Minister of Education, Susil Premajayantha, has announced several major changes set to be implemented from the upcoming academic year (2024). One key aspect of this overhaul involves simplifying the 5th-grade scholarship examination, with a focus on assessing students’ literacy and numeracy skills.
Minister Premajayantha expressed the intention to shift away from the current system, emphasizing that obtaining 100 percent marks will no longer be the primary evaluation criterion. Instead, students will be assessed based on a combination of factors, including 30% of marks from the 5th-grade scholarship examination and an additional 30% from evaluations conducted during the 4th and 5th grades.
Furthermore, the Minister highlighted the importance of maintaining regular school attendance as a contributing factor in the evaluation process. Addressing potential concerns about bias in teacher evaluations, he stressed the need to establish clear trust between parents, students, and educators.
In providing context, Minister Premajayantha mentioned that even in Finland, renowned for its exemplary education system, only classroom-level evaluations are employed in schools up to the 9th grade. He indicated that evaluations through examinations begin from grade 9 in Finnish schools.
