The impact of measures to promote equity in the secondary education certificate examinations in Malta : an evaluation

Abstract

When the national Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) examination system was established in Malta in 1994 as an alternative to the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (GCE O-Level) offered by English examination boards, the opportunity was taken to promote equity among candidates of different attainment levels, gender and social backgrounds. The measures included the setting of examination papers at different levels; the introduction of an element of school-based assessment in several subjects; relatively low examination fees; avoidance of cultural and gender bias in the examination papers, and restriction of registration to "those candidates who were either in the final year of compulsory schooling or aged 16 or over. These measures were expected to attract candidates with a wider range of abilities and social backgrounds than those sitting for the GCE examinations, and to avoid cultural and gender bias. These targets had to be reached against a background of scepticism about the worth, credibility and viability of examinations set by a local examination board when compared to the prestigious GCE examinations set by well-established English examination boards. This paper evaluates the results of the first three years of operation of the SEC examination in order to gauge its impact on equity. The analysis is based on examination statistics, examiners' reports and comments on each of the measures. Access and performance in six major subjects (Maltese, English, Mathematics, Physics, and Italian) are analysed by gender and type of school. Some conclusions are offered about the influence of examinations on promoting equity in an intrinsically inequitable education system.