2014 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[susu]

Maths Tutor Mr. Lim:

Kiasu parents must know (part 2).


Dream School : Nan Chiau High School 2014 COP 242, 4 yr express only

case 1
P5 CA1 results, don't use p4 SA2 result
eng 60
chinese 60
science 60
maths 608

rough estimate t-score -> 0.75 (60 + 60 + 60 + 60) = t-score 180 (+-10)

242 - 180 = 62 need to work very hard; like mission impossible; don’t dream :slapshead:

case 2
P5,P6 CA1 results (or SA1, CA2, SA2, Prelim)
eng 80
chinese 80
science 80
maths 80

rough estimate t-score -> 0.75 (80 + 80 + 80 + 80) = t-score 240 (+-10)

242 - 240 = 2 still need to work very hard :rotflmao:

Hi,
Can further elaborate how to calculate the t- score?
How come eg1 and eg2 formula differs --180 vs 240?
T-score 240 (+-10) = t-score × 240 × (+-10)?
How to determine the t-score? :?

[JohnYeo]

You can google and there is a pdf file from Edge Field Pri.


it's about Understanding PLSE T-Score Computation.

link shortened.
http://bit.ly/1as4A2f

[wah]

ctct61t:

firefly38:

DS2 has started with his Math & Science tuition classes.. DS2's strongest subject is Math, followed by Science, but I am not taking any chances this year.. :oops:


DS2 enjoys the 'extra' lessons coz many of his friends are there too (a centre set up by ex-HODs of his Pri Sch).. DS2 says go tuition can meet girls too..

Still sourcing for Eng & CL tutors for DS2.. Searching searching...

Hi Firefly38, May I have the name of your DS' Tuition center name ?

For CL, Busybee is a good choice, my DD went there a month ago, she likes it. More importan, really got improvement in this short period.

I am searching a good Eng too.

Hi Firefly38, I'm searching doe science tutor. May I also have the name of the tuition centre.

TIA

[susu]

Maths Tutor Mr. Lim:

case 1

P5 CA1 results, don't use p4 SA2 result
eng 60
chinese 60
science 60
maths 60

rough estimate t-score = 0.75 (60 + 60 + 60 + 60)
= 0.75(240)
=180

242 - 180 = 62

case 2
P5,P6 CA1 results (or SA1, CA2, SA2, Prelim)
eng 80
chinese 80
science 80
maths 80

rough estimate t-score = 0.75 (80 + 80 + 80 + 80)
= 0.75(320)
= 240

242 - 240 = 2

Hi,
I see... Thanks very much for detailed elaboration.

[weilingohwl]

Any parents wants to form group tuition for PSLE Maths Tuition (woodlands) with my child? I have a very good tutor but his schedule is very full, therefore i'm trying to form a group.

[umaisarah]

Hello everyone. Just found this thread. This year I have double bonus. One child taking PSLE and the other taking O levels. Yay for me! :boogie:


The tutor who's been teaching my P6 girl EMS for the past 2 years decided to change jobs and withdraw from tutoring. So I hv to find a new one But after thinking hard about it, I've decided to tutor her in Math myself. It's her weakest subject. I noticed even from K2 days, she was having problems. I acted too late on it and now she has to pay the price. I think it's because I never send her to any music lessons when she was growing up, unlike her older sisters who now seem to excel in Math. That's my theory anyway

I'm a full-time working mom, so this is going to be a challenge for me. It's going to be a test of my discipline as much as it is hers but I want to do it for her. I find that she is most receptive to my teaching. Back in P4, I took leave just to coach her for her final year, and she did pretty okay so I think she benefited from it.

My DD is one kind. She's so quiet. She won't ask if she's not sure, even when with me and that makes me very agitated because I'm not getting the feedback I need from her. And the more agitated I get, the more she shuts down...and off.

And she will NOT study unless there's someone sitting beside her making sure she studies. If she does on her own, she gets easily distracted. She gives up fairly quickly also. Many times, she waits until I come home when she cannot do her homework, and when I go over the question with her, I discover that actually the solution is easy. She just doesn't want to think too hard because she knows I'll be there to bail her out. How to stop her from having this attitude? I always tell her \"Mama cannot be there with you when you take your exam\" but she just brushes it off.

One more problem she has is she's so distracted with the smartphone. Want to control also problem coz I cannot have eyes on her 24h. So I'm gonna 'ban' the phone from her, can only use to make phone calls, no more watching cute kitty videos on YouTube!

I've tried all sorts of methods to help her improve her Math but none seems to work, I even send her to a centre run by a Super Tutor and tutor who 'specialises' in teaching very weak students. But results have been disappointing. So now I'm using myself as a tutor as last resort and when (not IF) I see her improvement, I know it's because both of us work hard at it.

I'm setting aside my Sunday mornings for this and am preparing myself with resources I can use. Her current tutor (the one who quit) said that his approach is to spend more time doing practice papers and going over her P5 work, and lesser on her P6 syllabus. Is this a wise approach? I also come across this website pslemathonline.com that gives out 3 questions a day to for the student to practice. Anyone used them before? Any feedback to give? Advice and tips from other mummies and daddies much appreciated!

