KUALA LUMPUR: The education ministry has defended its practice of standard fixing for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) grading and refuted allegations that confidential, norm-referenced grade adjustments conceal falling student mastery amid plummeting international benchmark scores.
Deputy education minister Wong Kah Woh told the Dewan Rakyat that grade determination through standard fixing is an established, professional assessment methodology used by central examination boards worldwide, including in the UK, US, Australia and Singapore.
"I would like to emphasise that statements claiming SPM grade determination causes the decline in student mastery to be hidden are inaccurate,” Wong said during a special chamber session.
"Standard fixing is conducted to ensure exam results are fair, reliable, and comparable across cohorts."
Wong was responding to questions from Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam), who asked if SPM's confidential grade boundary adjustments under the Official Secrets Act 1972 allowed cohort pass rates to appear stable while actual subject mastery degraded.
Wee urged the ministry to abandon norm-referenced adjustments and adopt criterion-based grading similar to Cambridge IGCSE and O-Level systems where fixed score thresholds dictate grades regardless of overall cohort performance.
Addressing the root causes behind Malaysia's dismal performance in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), Wong pointed to systemic learning challenges rather than exam manipulation.
He explained that Pisa findings highlighted severe difficulties among Malaysian students in applying mathematical concepts and reasoning in unfamiliar contexts, alongside teacher-subject option mismatches and declining parental academic support at home.
“Pisa data shows that students who discuss school matters with their parents at least once a week dropped from 46% in 2022 to 34% in 2025," Wong noted, adding that the ministry would publish detailed state and school-category Pisa analyses where data reliability permits.
Wong admitted that the ministry ultimately fell short of its Malaysia Education Blueprint (PPPM) 2013-2025 goal to place the country in the top one-third of international assessments, but confirmed that meeting global benchmarks remains one of 12 mandatory targets under the upcoming 2026-2035 plan.
Wee had earlier highlighted that Malaysia's average Pisa 2025 score stood at just 409 points, with Mathematics dropping by 11 points from 2022 to an all-time low of 397 points.
He added that because Malaysian students scored above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development averages in curiosity, perseverance and school appreciation, the drop in scores reflects institutional policy failures rather than student apathy.