Year 2020 – the year of many changes, and the presence of Covid-19 does nothing to help us cope with the unfamiliar and unprecedented events that have been happening. Similarly, there are some changes in the education landscape in Singapore that have happened, and will continue to happen in the near future. Students, kudos to you for embracing these challenges and finding ways to cope!
Congratulations to the Primary 6 cohort of year 2020 – You have managed to survive the examinations, and will be going onto Secondary 1 next year. What about the primary five students who will be going onto primary six next year? Are you aware that there is a change in the way your Primary School Leaving Examination grades are being tabulated?
The Ministry of Education has come out with a new framework regarding the grading and curriculum of the PSLE. This is done with the intention of reducing the level of stress that students in Singapore face. With the implementation of this grading system, Singaporean students (as well as parents) are set to say goodbye to any negativity that may come with stressing over the grades. Let’s have a look at the changes that will be happening.
The New Grading System Of 2021
This is probably the biggest reform that is slated for the upcoming years and will kick in from the 2021-2022 academic year. Under the system, for each subject students will be awarded Achievement Levels (ALs) instead of marks. These Achievement Levels vary between 1-8.
| Achievement Level(All) | Marks |
|---|---|
| 1 | 90 and above |
| 2 | 85-89 |
| 3 | 80-84 |
| 4 | 75-79 |
| 5 | 65-74 |
| 6 | 45-64 |
| 7 | 20-44 |
For e.g., those who score 90 marks or more for a particular subject would get the achievement level AL 1 for it. Overall performance is calculated by adding the achievement level values of each individual subject.
Foundation level courses will have only three achievement levels – AL A (75 and above marks), AL B (30 – 74 marks), and AL C (below 30 marks). While calculating the scores, AL A would be equal to AL 6, AL B to AL 7, and AL C to AL 8.
Changes In Streaming
Consequent to the changes in the system of PSLE grading are the changes in the streaming for secondary education. A PSLE score of 22 or less will be needed for getting into the express stream. For the normal (academic) stream scores should be less than 25 and for the normal (technical) they should be below 30
Cutting Down On The Examinations
Changes have been made to bring down the focus on examinations across different levels of schooling. Since 2019, the graded assessments and examinations for the Primary 1 and Primary 2 students have been scrapped. More focus will be given on the quality of learning now instead of marks. The Edusave awards for Primary 1 and Primary 2 will lay emphasis on the different traits that reveal the attitude of students towards learning.
By 2021, the mid-term exams for Primary 3, Primary 5, and Secondary 3 students will also be scrapped. For Secondary 1 students, mid-term examinations were done away with starting from 2019.
Bringing Down The Emphasis On Graded Assessments
Reforms have been rolled out to ensure that there will be no more than one weighted assessment for a particular subject in a given term. There have been changes to how report books look as well. The practice of showing the relative performance of a student in comparison to his/her classmates has been done away with. Marks will be rounded off and more emphasis will be given to ensuring that the education system de-emphasises grades and goes beyond the importance of being book smart. What we hope for the education system to do, is to move our students towards a new Singapore curriculum that hones talents, nurtures the joy of learning and imparts valuable lifelong skills and knowledge.
Through these changes, there is the hope for students to focus on their learning, without seeing the need to compete with others. Also, the emphasis on less rote-learning and more applied learning seeks to help students be more well-rounded individuals who are geared with skills on how to navigate life after graduation.
Changes in Direct School Admission (DSA)
The DSA mode helps students with extracurricular abilities get seats in Secondary Schools even before they take the PSLE. From 2019, Secondary Schools can admit 20% of their non-Integrated Programme (non-IP) Secondary 1 intake via DSA. Earlier the same used to be 5% for schools with Distinctive Programmes and 10% for Autonomous Schools.
So What’s The Message?
What’s the message being sent out here? It’s time for students and parents to relax a bit. We are embarking on another visionary change in our educational system which is already a model for nations across the globe. The new changes help us focus more on the qualitative aspects of our primary education. At its core, these changes are aimed at making our educational system more child-friendly and enjoyable. Our kids are set to have less anxiety over grades and in the process, have more time towards celebrating education.
The term ‘Learn for Life’ has very often been used to represent “a value, an attitude and a skill that our students need to possess.” (Education Minister Ong Ye Kung) This would further support education’s role in being “an uplifting force” in society.
Singapore students need to be instilled with the spirit and love for learning. No doubt the Singapore education system should still remain rigorous, but joy should not be compromised at the expense of academic results. When this is successful, students will remain eager to learn, a trait that will allow them to adapt to, and therefore excel in, the changes in the fast-paced world! Long live the joy of learning! 😊
Exam Smart Tips
Exam Smart Tip #1 – How to Encourage Our Kids to Speak Better?
Exam Smart Tip #2 – How to avoid carelessness?
Exam Smart Tip #3 – Establishing Routines!
Exam Smart Tip #4 – Let’s Read Carefully!
Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
Exam Smart Tip #6 – How to Eat Right for the Exams?
Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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