Buah Lelah di semester 6 ^_^_____The Implementation of Ranking System in Indonesian Education

Alhamdulillah,,,,atas segala pertolongan _MU Ya Rabb.
Semester 6 yang penuh liku (uek,,,mulai lebainya) akhirnya terlewati dengan hasil yang cukup menurut ukuran belajarku yang mulai menurun

Yang paling menyenangkan adalah melewati setiap mata kuliah dengan kawan-kawan anak PBI A 2010 (orang@nya cucok abis,,,he)
yang paling mengesankan adalah aku bisa nulis jurnal in English (jeduar,,,,in English) hal yang awalnya menjadi momok sangan mengerikan yang lebih mengerikan dari tante kunti (emang kunti ngeri???,,,,)

ini dia hasil jurnalku,,,walaupun harus beberapa kali bolak-balik ke kantor kopertais (loh,,,ngapain?) wat konsul ke ibu Normaulidiyah. Sidin dosen mata kuliah Academic Writing.ANd,,,This is it

jeng,,,jeng ,,,jeng

Argumentative Essay

The Implementation of Ranking System in Indonesian Education

Thesis Statement: Ranking system has more negative influence in education

Prepared by: Isfiyatul  Khoiroh

SRN: 1001240520

                      

A.  Introduction

“Orang-orang besar tidak dilahirkan. Mereka ditempa, diukir, dan dipersiapkan oleh pendidikan yang baik:_­ Mohammad Fauzil Adhim (Naim, 2010, p.23)

National education has given many changes to education in Indonesia. This can be seen from many graduates who have good academic achievement in their life. This success in supported by the existence of school which is used as a place to study. Competition is a natural base ability in living creature including it mankind. This competence ability is one of the foundations to stand and develop human civilization. (Pratiwangini, 2007). Education in Indonesia applies competition or often known as ranking system. What is ranking system? How much the influences of ranking system with students’ competence? Is it positive or negative influence? These questions often appear in our mind but we have not found yet the answer of them. Is there or not effect of the implementation of ranking system? By answering the question we can know the importance of the implementation of this system to develop Indonesian education, or whether we must continue this system or not?

            Actually, most of people agree that education is important. Education gives big influence to continue our life in the future. It should have more meaning than asking the students to compete in their knowledge. Seeing from the implementation of education system in our beloved country now that still far from the target. So, we still need to work hard to reach this purpose. Ngainun Naim argues in his book that an excellent student is a student who is able to develop their study culture. Study culture is strong desire from the students to study, spirit to look for many knowledge to their need in the future, and always spirit to study efficiently every day (2010, p. 9). The implementation of ranking system still appears many controversies until now. Ranking system has more negative influence on education.

B.  What is Ranking System?

Education aspect in Indonesia applies ranking system. “Ranking system is something that could hurt applicants," said Myronee A. Simpson from Alan’s online article entitled forum: Contemporary Education. Indonesian educational system uses minimal reaching criteria (criterion-referenced grading) or in Indonesian language known as KKM. The students must reach the lower criteria to pass from the lesson. Let us observe a little opinion from Cherry and Larry V. Ellis (International Review of Economics Education, 2005).

Rank-order grading does not attempt to define performance targets; rather it explicitly and clearly defines the grade distribution. In essence, students compete for a limited number of grades with their relative performance determining their final grade. A primary benefit of such a system is the elimination of the "dead ranges" found in criterion-referenced grading. More continuous incentive structures should increase effort and performance across the board, but this may be especially true for high performing students. Norm-referenced grading has been criticised for promoting competition, but this may be its best virtue. The economics literature provides a plethora of evidence that suggests the incentive structure of rank-order outcomes generates improved decision-making and outcomes (e.g. Baik et al., 1999; Shogren, 1997; Ehrenberg and Bognanno, 1990; Lazear and Rosen, 1981). Michaels (1977) suggests the positive impact of rank ordering may extend to classroom performance but the evidence from the educational literature is mixed (Biehler and Snowman, 1993).  

That means that there is no last purpose of ranking system except academic score. The opinion above explains to us that ranking system only sees the ability of students. It focuses on the final result. Although each lesson has different KKM made by using some procedures from the official of education, it should give the students to get appreciation from their reaching but all of their achievement is nothing when they faced with ranking system. They were appealed with other students in the class. The expert of education Arief Rachman also gives his comment about ranking system. He said that ranking is a system to make mapping about students’ achievement from academic side, affective and spiritual, (Nakita, 2007). In fact the implementation of ranking system only looks at students’ cognitive.

C.  The Positive Influence of Ranking System

Ranking system can add students’ motivation to do the best and effort well, (Ritzal, 2013). Ritzal thinks that by implementing ranking system students will be more spirited to study because they want to show their academic ability. His opinion is supported by a writer of paper report

Grades are a signal about a student's ability and learned about knowledge, grades are incentives that motivate students to make choices that will assign them better signals. The choice of grading system will therefore affect student behaviour because changes in incentives will lead to changes in behaviour (Charry & Larry, 2005).

