Cambodia may soon have new standardised exams to hold its students, teachers and education system accountable.
“Everyone agrees that the improved enrolment rates in primary school is an accomplishment; at the same time, everyone also calls for quality-control improvement … [which] means better testing,” said Jan Noorlander, program coordinator at CARE Cambodia.
Now, Cambodia lacks the national standardised-test frenzy endemic in other Asia-Pacific countries like Korea, Japan and Singapore. Learning outcomes are measured by teacher-created monthly tests and end-of-semester exams, a process that stakeholders say has little to no oversight and is riddled with cheating, discrimination and inconsistencies.