2013 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[Aberc]

Prodaddy:

When the Cohort average is high because of very easy paper then how about the Standard deviation? Will it be narrow or wide? Normally what will be the average SD for Maths ? Any idea?

I could be wrong, but when my kid's school used to release the mean and SD (it doesn't anymore) for both the school and class level, I used both sets of data to calculate the tscore. The class mean was higher than the level mean and the class SD was lower than the level SD. Hence, the difference in the tscores using both sets of data was marginal - I think less than 2 points higher.

I think when the mean is higher, the SD tends to be smaller and vice versa. According to this website:

http://www.greatminds.edu.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89:disclose-t-score-secret&catid=59:great-minds-club&Itemid=91

the SD for math for past years average out to 12.93. I'm not too good with statistics though the normal distribution tables look vaguely familiar - you may wanna take a look at the website to get an understanding of how they arrived at the figures. Hope this helps!

[taz]

25hr mama:

ngl2010:

Don't forget to bring dictionary tomorrow

Yes, thanks for the reminder, ngl2010. To play safe, my dd will be bringing a electronic version & a book version, just in case.

My girl just refuses to bring book version, only electronic.
DH support her stand. :stupid:
Que Sera Sera. No eye see liao.

[Prodaddy]

Aberc:

Prodaddy:

When the Cohort average is high because of very easy paper then how about the Standard deviation? Will it be narrow or wide? Normally what will be the average SD for Maths ? Any idea?

I could be wrong, but when my kid's school used to release the mean and SD (it doesn't anymore) for both the school and class level, I used both sets of data to calculate the tscore. The class mean was higher than the level mean and the class SD was lower than the level SD. Hence, the difference in the tscores using both sets of data was marginal - I think less than 2 points higher.

I think when the mean is higher, the SD tends to be smaller and vice versa. According to this website:

http://www.greatminds.edu.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89:disclose-t-score-secret&catid=59:great-minds-club&Itemid=91

the SD for math for past years average out to 12.93. I'm not too good with statistics though the normal distribution tables look vaguely familiar - you may wanna take a look at the website to get an understanding of how they arrived at the figures. Hope this helps!

Hi..Thanks...Good info & let me take a look at this link..

[Aberc]

taz:

25hr mama:

[quote=\"ngl2010\"]Don't forget to bring dictionary tomorrow

Yes, thanks for the reminder, ngl2010. To play safe, my dd will be bringing a electronic version & a book version, just in case.

My girl just refuses to bring book version, only electronic.
DH support her stand. :stupid:
Que Sera Sera. No eye see liao.[/quote]My kid said the printed version also needs the school sticker which we didn't get, so we are at the mercy of the electronic one which she got a sticker for. Hope the battery will last :xedfingers: .

[zeemimi]

notredame:

firefly38:

[quote=\"notredame\"]Could it be the reverse: parents of top pupils do not want the average pupils to be near their kids results...you get the impact right?

Waiting to be flamed.... :imdrowning:

I think parents of top students are pretty 'switched-off', actually.. They won't waste their time & energy worrying about what you've mentioned..
As for the top students, i believe they always look at what's in front of them.. They are least bothered by what's behind them..

No worries. I am just directing at one particular user here only. There are many endearing parents of top pupils here like 25hr mama, zeemimi, etc..[/quote]sorry :? :? why am i drawn into this? i don't really know what is the exact argument about cos i don't read every page. I get a bit here and there.

To be honest, i have several kids and they have varied abilities. If i place my kids on the academic spectrum, they occupy from one end to the other end. But the academic spectrum is not the only existing spectrum. In other spectrums, the order is sometimes reversed.

So if I may, i like to say i do understand why some would like an easy paper and why some wouldn't. But at the end of the day, I hope everyone will be happy and make the best of the situation. Things don't always go the way we want, but that's not the end of the world. :celebrate:

[notredame]

Fresco:

notredame:

[quote=\"funnydaddy\"]
PEACE....
I am back. It's a clear cut which group you belong to....and it is clear cut why the parent of the average students want to be near the Top students in results. Needless to say.

Are you speaking for yourself? I think you should not generalise your perception. I seriously do not think 'the parent of the average students want to be near the Top students in results. Needless to say'.

Many of them have 自知之明 and are at peace with their lives and others like myself would like to stay away from the self-declared elites (without inner substance).

Absolutely. It is good to aspire to do great and be just as successful as the top performers. Top students put in a lot of hard work and have good self-discipline to stay at the realm, not just having smart genes and high IQs to stay at the top. Most importantly, these top performers make sure they do well CONSISTENTLY.

If parents of average performing kids want their kids to score as well as or close to the top performers in results, they have to first make sure their kids score well consistently, NOT just in one or two exams. Even if they do score well this time, they won't be able to cope in the long run in a top secondary school if they do not have the right attitude towards learning and fail to perform well consistently.

As parents, we should acknowledge our kids' intrinsic abilities and strive to bring the best out of them by investing time and energy to to encourage their efforts regardless of their success or failures. The key is to let them outperform themselves, not others.

So those who want their average performing kids to achieve results near to top students' are being unrealistic and adding unnecessary stress to their own kids. They are selfish and are nurturing their own passions, not their kids.[/quote] :salute: :salute: :salute:

Hi zeemimi. Above should shed some light about your query. Anyway it's not worth pursuing what the post is about. Just some insensitive remarks by someone. Ignore and move on.

[Fried chicken]

This is a genuine question - if this year’s PSLE is indeed easy compared to previous years and average students and top students are able to hit the same T scores, would average pupils who choose to go to top schools be disadvantaged? I mean, top schools will still be top schools, and if an overly easy PSLE allows students to achieve scores that they could not have achieved in previous years, and average students are now able to enter top schools, would they be able to cope with the standard of the school?


I’m all for less stress, and an easy PSLE does help to alleviate stress, but is it really reflective of students’ abilities if marks are so close that it comes down to a careless top student and an average student who makes few careless mistakes?

[Nebbermind]

What is your average kids?

I would think it’s unrealistic to expect the 220s to suddenly become 250/260, although it is not impossible. Most likely the 240/250 will be pushing closer towards 260 and there’s not reason to think they can’t cope coz they will eventually take the same o or A levels.

[zeemimi]

Nebbermind:

What is your average kids?

I would think it's unrealistic to expect the 220s to suddenly become 250/260, although it is not impossible. Most likely the 240/250 will be pushing closer towards 260 and there's not reason to think they can't cope coz they will eventually take the same o or A levels.

Yup .... That's how I feel too. Anyway this t score is just 3 digits and not exactly reflective of a kid's ability. It doesn't take into account how a kid may bloom or shrink in Secondary school. I've seen 250s rise to the top of the school and other 250s sink to the bottom. And I've seen 260s sink right to the bottom.

[Fried chicken]

Nebbermind:

What is your average kids?

I would think it's unrealistic to expect the 220s to suddenly become 250/260, although it is not impossible. Most likely the 240/250 will be pushing closer towards 260 and there's not reason to think they can't cope coz they will eventually take the same o or A levels.

I see. Thanks for your reply.