Then, are there any problems of it? Yes, of course many cases happened as impact of ranking system. For instance students use bad way to get good score like cheat or others. Why do students do this bad way? The answer is that ranking system look at the last score and not from their progress in study. So, the students’ effort to get a good score by using whatever that they can do.  Tjut said “Other school also implements ranking system to categorize the students, because by grouping them in a class is easier to arrange them” (Nakita, 2007). This opinion is totally far from the real function of school as a second house to students where can help students to interact with each other. As Mochtar Bochri (1994, p.17) said in his book that school is a place to facilitate study process.

D.  The Negative Influence of Ranking System      

On the other hand, ranking system also has negative influence taken from an online article written by Wiwin Pratiwanggini (Sistem ranking masih ada, 2012). She shows some negative influences of the implementation of ranking system. They are:

1.    Ranking only gives label.

Giving label as a “Champion” to the student needs to be avoided. It means that ranking will make children over conceited and the students who do not get ranking will feel inferior.

2.      Ranking only shows academic achievement.

The score that is written in the report card usually only shows the academic potential of the students without giving attention to other students’ potential. For example children who have not academic achievement, but got achievement in sport will not be useful by giving ranking. So, they judged as a student who has low achievement.

3.      Ranking is only seen from qualitative data.

Ranking is usually made from some datum that written in report card without seeing whether the score is objective or not. It means that weather the teacher gives the score objective or subjective.  

4.      Ranking can be deceitful.

Ranking causes students to cheat? The answer is yes. Why? By giving ranking, some parents ask their children to get first rank not from their wishing themselves. It is possible if the children are able to reach it or have ability to get it but how about the others who have low ability? They inclined to do deceitfulness or ask the answer from friend.  

5.      Make the students lazy and stress.

The target of the parents or teacher is to make the students stress and suppress. The impact of it is the students will be lazy to study. So, the students will not be maximal in their achievement but worse. Thomas in his online article with entitle Menumbuhkan Siswa Egois serta Antikritik says that “The effect of ranking system in education is some students who have low ability think that they are “loser” and their psychology condition will decrease their self-confidence”. The product of ranking system is smart students, but is it enough as supply to fulfill their need in the future? Of course we need more than that.

            Actually we know that there are positive and negative impacts of the implementation of ranking system. This issue shows that ranking system is one of the problems that need to be thought and investigated to find the solution. Based on some explanations above we can learn that no system of organization is ever perfect. Being aware of the bad influence of ranking system, some schools effort to remove ranking system in their school but new matters appear. School must make a letter that shows students’ ranking as a requirement to register in the higher education or university.

Yunita Handayani’s opinion in her article that nowadays some schools try to lose the implementation of ranking system.  This is seen from a reason that education is not competition. The children may not be focuses on score, but from the process. She says that higher education is not appropriate if they use ranking as one of the requirements to select the new students. Why? Because there are some schools separate the class based on their ability. This is not suitable or fair and the quality of each school is different, (2011).   

On the other hand, to maximize the real function of education better. All of the institutions must focus on one direction to reach the target. We must understand what the real purpose of education is. So, all of the activities that have applied can operate well. Although many opinions that pro or cons with ranking system. The government must give more attention to students’ life need in the future.

E.  Conclusion

In conclusion, the implementation of ranking system in Indonesian education still needs rearrangement to create. Why? Ranking system is indeed not only as a system but also as an idea hoped to create the best education in Indonesia. If Andrea Hirata is able to describe his poor school in his novel Laskar Pelangi that can create smart children with all of the limited condition and situation, so, we must belief that system cannot block our idea to be better. There is or not the system ranking in Indonesian education. The important thing as a student is to study hard and believe that we can reach our idea, because we only can argue without changing the condition.    

References

Buchori, Muchtar. (1994). Spektrum problematika pendidikan nasional di Indonesia. Yogyakarta: Tiara Wacana Yogya.

Cherry & Larry. Does Rank-Order Grading Improve Student Performance? Evidence from a Classroom Experiment. Retrieved June 11, 2013 from                  http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/iree/i4/cherry.htm

Finder, Alan. Class Ranking, Schools Avoid Vexing Colleges. Retrieved June 11, 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/pages/education/index.html

Handayani, Yunita. Kontradiksi penghapusan system ranking di sekolah. Retrieved June 11, 2013 from http://edukasi.kompasiana.com/2011/11/09/kontradiksi-penghapusan-sistem-ranking-di-sekolah-410873.html. 

Naim, Ngainun. (2010). Rekonstruksi PENDIDIKAN NASIONAL . Yogyakarta: Teras.

Pratiwanggini, Wiwin. Sistem ranking masih ada. Retrieved June 4, 2013 from            http://pratiwanggini.net/2012/10/sistem-ranking-masih-ada              

Nakita, Milis. Memperdebatkan Ranking. Retrieved June 11, 2013 from www.mail-archive.com/milis-nakita@news.gramedia majalah.com/msg06213.html)

Ritzal, Yos. Pro-kontra sistem rangking dalam pendidikan Indonesia. Retrieved June 4, 2013 from http://staff.unand pendidikan indonesia.ac.id/yosritzal/2013/04/20/pro-kontra-sistem-rangking-dalam- /

Thomas, Ericson. Ranking Sekolah : Menumbuhkan Siswa Egois serta Antikritik. Retrieved June 4, 2013 from            http://www.antaranews.com