Penilaian Menengah Rendah

Penilaian Menengah Rendah (commonly abbreviated as PMR; Malay for Lower Secondary Assessment) was a Malaysian public examination targeting Malaysian adolescents and young adults between the ages of 13 and 30 years taken by all Form Three high school and college students in both government and private schools throughout the country from independence in 1957 to 2013.

PMR was abolished in 2014 and has since replaced by high school and college-based Form Three Assessment (PT3; Malay for Penilaian Tingkatan 3).

For the fourth and final section of the second paper, the candidates had to write a description for any one of the three novels studied by them in lower secondary school based on the instructions given.

The first section was to interpret an illustration given as thoroughly and detailed as possible, and give comments about their actions in a formal way and predict the outcome of such a situation, this being graded on a score of 10.

For the first oral examination, this part of the test required the student to present an impromptu speech based on a topic given for more than 3 minutes.

For the second oral examination, this part of the test required the student to memorise a passage and present it in front of the class as interestingly as possible for about 5 minutes.

For final oral examination, this part required 2 students to strike a conversation in front of the class for about 5 minutes which is relevant to the topic given.

This examination would then test the students' ability to comprehend the spoken English language in various daily situations.

For the first paper of the English exam, students were required to answer 40 multiple choice questions in the course of an hour.

Students were also required to interpret information based on graphical stimuli such as statistical charts, memos, signs, short texts, notices and pictures.

For Paper 2, students were required to write a long essay and a summary, as well as to answer a literature component.

The final section of Paper 2 was the literature component, where students were required to write an essay based on their knowledge in the novels studied in Form 3.

The novels being tested in the literature component include How I Met Myself, The Railway Children and Around the World in 80 Days.

The marks allocated for this section of Paper 2 were usually more because it required the student to explain further based on their knowledge in science.

The Geography and History papers are commonly deemed very easy as questions are normally recycled from previous years.

For the Living Skills (similar to Design and Technology in many countries) paper, the subject was categorised into 4 elective groups where students could choose any one.

Then there was the mandatory section where students must have taken engineering drawing, technology, invention, domestic piping, electronics, electrical engineering, basic economics, home decor and safety, tailoring, horticulture and gardening, telecommunication, cooking, consumerism, and signs.

Students were also required to complete three projects, that was folios, for these 3 subjects to receive their PMR slip and certificate.

[1] In 2011, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin declared that the PMR examination would be abolished in 2014, and the Form Three students' performance for that year would be tested through a School-Based Assessment (SBA) conducted by the schools themselves.

According to the then Deputy Prime Minister, this measure will also enable parents to obtain the latest information on their children's academic performances in school.

After numerous debates, it was finally confirmed in early October 2012, that PMR would be officially abolished.