Special Feature

The Method of Merit Calculation for Admission into Public Universities for Post-SPM Programmes

(In Line with the New SPM Grading System) by The Ministry of Education Malaysia for the 2010/2011 Academic Session

The Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia has introduced a new grading system for SPM candidates that will begin in 2010. This means that candidates who sat for SPM in 2009 will have a new grading system in calculating their SPM results which comes with the introduction of A+ as a subject grade.

DETERMINATION OF ACADEMIC STREAM

1. Categories of Applicants

Applicants can be categorised into two streams i.e.

1. Arts Stream candidates
2. Science Stream candidatesf

2. The determination of academic stream for all candidates is through four out of five main subjects, as below:

Science Stream	Arts Stream
• Mathematics	• Bahasa Melayu
• Additional Mathematics	• Mathematics
• Physics	• Science
• Chemistry	• History
• Biology or one of the following subjects: Civil Engineering Studies, Electrical & Electronic Engineering Studies, Mechanical Engineering Studies, Invention, Engineering Drawing, Home Economics, Agricultural Science, Information Technology, Principles of Accounting, Commerce, Basic Economics, Agro-technology Studies, and Sports Science	Islamic Studies / Moral Studies / Al-Quran and As-Sunnah Studies / Syariah Islamic Studies

CALCULATION OF MERIT

3. Merit Calculation for Admission into Public Universities
The ranking of applicants is calculated based on a merit system. Since the academic session 2006/2007, Bahagian Pengurusan Kemasukan Pelajar (BPKP) has been admitting students with SPM qualifications to universities based on a calculation of 90% weighting on academic marks and 10% on co-curriculum marks.

Academic marks are calculated based on the total marks of eight subjects, that is, five main subjects (90 marks) and the other three best subjects (30 marks).

3.1 Calculation of Academic Marks
The calculation of merit is based on subject grade value and for the purpose of calculating the marks, the allocation of value to each grade is as below:

Table 1.1 Allocation of Academic Points to SPM Subject Grade

Subject Grades (before 2010)	Subject Grade and Points Allocated (from 2010 onwards)
	Subject Grade	Points Allocated
-	A+	18
1A	A	16
2A	A-	14
3B	B+	12
4B	B	10
5C	C+	8
6C	C	6
7D	D	4
8E	E	2
9G	G	0

The academic marks is calculated based on total marks from eight subjects, that is,

1. 90 marks for five main subjects, and
2. 30 marks for the other three best subjects

Science Stream
The method of academic marks calculation for SPM Science stream is as follows:

1. 90 marks from the following five main subjects
   • Mathematics
   • Additional Mathematics
   • Physics
   • Chemistry
   • Biology or one of the following subjects:
     Civil Engineering Studies, Electrical & Electronic Engineering Studies, Mechanical Engineering Studies, Invention, Engineering Drawing, Home Economics, Agricultural Science, Information Technology, Principles of Accounting, Commerce and Basic Economics.
2. 30 marks from the other three best subjects taken in SPM

Arts Stream
The method of academic marks calculation for SPM Arts stream is as follows:

1. 90 marks from the following five main subjects
   • Bahasa Melayu
   • Mathematics
   • Science
   • History
   • Islamic Studies / Moral Studies / Al-Quran and As-Sunnah Studies / Syariah Islamic Studies
2. 30 marks from the other three best subjects taken in SPM

Example of Academic Marks Calculation
Below is an example of academic marks calculation for a Science Stream candidate:

Table 1.2 Science Stream Candidate Who Has Sat For Nine Subjects

No.	Subject Taken	Grade
1	Bahasa Melayu	A+
2	English	A+
3	Islamic Studies	A+
4	History	A+
5	Mathematics	A+
6	Additional Mathematics	A
7	Physics	A-
8	Chemistry	A
9	Biology	A-

Calculation of Candidate’s Score (Academic Marks) for Five Main Subjects (Science Stream)

No	Subjects	Grade	Subject Grade Value
1	Mathematics	A+	18
2	Additional Mathematics	A	16
3	Physics	A-	14
4	Chemistry	A	16
5	Biology	A-	14
	Total		78

Calculation of Candidate’s Score for the Best Three Remaining Subjects

No	Subjects	Grade	Subject Grade Value
1	Bahasa Melayu	A+	18
2	Islamic Studies	A+	18
3	History	A+	18
	Total		54

Calculation of Candidate’s Score for the Best Three Remaining Subjects

Note: the above is an extract from the October 2009 press release by: Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (Source: www.mohe.gov.my)