Discussion Text

National Examination: Pro and Contra

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            National exam becomes the hot topic in most of discussions. Though the Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the government on the organization of the national exams, the controversy over whether it is necessary to maintain the national exams (UN) has continued.

            People, who support the national exam, explain that the quality of the Indonesia education system will drop without the national exam, so they try to defend the current system.

            However there are people who disagree with the opinion. Those who against this national exam kept in our high school education say that it doesn't need the national exams because the quality of education does not just depend on the national exam. Further, the national exam only measures a small portion of students' competence in specific subjects, and does not measure students' competences throughout the semester.

            In fact, the national examination can still be useful as an instrument to evaluate or detect the level of students' cognitive competence in several subjects, on a national scale.