SPM EST – an Easy & Simple Test? (Part 1 of 2)

Posted by Chong

I came across a very funny post on a Malaysian famous teen blogger’s blog. What does EST stand for? Easy & Simple Test, Extremely Simple Test or Easy Short Test? None of these funny and creative answers is correct. Actually, EST is an abbreviation for… (drum-roll please)… English for Science and Technology.

Before I write a post on How to Score SPM English for Science and Technology (EST), I think it is crucial for you as the reader to know the past and present situation where a small number of SPM top students miss 1A in EST.

Taiping’s Chong Huey Ee of SMK (P) Treacher Methodist, who took 16 subjects, missed out on the possibility of being the country’s top scorer when she obtained 15 1As but got a 2A in English for Science and Technology.

“Although I am disappointed that I did not score straight 1As, I can be proud that I scored 1As for the subjects I studied on my own – Science, Geography, Commerce, Principles of Accounting, Economics and Tasawwur Islam,” she said
- The Star, 14 March 2006

Firstly, I would like to congratulate Chong for scoring such an envious result in SPM 2005. All her family members, teachers and friends would surely be proud of her. No doubt she had really done a very good job.

Okay, enough of compliment, let me raise a complicated question: She could score 1As in all the SPM subjects that she studied on her own (as mentioned in the excerpt above) but why not in SPM EST which she learned it in class since form four? Keep in mind that she scored 1A in Tasawwur Islam, a very hard-to-score or to be accurate, a very hard-to-pass subject for most Chinese candidates.

For 2004 SPM, I noticed that quite a number of intelligent students in my school got only a 2A in EST. For 2005 SPM, the situation is getting worse! A total of 3 students in my school got As in all subjects except EST. Why?

If you are scratching your head, thinking the answer to my question, please stop doing so or you will lose all your hair! I suggest you read Part 2 to find out more about this situation. In Part 2, I shall write in detail on the reasons top scorers missed 1A in EST and the tips to score 1A in SPM EST. Liked this post? Subscribe now to read more post like this one! Tweet