet* Numerical digit, as used in mathematics or computer science* Hexadecimal, representing a four-bit number...
number
Number
A number is a mathematical object used to count and measure. In mathematics, the definition of number has been extended over the years to include such numbers as zero, negative numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, and complex numbers....
s, percentage, money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
, time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
, date
Calendar date
A date in a calendar is a reference to a particular day represented within a calendar system. The calendar date allows the specific day to be identified. The number of days between two dates may be calculated. For example, "24 " is ten days after "14 " in the Gregorian calendar. The date of a...
and duration.
Science
The science paper lasts for 1 hour and 15 minutes. This exam is divided into two sections, A and B.For section A, students are given 30 multiple choice questions with a weight of one marks of each. For section B, students answer subjective
Subjectivity
Subjectivity refers to the subject and his or her perspective, feelings, beliefs, and desires. In philosophy, the term is usually contrasted with objectivity.-Qualia:...
questions. In the subjective paper, there are usually 3-5 questions and each question has 4 to 5 sub-questions which carry 1 to 3 marks depending on the question. Usually, the subjective questions will start with a diagram of an experiment and the questions are based on that diagram. The total weight that can be given here is 20.
When one adds the score of both sections, that person must multiply it by 2 to get the grand total. The first batch who took this exam were the candidates sitting for the UPSR year 1997.
Aptitude test
Introduced in 2009, this test is used to evaluate students' aptitude and are written in the pupil's own language.The one and a half hour test comprises 61 multiple choice questions, divided into three sections based on three core areas namely thinking skills, problem solving and decision making. Students are graded according to band scores, ranging from Band 1 (Extremely Limited User) to Band 6.
Examining and result
After every exam,the exam paper wil be brought to any examining centre across states of Malaysia. The places of examining are secret to public, but some person spoke that the invigilator can randomly send the papers to any examining centre. Every objective sheet will be examined by computer, and every subjective papers will be examined by examiners. After examining all the papers, the marks will be put into the online systems. There will be some meetings that will set the mark grades for every papers (Standard mark for 'A' grade is 80 marks above, but with analyzing every marks and questions, it may be lowed to 70+ marks above). Then result is printed and distributed to every District Education Departments where the candidates live. The results usually announced on the last Thursday school day (Second last day of school, except Terengganu,Kelantan and Kedah, it is the last day of school).Format change
In 2005, several changes were made to the format of the 2 Malay papers, Pemahaman and Penulisan:Pemahaman
- The Pemahaman paper has 40 questions for 50 minutes. Previously, this exam lasted for 1 hour.
Penulisan
- The new format for Penulisan papers however are slightly different from early 2005. Formerly, each paper consists of two sections namely sections 1 and 2. For section A, there are two subsections. Candidates can choose to answer one of two questions given while for section 2, every candidate must answer the question given. The time given for the older format is one hour.
- For the newer format, each papers consists of three sections that are sections A, B and C. Candidates only have 1 hour and 15 minutes to answer all three sections.
Section A
For section A, a picture will be given. Then, pupils must build five compound sentences based on the picture. The suggested time to answer this section is 15 minutes. The marks allocated for this section is 10.Occasionally, however, pictures might not be provided and to substitute that, candidates might be asked to write sentences on a graph
Graphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
, a pie chart
Pie chart
A pie chart is a circular chart divided into sectors, illustrating proportion. In a pie chart, the arc length of each sector , is proportional to the quantity it represents. When angles are measured with 1 turn as unit then a number of percent is identified with the same number of centiturns...
, multiple images, or a time table.
Section B
Section B is similar to the previous format of the Penulisan paper. For this section, candidates must choose one of three karangan or essays to be written on the UPSR paper. The suggested time to answer this section is 35 minutes. The total marks allocated for this section is 30 marks.Section C
For Section C, there is a short story that contains some moral values. The student must write a paragraph containing the moral values. Pupils who get SK (Sekolah Kebangsaan) paper must give at least 5 moral values; pupils who get SJK (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan) paper must give 4 moral values only, unless given other instructions. The suggested time to answer this section is 20 minutes. Initially, the pupils were supposed to write their moral values in more than fifty words (SJK - forty), but now, they have to write it in less than fifty words (SJK - forty). The total marks allocated for this section is 20 marks.See also
- Education in MalaysiaEducation in MalaysiaEducation in Malaysia is overseen by two government ministries. The Ministry of Education handles matters pertaining to pre-school, primary school, secondary school and post-secondary school. Matters regarding tertiary education are dealt with by the Ministry of Higher Education...
- Penilaian Menengah RendahPenilaian Menengah RendahPenilaian Menengah Rendah is a Malaysian public examination taken by all Form Three students in both government and private schools throughout the country. It was formerly known as Sijil Rendah Pelajaran...
(PMR) - Sijil Pelajaran MalaysiaSijil Pelajaran MalaysiaThe Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia , or the Malaysian Certificate of Education, is a national examination taken by all fifth-year secondary school students in Malaysia...
(SPM) - Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM)
- Ujian NasionalUjian NasionalNational Exam commonly abbreviated as UN / UNAS is a standard evaluation system of primary and secondary education in Indonesia and the equation of quality of education levels among the areas that conducted by the Center for Educational Assessment, Depdiknas in Indonesia based on Undang-Undang...