Poor O-Net results nationally – but then there’s Supawadi
Prathom 6 (Grade 6) and Mathayom 3 (Grade 9) students on average scored under 50 per cent in core subjects in the Ordinary National Education Test (O-Net), results released this week show.
National Institute of Education Testing Service (NIETS) director Sampan Panpruk said the average scores among 700,000 Prathom 6 pupils were 46.58 in Thai language, 36.34 in English, 37.12 in mathematics and 39.12 in science.
Among 640,000 Mathayom 3 students, the scores were 48.29 in Thai, 30.45 in English, 26.3 in math and 32.28 in science.
The Prathom 6 math score average was four points lower than last year’s and the science score two points lower.
O-Net results for Mathayom 6 (Grade 12) will be announced on March 31, a few days earlier than planned so that they can be applied in the Thai University Central Admission System for academic year 2018, Sampan said.
Students can submit requests from March 31-April 1 to see their answer sheets on April 3.
General Aptitude Test (GAT) and Professional and Academic Aptitude Test (PAT) results will also be announced early, on April 2, while results for the national test on nine-core subjects will be available on April 8.
Supawadi Sripor, a 12-year-old Prathom 6 student at Ban Dong Krapung Nong Na Saeng School in northeastern Bueng Kan province, scored a perfect 100 points in the O-Net math exam, fuelling her dreams of becoming a teacher.
Supawadi also scored 82 in Thai, 67 in science and 30 in English in O-Net.
Sitthipol Asawaphum, director of the rural school, said Supawadi’s success was a source of pride for its 10 teachers and 135 pupils.
He said its students had been among the country’s top scorers in O-Net for the past five years and credited the teachers for effectively managing classes on a limited budget.
Math teacher Pisal Phromjak said Supawadi had been brilliant in math since third grade, when she scored 100 points in the National Test. She was among the top fifth of students in mathematics last year and this year in the Bueng Kan Primary Educational Service Area.
Pisal bases his lessons on Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology textbooks and practice questions from old exam papers.
Supawadi’s mother Khampoon Sipor, a rubber tapper by profession, said she trusted the teachers’ academic guidance.
She said Supawadi is her second and younger daughter and a responsible child who willingly helps with household chores.