Unified exams for sixth, ninth graders to begin June 3

AMMAN — Sixth and ninth graders will sit for unified exams on selected subjects as of June 3, a decision met with “dismay” by teachers, parents and students alike.

Under the new regulations, 170,000 sixth graders and 150,000 ninth graders will be tested in maths, Arabic and English, while sixth grade students will also be tested in science, in a bid to improve educational outcomes, according to the Education Ministry.

Schools will be responsible for giving students 60 per cent of their grades based on their own tests and 40 per cent will be based on the ministry’s tests, under the decision.

Students’ names will not appear on exam papers during the correction process to ensure credibility, while teachers will be responsible for correcting the papers of students from schools other than their own.

Students who fail will retake the exams during the summer in accordance with standard regulations.

In previous remarks, Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat noted that the move seeks to end the differences between schools, achieve equality among students and unveil their “true” academic level.

However, not all education sector insiders are of the same opinion, citing bad timing and the lack of proper preparations as factors that could prevent success of the exams.

“There are schools that lack teachers and others that lack the minimum requirements. It is unfair to treat all the Kingdom’s schools as equal before working to address imbalances,” Ayman Okour, Jordan Teachers Association spokesperson, told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

Moreover, he noted that schools were given short notice — less than a month.

“Any similar measure should be subject to intensive studies with stakeholders, especially in terms of schools’ capabilities to handle it,” Okour said.

Ola Alhindi, whose ninth-grade son studies at a public school in Amman, said the exams will “only add pressure on students and parents”, mainly as the decision was not taken at the beginning of the scholastic year.

“Students were not even acquainted with the type of questions and how they should study for the exams,” she said.

The new measure is “particularly harsh” on private schools, some of which teach different curricula.

“The decision hit us all. It will only cause confusion. I wonder why it was not taken at the start of the academic year,” said Munther Sourani, president of the Private School Owners Association.

“I want to be optimistic about the outcome of the exams, but all I can say now is that the situation is shameful,” Sourani added.

Michael Anton, whose daughter is a sixth-grade student at a private school, said she is “panicking” and that her school only officially notified parents about the exams on Saturday.

“The science and English language subjects taught at my daughter’s school are different from those of ministry-run schools. Also teachers did not finish teaching some of the subjects students will be tested in,” he said.

Sabah Nawayseh, head of the ministry’s achievement tests committee, told The Jordan Times that all the Kingdom’s schools should use the same textbooks in the subjects that will be tested.

“We want to make sure that the exams give us an accurate reading of student’s academic levels,” she highlighted.