Poor ONet scores 'could reflect

Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) secretary-general Chinnapat Bhumirat said he had assigned Obec’s Upper Secondary Education Bureau to analyse what caused the lower average scores. However, some of the students who sat the O-Net probably did not pay much attention to the test as they did not need the scores for university admissions purposes, he said. 

Many Matthayom 6 students are able to enter universities through the institutions’ direct admissions systems, which do not require O-Net scores. This probably caused Matthayom 6 students’ O-Net average scores to drop, Chinnapat said. 

He said this was a different situation from that facing Prathom 6 (Grade 6) and Matthayom 3 (Grade 9) students. Obec uses their O-Net scores as part of the selection process for their preferred schools at secondary level. Their O-Net scores are also considered when their teachers and school directors are assessed. So, the use of their O-Net scores forces both of these groups of students to work hard and pay attention to the test, Chinnapat said. 

The National Institute of Educational Testing Service (NIETS) recently announced the average scores for eight subjects. The students’ average scores in five of eight subjects were lower than last year. The five subjects are Thai language; social studies, religions and culture; science; health and physical education; and art. However, the average scores of the remaining subjects – occupation and technology, English language and mathematics – were higher. 

Out of full scores of 100, the average score for Thai language was down from 42.61 to 41.88; social studies, religions and culture from 46.51 to 33.39; science from 30.90 to 27.90; health and physical education from 62.86 to 54.61; and art from 32.62 to 28.54. Meanwhile, the average score for occupation and technology was up from 43.69 to 48.72; English language from 19.22 to 21.80; and mathematics from 14.99 to 22.73.