KUALA LUMPUR – While more Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates earned straight As in 2023 compared to the year before, there was also a slight increase in the number who just passed, earning at least Grade E for all subjects.
SPM 2023 saw 11,713 or 3.1% of all students who sat for the exam take home excellent results with A+, A and A- in all subjects, Education Ministry director general Azman Adnan said when announcing the overall results today.
A total of 395,924 students had registered for the exam last year, and out of this total, 373,255 sat for it.
Azman said the achievement of SPM 2023 candidates was better with them recording a National Average Grade (GPN) of 4.60, compared to 4.74 by candidates in the previous year. A smaller GPN value indicates better candidate achievement.
“A total of 226,358 candidates of the total 373,255 candidates who sat for SPM 2023 obtained at least a pass in all subjects they took compared to 57.1% or 213,624 candidates in 2022.”
A closer look in detail, according to Azman’s presentation during the announcement, showed that there were 131,489 or 35.2% in the “Passed” (Lulus) category, compared to 128,193 or 34.3% who passed in SPM 2022.
In between “excellent” and “passed”, there were 83,122 candidates or 22.3% who earned at least a Grade C for all subjects, an improvement of 2.1% or 7,790 candidates compared to the previous year.
Another 32% or 119,393 failed at least one subject, while 0.4% or 1,467 failed all subjects.
Overall, the 93.5% or 349,297 candidates who qualify to receive the SPM 2023 certificate is a 1.9% increase over the previous year, Azman said.
“It is the best achievement since 2013 based on the SPM certification conditions set,” he added.
Highest scores for moral education
The SPM 2023 results also showed that 66 subjects recorded an increase in performance, 25 subjects recorded a decrease and four subjects showed unchanged or stable performance.
Performance in all core subjects, namely Malay, English, Islamic education, moral education, history, mathematics and science showed improvement.
“Moral education shows the highest performance improvement of 0.20 points, while Bahasa Melayu shows the best performance with an Subject Average Grade (GPMP) of 3.86 points,” he said.
He said for elective subjects, 50 subjects showed an increase in performance, 19 subjects showed a decrease and one subject maintained performance.
“All four STEM elective subjects (pure science and additional mathematics) have shown improvement, with physics recording the highest performance of 0.22 points and being the best subject with the best performance of this group, GPMP 4.15 points,” he said.
Azman also said more than 10,000 candidates for SPM 2023 did not take the exam. The ministry will identify the reasons for their absence, he told a press conference after announcing the results.
“However, it is a considerable decrease in terms of candidates who did not take the exam compared to last year and we will examine one by one the reasons and the interventions we will implement to ensure that this matter will be dealt with as best as possible,” he said.
For SPM 2022, nearly 30,000 candidates registered for the exam did not take it. – May 27, 2024