Speaking Ability Assessment Speaking Ability

51 curriculum which uses students’ academic scores to decide the students’ academic competence on the academic reports. Therefore, the academic report content must be clear for students and reliable based on the students’ academic result during a certain academic period. Chaplin 1965 states that academic performance is someone special achievements in doing academic task. Here, the result of students’ academic performance is the students’ identity which differentiate their academic competence with other students. The scores of the test or exam which are taken by the teachers can describe the quality of students’ achievement. In accordance, every teacher who has given the scores to the students must possess competency to establish scoring system, including in making the questions sheets to be tested to the students in order to conduct reliable scores considering the students’ knowledge and skill. Good in Slameto 2002 states that academic performance is an achievement or capability seen in an expertise or bunch of knowledge, attitude, and skill. Academic performance is stated as reached knowledge or skill which is improved in certain field of subject at school, usually settled by a test or an exam established and guided by teachers. The lack of knowledge and teaching method from a teacher becomes a problem for the education system since the students mostly rely on their teachers’ instruction to establish learning activities. Hence, learning outcomes or achievements are useful to support the availability of appropriate instructional learning activities as well. If the teachers want to seek for the level of learning outcome and learning or academic achievement of their students, they have to conduct academic performances. Simpson and Weiner 1989 state that performance is measurable 52 behaviour resulted from particular situation. The situation can be in the form of test or review. The performance is measureable since the content of the test is already constructed based on the school curriculum and syllabus and the information of the test is already shared to and known by the students. Lawrence 1998 defines that academic performance is measurable at any point in time. Academic performance test is done after the students finish certain learning materials based on the school syllabus. The role of school curriculum to provide clear schedule of academic performance test is important so that the teachers and the students are able to focus conducting teaching and learning process and to deliver the learning materials which will be tested in academic performance. Academic performance is usually held in the end of certain academic period in the form of examination. Cambridge Academic Reporter 2003 states that academic performance is identical with examination performance. The frequent form of examination is test in the end of study period. Self-identification of students who perform their educational abilities in structured time and place is the real reflection of their learning outcome degree. The preparation before the test becomes the essential part for the students to deliver their understanding of related subjects. The score of academic performance has the biggest percentage of overall students’ learning achievement which is shown in a report because academic performance test usually covers the whole learning materials of a certain academic period. Geiser and Santelics 2007 state that academic performance affects future performance. Hence, good result of academic performance will increase the students’ self-confidence in following next lesson and next academic performance. 53 Students need to organize their learning activities with their learning environment in order to maximize their learning achievement. Goddard 2003 states that students’ social environment determine the success of academic performance. At school, students can interact with their classmates or their teachers to enrich their knowledge and skill before they follow academic performance test. The adequate source of learning materials also helps the students to construct their curiosity in developing their learning experiences. Fantuzzo, Tighe, and Childs 2000 support the idea of how importance the role of students’ learning environment to the academic performance by emphasizing the assistance of the st udents’ parents in establishing the students’ participation at school. Then, students should have close correlation with every elements around them related to their learning focus in order to increase the result of their academic performance.

6. Vocational High School

Based on Indonesia Law Number 20 in 2003 about the System of National Education, levels of education in Indonesia are divided into Early Education or Preschool, Primary School or Elementary, Middle School or Junior High School, High School, Post-secondary at University, Graduate education, and Adult education. Each level has its own characteristic considering the growth or age of a person and the learning goals. The level of Vocational High school is the same with Senior High School. From the level of ages, the students of a Vocational High School are from 15 to 18 years old. The learning goals in a Vocational High School relate to the practical job skills which are needed by the students to work