The Cambodia-Australia National Examinations Project (CANEP)
operated from November 1997 to August 2003. The project worked in
partnership with the Examinations Office of the Secondary Education
Department (SED) in the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and
Sport.
The aim of the project was to assist the Ministry to improve and
enhance all aspects of the Cambodian national secondary school
exams, particularly at Grade 12, the final school leaving exam. The
project was supported by AusAID, the Australian international
development agency and had had a major impact on capacity building
in the Examinations Office.
Use of Grade 12 results for entry into higher education
Until 2002, students sat separate entry tests to higher
education after taking the Grade 12 exam. CANEP made a highly
significant contribution to the policy debate within the Ministry
of Education on using the Grade 12 examination for entry to higher
education. As a result of this debate, in May 2002 the Council of
Ministers approved the use of Grade 12 exam results for the
selection of students to higher education institutions and
specialised studies from 2002 onwards.
Certification
CANEP promoted measures to strengthen the Grade 12 exam and to
give the results increased status, not only in higher education
institutions, but also to students and potential employers. The
following changes to the Grade 12 certificate from 2002 were agreed
by the Ministry:
- individual subject results to be included on the Grade 12
Certificate in five Grades (A - E)
- a change from three pass grades overall at Grade 12 (A, B and
C) to five (A - E)
- the overall percentile rank to be shown on the certificate
- a Certificate of Achievement to be awarded to students who fail
the grade 12 exam overall but pass in one or more individual
subjects
- grade descriptors to be printed on the back of the certificate
in English and Khmer.
The decision to award a Certificate of Achievement to students
who fail the grade 12 overall but who pass in one or more separate
subjects extended recognition of student achievement at school. Of
those who sat the Grade 12 exam in 2002, 24,812 students (87.5% of
those who failed overall) now receive a certificate of achievement
when they leave. From 2002, more students have been leaving school
with something to show after 12 years of schooling than
previously.
Grade 12 Results for Higher Education Department
To facilitate entry to higher education using grade 12 exam
results for the first time, CANEP and the Secondary Education
Department supplied a complete set of results on CD listing all
those students who passed the Grade 12 exam in 2002. The CDs were
distributed to the Higher Education Department as well as public
and private higher education institutions. The information was in
secure electronic form on read-only files; results could be
accessed or printed, but the information could not be altered. Each
CD contained a list with all the individual subject grades, overall
grades and percentile ranks for all candidates who passed
overall.
The CD also contained information designed to assist planners
with selection for tertiary entry, by showing, for example, how
many students achieved each of the grades in any combination of 2
subjects. This table enabled planners to see how many students
scored minimum grades, such as a minimum of grade B in Biology and
grade C in Maths. This information is useful in awarding university
places. A search facility enabled users of the CD to find
candidates from about 4,000 pages of information using names,
percentile rank, seat number, or school.
Other CANEP achievements included:
- the development and trial of a test item bank to assist in
setting exam papers
- design of a statistical moderation program for school-based
assessment scores
- training for Ministry staff.