Teachers’ Workload Capacity in the Implementation of Standard-based Assessment System in Malaysian Primary Schools

In 2011, the Ministry of Education, Malaysia implemented the Standard Based assessment system for all Malaysian public schools. This assessment system which focuses on upgrading the formative assessment system consequently raised several issues including teacher workload. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to explore teachers’ workload capacity in the implementation of the standard-based assessment in the primary school Mathematics classrooms. The study employed a descriptive research design which integrated survey questionnaires and interviews. It involved a total of 290 teachers from national primary schools from the state of Selangor in Malaysia. The findings of the study showed that teachers were facing some key workload issues such as their beliefs of formative assessments, teaching and learning, motivating students, support group and professional development capacities. All these issues of concern have to a certain extent hindered the effective implementation of authentic assessment initiatives. Henceforth, it is pertinent that the right mechanisms be put in place to help identify and overcome these shortcomings in a bid to further enhance the teaching, learning and assessment practices in the primary classroom.