Important
PT3 is no longer held. Malaysia's Ministry of Education abolished it from 2022, after the 2020 and 2021 sittings had already been cancelled because of COVID-19. Form 3 pupils are now assessed through School-Based Assessment (Pentaksiran Berasaskan Sekolah, PBS). The ministry has also announced a new national Form 3 learning measurement under the Malaysia Learning Matrix from 2027; it is not a revival of PT3. Check the ministry's current guidance before preparing.
Overview
The Form Three Assessment (Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3, PT3) was Malaysia's lower-secondary assessment, taken by pupils in Form 3. It was introduced in 2014 to replace the Lower Secondary Evaluation (Penilaian Menengah Rendah, PMR), which had run from 1993 to 2013. PT3 combined centrally set written papers with assessment carried out in schools.
Senior Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced on 2 June 2022 that PT3 was abolished with effect from that year. PT3 had not been sat in 2020 or 2021 because of the pandemic. The ministry's own pages could not be read for this file, so the details below come from news reports and describe the assessment as it was.
Exam pattern
PT3 was seen as preparation for the later SPM examination.
As an example of the centrally assessed papers, the English paper in the format introduced in 2019 combined the four skills, each worth 25% of the result:
| Component | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Reading and use of English | 40 | 1 hour 15 minutes |
| Paper 2: Writing | 40 | 1 hour |
| Paper 3: Speaking (in pairs) | 20 | About 11 minutes |
| Paper 4: Listening | 25 | 35 minutes |
The English paper was aligned to the CEFR, with B2 as the target level for Form 3. Before 2019, written English and oral English had been separate subjects.
What replaced it
Since 2022, Form 3 pupils have been assessed through School-Based Assessment, which has three parts:
Classroom Assessment (Pentaksiran Bilik Darjah, PBD): continuous formative assessment by teachers, plus summative assessment at the end of a topic, term or year, using question banks supplied by the ministry. PBD is reported twice a year.
Physical Activity, Sports and Co-curricular Assessment (PAJSK).
Psychometric Assessment (PPsi).
Placement into Form 4 streams is now based on discussion between teachers, pupils and parents together with PBD reports.
In January 2026 Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek announced new national learning measurements under the Malaysia Learning Matrix: one for Year 4 from October 2026 and one for Form 3 from 2027. The minister presented them as different from, and better than, UPSR and PT3.
Is PT3 still held?
No. PT3 was abolished from 2022 and its 2020 and 2021 sittings were cancelled. Form 3 pupils are assessed through School-Based Assessment, and a new Form 3 learning measurement under the Malaysia Learning Matrix is due from 2027.