My sister was given a homework to design Form 3 History text book cover. Don't ask why, I'm still wondering the same thing myself. Anyways, she came to me for help, and this is the final product. I didn't use any government logos, as there may be some copyright infringement issues later.
For the benefit of those who are wondering what 'Form 3' is, let me give you a very brief summary about our Malaysian education system:
When you're 7 years old, you're officially qualified to register at any public school. Some parents I know enroll their kids when they're 6 years old. But generally, 7 years old is the norm. So, when you first enter school, you're Standard 1. Every year, you increase a 'standard' until you finally reach Standard 6. This is when you sit for a major exam, UPSR (Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah; primary school achievement test). This exam is huge deal, especially when you're in Standard 6. This year (2014) will be the last year students sit for their UPSR examination. I'm not really too sure about the new system next year. These six years of education is your 'Primary Education'. After finishing your primary school, you're automatically qualified to advance to secondary school. It's officially called as 'Secondary Education'.
Now, students need to study for 5 years in secondary school. So, that's Form 1 when you're 13 years old, and all the way to Form 5, when you're 17 years old. Secondary school is split to two; lower secondary and upper secondary. First three years, you're at lower secondary, and then upper secondary during your last two years. The picture you see above is a homework for a Form 3 student.
Anyways, you sit for another major exam when you're at Form 3, PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah; lower secondary evaluation), where the results will place you in a particular stream; either science stream or arts stream. Plus, instead of choosing those streams, there's also an alternative of technical and vocational stream. I'll not go into the details of these streams, there's a whole another world there. This year (2014), PMR will be replaced by school based assessment system. I do not know much details about this system yet, but what I read about is; students will be assessed based on their academic and non-academic achievement.
During their upper secondary days, that is in Form 4 and Form 5, students will be preparing themselves for a major examination, SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia; Malaysia certificate of education). This exam really is a huge deal. Results from this exam (even SPM trial results) will determine scholarships and placement in universities or in matriculation.
Did I say brief overview just now? I guess I got a little carried away. You can find the primary school subject details and secondary school subject details in the hyperlink attached.