I don't set high expectations on my DD. I'm happy as long as she can make it to express course, even for neighbourhood schools. No need to aim so high when I know what she is capable of. In fact, I'm preparing myself for the possibility that she qualify for Normal and if she does, I want to make sure she at least qualify for a good Normal school. I'm staying in the East and my aim is for her to make it to Temasek Sec like her middle sister, either Normal or Express. Maybe I don't qualify as a kiasu parent, but I don't want to stress myself and my DD out aiming for something that will be unrealistic. I read about mummies here discussing about DSAs for RI, SJI, ACSI and sometimes it just irritates me because in one breath they complain abt their kids results, and in the other, they talk about DSAs into the top schools. Sorry, no offence to other mummies I myself came from one of the top girls school but have given up hope of any of my girls making it there. Oh well :sad:

Anyway, thanks for reading this and I look forward to lurking about and reading more about tips and strategies.

[rains]

Umaisarah,


I like your style. I share how you feel about complaining results and dsa-ing to top schools.

I am responding to your post to let you know that you are not alone. Like your daughter, mine wouldn’t do a thing until I sit with her. I took no-pay leave just to sit beside her so that she would do work for her psle year. If she needed me to do that, I would do just that bcos it was psle. She’s an intelligent girl, but won’t move an inch unless kicked very hard. However, I find that when she’s doing this at sec 2, it’s wearing me out, and financially it’s not possible for me to be a sahm to look at her write a full-stop or a number. So I am leaving things in her own hands now.

I am no Maths expert, but like what some helpful mummies share here, corrections are very important. Rather than doing new questions, it’s better to get the misconceptions corrected first. It builds confidence when the child realises that certain types of questions are solved using certain methods. You may want to set a few more similar questions immediately after explaining to your girl to make sure she really gets it.

[bebe]

Umaisarah,

my dd1 is taking PSLE this year…can understand the frustration when you see kids not taking initiative in doing their own revision n must depend on parents to spoon feed them…
Last year, my gal was like that until I pulled her out from tuition and roped in hubby to help me…I myself alone cannot cope with all 4 subjects…frankly speaking after leaving school for so long, those primary science and maths are really aliens to me…I read up those topics, including assessment books to understand and try to strategize exam techniques…knowing my gal’s weakness…lack of confidence, no motivation, carelessness, forgetful, weak visual learning…I had to "customise" her revision schedule, cannot rely on tuition center. We get her to choose her weakest topics for each subject and worked from there, building up the concept and foundation, attempt the easier exam papers (stay away from the top sch papers first), focusing on those topics before moving on to the challenging parts. It was a draining process, cos we had to sit besides her to understand her thinking process and see if she get the concept right…and then train her to think independently to get the answer. Many times, it is not that she does not know but rather lack the confidence. And knowing that she is more of tactile learner,I get her to write our her own science revision notes. I used to do it for her in the beginning, but I find that she will just read and forget…so writing her own notes, making her own diagrams…she remembers better and I can see if she is getting those important concept right. Took us one year to pull her up from the bottom of the class to one of those top in the class. Her class is one those bottom tiered class…but I think seeing her improved results make her motivated and easier to get her to study on her own…And yes, she gets distracted easily…hence I have to arrange a quiet study time slot (pack her siblings away). Schedule her revision timetable accordingly. Eg, she concentrates better in the morning, so we will do her weakest subject in the morning.
I am also not dreaming her to get into those top tiered secondary schools so I Just want her to know that we do not measure her by her results or which sch she will end up with…we will be happy if she put in efforts and study hard.
I hate it when pple expect her to go top school (as both hub and I were from those top tiered sch)…I think she has her own destiny and her own potential…need not follow our path…

[SpartanMum]

Umaisarah, Bebe and Rains

You are making many sacrifices for your DCs. You are all supermommies and should be proud of yourselves!
Wow!

[umaisarah]

Wow, bebe, your DD sounds exactly like mine! She also lacks a lot of confidence and don’t have enough self-motivation to study. Usually, it’s only after a hard talk from me or hubby that she takes initiative to write her own notes, or do revision, but not even within a day, she revert back to her usual self, lol!


Thanks for sharing your experience. I think it’s a good idea too to try the easier exam papers. That’s what her Math teacher told me also back in P4, let her try P3 assessment papers to build her confidence and then go on from there. I’m intending to let her try P5 assessment papers to revise back, especially on her weaker topics.

In the other page, rains suggested going through corrections. This is a fantastic idea too. But can be frustrating when after u go thru with her, and ask her to do similar questions, she freezes up or does the same mistakes, sigh.

And that’s the other challenge my DD has. When she does her daily work, she can usually get the concepts and do her problem sums on her own. Because the questions are already grouped by the pattern. But when it comes to exams where all the questions are mixed up, that’s where she freezes. Some of the questions don’t even appear similar to the daily questions she did in class or for homework. So I don’t blame her also for not recognizing which method to use. But I think it’s a basic issue for her - identifying what kind of question it is, and what method to use. She is still not grasping it so I need to help her with this. Any tips or short cuts to share? Are there any notes available on the Internet for me to refer to? I thought of writing out my own notes for her, but thinking about it makes me scared

Spartanmum, all of us are supermummies because we care so much for our children. Thanks for the encouragement!