The predecessor of these exam were SPPTM (Sijil Pelajaran Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. The MCE was discontinued on 1976 when the Ministry of Education take over the examination from UCLES and merging it with SPM. The MCE would use University of Cambridge Coat of Arm while SPM would use the Malaysian Government Coat of Arm at the top of the certificate.

There is also the visual difference on how the certificate would look like. The difference between SPM and MCE are SPM was conducted using the national language (Bahasa Melayu) while MCE was conducted using English language. Originally there is two version of SPM, one known as MCE (Malaysian Certificates of Education) taken by student studying in English school and SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) taken by student studying in national school. The SPM provides the opportunity for Malaysians to continue their studies to pre-university level. 5 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia Ulangan (SPMU).Also for the English subject, the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) syllabus is implemented for the English Paper and the result statement will be handed out with the SPM Certificate. Starting from the year 2021, the Malaysian Ministry of Education introduced a new SPM format for the new KSSM syllabus, replacing the old SPM format for the old KBSM syllabus. All SPM examination papers are considered official secrets and are protected under the Official Secrets Act 1972 of Malaysia. On the other hand, the Unified Examinations Certificate is equivalent to Advanced Level. For those who attend international schools, the equivalent exam they sit for is the International General Certificate of Secondary Education exam. The examination is set and examined by the Malaysian Examinations board ( Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia). SPM is the penultimate examination sat by secondary school students before further studies in foundation, STPM, matriculation or diploma. It is handed out by the Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia

Soalan peperiksaan sains tahun 4 pdf