2014 TOP PSLE T-SCORE (EXCL HMT) - THE MAGIC 3D NUMBERS

[Scoreless]

Agreed. My daughter scored 12 pts below her prelim and she was in the top class of a popular school. Shocked and devastated.

[ChiefKiasu]

Scoreless:

Agreed. My daughter scored 12 pts below her prelim and she was in the top class of a popular school. Shocked and devastated.

Don't be. Just focus on and be happy with the As and A*s she has gotten.

[sleepy]

Is it multiply by .75 for prelim result to estimate t score?

[kiasukaypoh]

It’s for different purposes. Personally, I have no interest in the actual students who attained the top scores, although I can imagine how others might want to use that information.

To me, transparency of t-scores (especially average t-scores and standard deviations) allows parents to understand better the progress made by individual schools and provide some basis for comparing schools. The Ministry cannot convince parents that all schools are good schools simply by saying it repeatedly. We know that schools are not the same despite having the same syllabus, because the demographics and skill sets of the faculty and students are different. But we do believe that the average Singaporean school is probably good enough to train top scholars. Being transparent with t-scores would allow parents to see for themselves how far off are the average neighbourhood schools from the elite ones. It is extremely gratifying for me to see top scholars coming from neighbourhood schools, and how the average t-scores of students graduating from some of these schools are not so far off from the elite ones. Such transparency will also put pressure on MOE to do something about the schools with consistently low average t-scores, aside from just saying that all schools are good schools.

I agree to a large extent with ChiefKiasu. My personal opinion is MOE is doing more harm to lesser known schools than top names by not being open about top and average T-scores. We are clearly seeing that the top students are no longer exclusivity of brand name schools. But if they cannot publicise their achievements, the brand name schools will always be choice schools for parents. To change the mindset of parents to be in tune of MOE’s all schools are good schools (I do feel they are, but their outcomes may not be similar), parents need to know that the gap between schools is far less today than a few years back. Hiding scores is not going to achieve that. And the top scorers also need recognition for their own sake, just as achievers in sports or community service do. Achievement should never become a matter to apologise. Do showcase all achievements, including those that conquer difficult circumstances, but do not exclude someone from the honour simply because the student does not have adverse situation to surmount.

[matadorepy]

Scoreless:

Agreed. My daughter scored 12 pts below her prelim and she was in the top class of a popular school. Shocked and devastated.

This is a fact most parents cannot accept - points is that there are off-days for their DS during PSLE examination vs prelim exam period. The prelim paper were tougher and PSLE papers were easier, hence the means and standard deviation are different for national and DS's school.

PSLE result is definitely NOT indicative of how your DS will perform in the next 4 or 6 years. So accept it and just move on.

[Aberc]

sleepy:

Is it multiply by .75 for prelim result to estimate t score?

Yes, that is the common estimation tt pple use. Most of my friends note tt there is a margin of +\\- 5 points. It was pretty accurate for my dd and hers is a neighbourhood pri school.

[mommyNg]

sleepy:

Is it multiply by .75 for prelim result to estimate t score?

I used prelim total raw score and multiply by .73 to estimate t-score and it's spot on... However, do note that there were children who scored below their expected t-scores based on this calculation this year, worse if they have used .76. That might also explain, in part, the disappointment some children and parents felt about their PSLE results this year...

[zbear]

Blessedmummy:

ACSP 280 is from GEP.

He is a Muslim boy of mixed ethnicity - Indian dad and Chinese mum

Does this mean that the top scorer for the 2014 cohort is 280?

[matadorepy]

kiasukaypoh:

ChiefKiasu:

It's for different purposes. Personally, I have no interest in the actual students who attained the top scores, although I can imagine how others might want to use that information.

To me, transparency of t-scores (especially average t-scores and standard deviations) allows parents to understand better the progress made by individual schools and provide some basis for comparing schools. The Ministry cannot convince parents that all schools are good schools simply by saying it repeatedly. We know that schools are not the same despite having the same syllabus, because the demographics and skill sets of the faculty and students are different. But we do believe that the average Singaporean school is probably good enough to train top scholars. Being transparent with t-scores would allow parents to see for themselves how far off are the average neighbourhood schools from the elite ones. It is extremely gratifying for me to see top scholars coming from neighbourhood schools, and how the average t-scores of students graduating from some of these schools are not so far off from the elite ones. Such transparency will also put pressure on MOE to do something about the schools with consistently low average t-scores, aside from just saying that all schools are good schools.

I agree to a large extent with ChiefKiasu. My personal opinion is MOE is doing more harm to lesser known schools than top names by not being open about top and average T-scores. We are clearly seeing that the top students are no longer exclusivity of brand name schools. But if they cannot publicise their achievements, the brand name schools will always be choice schools for parents. To change the mindset of parents to be in tune of MOE's all schools are good schools (I do feel they are, but their outcomes may not be similar), parents need to know that the gap between schools is far less today than a few years back. Hiding scores is not going to achieve that. And the top scorers also need recognition for their own sake, just as achievers in sports or community service do. Achievement should never become a matter to apologise. Do showcase all achievements, including those that conquer difficult circumstances, but do not exclude someone from the honour simply because the student does not have adverse situation to surmount.

:goodpost:
Agreed.

Many neighborhood schools are producing outstanding students not just because of teachers but through the individual PARENT effort. So why this issue of concealing and hiding T-scores as though there are some things to hide. Some time I wonder this gahment mentality has something to do with all transparency and accountability
issues.

[sinoboy]

kiasukaypoh:

ChiefKiasu:

It's for different purposes. Personally, I have no interest in the actual students who attained the top scores, although I can imagine how others might want to use that information.

To me, transparency of t-scores (especially average t-scores and standard deviations) allows parents to understand better the progress made by individual schools and provide some basis for comparing schools. The Ministry cannot convince parents that all schools are good schools simply by saying it repeatedly. We know that schools are not the same despite having the same syllabus, because the demographics and skill sets of the faculty and students are different. But we do believe that the average Singaporean school is probably good enough to train top scholars. Being transparent with t-scores would allow parents to see for themselves how far off are the average neighbourhood schools from the elite ones. It is extremely gratifying for me to see top scholars coming from neighbourhood schools, and how the average t-scores of students graduating from some of these schools are not so far off from the elite ones. Such transparency will also put pressure on MOE to do something about the schools with consistently low average t-scores, aside from just saying that all schools are good schools.

I agree to a large extent with ChiefKiasu. My personal opinion is MOE is doing more harm to lesser known schools than top names by not being open about top and average T-scores. We are clearly seeing that the top students are no longer exclusivity of brand name schools. But if they cannot publicise their achievements, the brand name schools will always be choice schools for parents. To change the mindset of parents to be in tune of MOE's all schools are good schools (I do feel they are, but their outcomes may not be similar), parents need to know that the gap between schools is far less today than a few years back. Hiding scores is not going to achieve that. And the top scorers also need recognition for their own sake, just as achievers in sports or community service do. Achievement should never become a matter to apologise. Do showcase all achievements, including those that conquer difficult circumstances, but do not exclude someone from the honour simply because the student does not have adverse situation to surmount.

By not relying on the t scores, top good students can be spread out to other equally good schools more evenly so that there is no over concentration of top students in a handful of good schools. This may also help other good schools to become better.