2016 PSLE Discussions (Born in 2004)

[shaz]

janet88:

shaz:

Not sure if this has been asked before...is pencil allowed for PSLE? ds prefers using pencil for math

for OAS, yes 2B pencil.
otherwise it's pen.

Thank you Janet88. Hv to train ds to start using pen for all subjects. but wonder why his Teachers didn't say anything :?

[janet88]

hi shaz,

daughter told me her classmate did the comprehension open-ended in pencil and teacher gave her a warning not to do it again. it’s great that the teachers are really preparing the students for PSLE.
please remember not to buy frixion pens as it is specified that this pen is not recommended for important documents and exams.

[janet88]

daughter did ok for math ca1 paper today…paper 2 (word problems) without any timing. the next paper done would have to be timed to give her a feel of working with speed and accuracy.

[starlight1968sg]

janet, may want to explore shortening slightly the timing of the paper once your dd gets the hang of it.

eg if the paper is 2hr, perhaps at home can aim to complete it at 1hr 45min.

[janet88]

starlight1968sg:

janet, may want to explore shortening slightly the timing of the paper once your dd gets the hang of it.

eg if the paper is 2hr, perhaps at home can aim to complete it at 1hr 45min.

starlight,
she has extra time for her written papers. it's 15 minutes for math (I think). paper 1 is 50 minutes for most of the students. if i time her, i only give additional 5 minutes...so she has max 2 minutes for each question.
but for word problems, the extra time does come in handy.

[randwick]

janet88:

starlight1968sg:

janet, may want to explore shortening slightly the timing of the paper once your dd gets the hang of it.

eg if the paper is 2hr, perhaps at home can aim to complete it at 1hr 45min.

starlight,
she has extra time for her written papers. it's 15 minutes for math (I think). paper 1 is 50 minutes for most of the students. if i time her, i only give additional 5 minutes...so she has max 2 minutes for each question.
but for word problems, the extra time does come in handy.

So Janet, does the extra time help your DD? Do you find a difference/better performance in her score at home (with 5 min extra) vs her score in actual exam (with 15 min extra)?

Many kids can score better at home than at school even when the given time is the same, and some better under pressure in school. My DD belongs to the first group - score better at home. Sigh

[janet88]

randwick:

So Janet, does the extra time help your DD? Do you find a difference/better performance in her score at home (with 5 min extra) vs her score in actual exam (with 15 min extra)?

Many kids can score better at home than at school even when the given time is the same, and some better under pressure in school. My DD belongs to the first group - score better at home. Sigh

my daughter does better at home...it's frustrating when she can get 56 out of 60 for science mcq at home but not in school.

the extra time is useful for math word problems and comprehension open ended.

[ilovelaksa]

I am wondering, what is the number of pages your child writes for Chinese compo and English compo?

My dd’s Chinese teacher told her class that they MUST write at least 4 pages. She is in a Higher Chinese class.
Dd got 27/40 for a 2.5 pg compo once. Reason was she did not meet the requisite min of 4 pages but subsequently gets btw 36-38 if she writes 4 pages or more. There are ppl in her class who writes 6-8 pages regularly! I think 4 pages is too much under exam conditions. She is also confused as her Chinese exam essays gets 36-37 even though she writes only 2.5 pages.
It is the same for her Eng teacher. High marks are only given for those who writes in excess of 5-6 A4 pages. And yes, there are those that writes 7 pages or more. I can’t understand how this helps to train the kids for exams.

[hquek]

ilovelaksa:

I am wondering, what is the number of pages your child writes for Chinese compo and English compo?

My dd's Chinese teacher told her class that they MUST write at least 4 pages. She is in a Higher Chinese class.
Dd got 27/40 for a 2.5 pg compo once. Reason was she did not meet the requisite min of 4 pages but subsequently gets btw 36-38 if she writes 4 pages or more. There are ppl in her class who writes 6-8 pages regularly! I think 4 pages is too much under exam conditions. She is also confused as her Chinese exam essays gets 36-37 even though she writes only 2.5 pages.
It is the same for her Eng teacher. High marks are only given for those who writes in excess of 5-6 A4 pages. And yes, there are those that writes 7 pages or more. I can't understand how this helps to train the kids for exams.

BUT....the more they write, the more wrong they can be. I don't know exactly how much but I think for HMT, maybe about 3? (DS1 Chinese not that good, asking him to write more is just to open up more weakness to scrutiny). His English is better and he probably can do 5-6 pages.

I just know for sure that kids MUST not veer off course, else how many pages also won't rescue. Then plus big handwriting? I had a classmate in sec school who dashed 3 words per line (I couldn't read) and she can do many many pages...but if one were to condense it, I think it's probably usual length.

To me, it's not the number of pages but rather whether the compo sticks to the topic, good phrases used to show language mastery, no spelling/grammar mistakes, story flow that makes a good compo. I don't think the examiner want to read 7 pages of tedious and repetitive :imdrowning:

[jedamum]

Imo, for p6, normal Chinese compo and Eng compo, I told my boy to stick to 3~3.25 pages. Any more he would run out of time to write a proper conclusion. Any lesser, his story would not have sufficient plot. My p4 kid writes about 2 pages for Chinese compo and 5~6 for Eng. I told him to up the Chinese to 2.5 pages and cut the Eng to 4pages as both resulted in rushed endings ~ he needs to include more details to conclude Chinese compo and allocate more time for Eng compo conclusion instead of rushing because too many twists in the plot. A well written plot with a bad ending will not get a good grade.