National School Graduation Test as the only ‘Executor’ of Students’ graduation?

by Azys Syaiful Anwar

Formal education in the school is quite important for many students. However, it becomes useless when the learning achievements have to be corrupted at last. That’s what hundreds or even thousands of students around Indonesia experienced. They didn’t pass the National Graduation test, the only test that drives their future. Their learning experience for three years in the junior or senior high must be assessed in about three days test.

Actually, the national graduation test will be held faster than the annually agenda. It usually runs on April, but government will hold this event on March, 2010. As a result, students get shorten preparation to face their test. Some of them are afraid of this test. If they don’t pass the standard grade of the test, they can be considered as fail in their learning process in the current level.

Case example, if a student, just  call him Adi, doesn’t have enough score in one subjects or doesn’t pass the minimum average score, he is failed and cannot continue to the next level. If Adi is a junior high, he cannot continue his study to senior high using their learning achievement during his study in his school.

What a terrible problem. That’s make some of community submit a protest to the national graduation test. Some of them may parents who are not satisfied with the national graduation test. Their children who are always having a good learning achievement don’t pass in a subject. Then, they are sentenced to be failed students although they get maximum result for the other subject.

Government doesn’t improve the minimum requirement of the national graduation test passing score. According to National Ministry policy no. 75/2009 ruled about the national test for junior/senior high school, students have to get or pass the average score for all subjects. They have to get at least 5.50 point for all subjects. Besides, they also have to reach 4.00 or more for each subjects tested. If they get average score 5.50, but there is a 3.00 score on one of the learning subject. Then, they can be said as failed in the test.