curriculum than the conventional paper-and-pencil tests. These studies
also note that student participation in the assessment process is helpful in
enhancing their learning. Their findings also indicate that criterion-referenced
and development-oriented assessment is required to foster the desired skills.
Thus, it is necessary to focus on the process rather than on results or end
products. The studies suggest that process-oriented performance assessment
is more effective in educational contexts where innovative instructional
strategies such as project-based learning, cooperative learning and problem-
solving are used to teach and learn the skills and competencies promoted by
the 2009 curriculum. They recommend that assessment results should be fed
back into motivating students.
Discussion and conclusions
The 2009 revision of the curriculum was a government-led effort to ensure
that school curricula meet the diverse needs of individual schools and
students. As explained above, under the new system each school develops
its own curriculum on the basis of a needs analysis and the local context.
Thus, schools now have the autonomy to develop curricula to meet their
students’ needs.
The new curriculum proposes differentiated instruction and materials to
improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning, and to meet individual
students’ needs. This differentiated instruction approach allows students to
choose classes appropriate to their interests and achievement levels. It also
encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning, leading
them to become self-directed learners. The new curriculum also promotes
innovative teaching-learning activities teachers can use for character
education and to encourage creative thinking.
The reforms are already having impacts in primary and secondary classrooms,
with various changes being observed, including a shift from the teacher-
centred approach to a student-centred one in which students integrate their
own experiences into learning, play an active role in learning by seeking their
own solutions to problems, and work in collaboration with others in problem
solving.
The revised curriculum also emphasizes the importance of using appropriate
educational assessment tools to measure the desired skills and competencies.
This change reflects the understanding that curriculum and pedagogy should
be linked to assessment. The role assessments play should not be undervalued,