2018 PSLE Discussions & Strategies (Born in 2006)

[sembgal]

laughingcat:

talking about no 1/2 marks for Science. I noticed 2 teachers in XXXX school actually gave 1/2 marks for 1 mark qs in Science. I was :? Can meh?

It depends on the question in context. If yes, no answer and requires explanation, the child can’t explain , awarded 0 marks.
If key words are used and did not write complete answer, get half of the marks depending on point written. Write extra answer that is incorrect will also result in marks being deducted. Write too long may not necessarily get more marks. Make sure the correct answer is written.

[mylilgirl]

SW:


Background - Gina cut queue and pushed a boy in the school canteen noodle stall.

Requirement - You are the prefect who witnessed this incident. Write a formal letter informing the principal regarding this incident.

[roncar]

For SW , the student is require to write a report but my Son wrote

Dear …
My intention of writing to you …
Sign off with
Yours sincerely

Will he lose 15 marks because of wrong format. Anyone can advice ? Thanks

[sembgal]

I wanna know:

Actually just wondering if PSLE papers are tend to set difficult? I went through some of the past years paper and feel it's not easy, even for the Chinese paper which she usually get an A (71-76/90) in school. Her Psle past year paper only get 62-63/90 range. Yet, the quality(A/A*) pass last year is 68+% which is impossible based on raw score. Guess the moderation plays a heavy part. Hence I told her don't worry if you find any of the paper tough as moderation is in place. I think we should encourage our child to not worry about not able to do some qn if psle is really meant to be a little tougher. This will give them confidence to move on to another paper.

For English PSLE exam papers, I noticed that some schools like to copy the exact questions and tweak a bit here and there. I shall not name schools. If you analyzed the P6 top school papers or neighbourhood school papers, the teachers set questions almost similar in style to PSLE type of questions. The English standard cannot be deemed too difficult if the child has made consistent effort to grasp all aspects of the English components through practice and diligent learning of commonly misspelt words and read voraciously. All these have to start in P5 .

For Maths and Science PSLE papers, I notice that the questions are indeed getting more challenging through the years, especially critical-thinking questions.

PSLE exam is to sieve out the weaker students. The better ones have the option to choose if they want IB, IP route or O level route. Smart ones may not want to go IP route as they are not willing to commit 6 years just for an A levels. To play safe,opting the O level course will leave options open when the child turns 16 in sec 4. Nowadays, single pointers would rather go polytechnic than JC. Don’t choose IP just because your child qualified for it. Ask your child if they want to go JC or poly now as that will lead to long-term planning of what your child plans to study in future. What is the point of studying IP if your child plans to go poly to study their dream course?

[Fern12]

roncar:

For SW , the student is require to write a report but my Son wrote

Dear .....
My intention of writing to you ....
Sign off with
Yours sincerely

Will he lose 15 marks because of wrong format. Anyone can advice ? Thanks

According to my son, the question requirement is a formal email and not a report, to the discipline master.

[janet88]

sembgal:

PSLE exam is to sieve out the weaker students. The better ones have the option to choose if they want IB, IP route or O level route. Smart ones may not want to go IP route as they are not willing to commit 6 years just for an A levels. To play safe,opting the O level course will leave options open when the child turns 16 in sec 4. Nowadays, single pointers would rather go polytechnic than JC. Don’t choose IP just because your child qualified for it. Ask your child if they want to go JC or poly now as that will lead to long-term planning of what your child plans to study in future. What is the point of studying IP if your child plans to go poly to study their dream course?

IP route is not for every student. no offence.
committing 6 years and bypassing O levels is very scary. having O levels is 'safer' and it's also easier to find a tutor. IP syllabus is not standardised. if and when the child is tired of the extreme pressure, they can opt to enter the poly.
because many single pointers are opting for poly, it's getting harder to enter.

[sembgal]

roncar:

For SW , the student is require to write a report but my Son wrote

Dear .....
My intention of writing to you ....
Sign off with
Yours sincerely

Will he lose 15 marks because of wrong format. Anyone can advice ? Thanks

Use “Yours sincerely” when the name of the person whom you are writing to is given (e.g. Mr Tan) in formal email.

Use “Yours faithfully” when the name of the person whom you are writing to is not given.

[I wanna know]

sembgal:

I wanna know:

Actually just wondering if PSLE papers are tend to set difficult? I went through some of the past years paper and feel it's not easy, even for the Chinese paper which she usually get an A (71-76/90) in school. Her Psle past year paper only get 62-63/90 range. Yet, the quality(A/A*) pass last year is 68+% which is impossible based on raw score. Guess the moderation plays a heavy part. Hence I told her don't worry if you find any of the paper tough as moderation is in place. I think we should encourage our child to not worry about not able to do some qn if psle is really meant to be a little tougher. This will give them confidence to move on to another paper.

For English PSLE exam papers, I noticed that some schools like to copy the exact questions and tweak a bit here and there. I shall not name schools. If you analyzed the P6 top school papers or neighbourhood school papers, the teachers set questions almost similar in style to PSLE type of questions. The English standard cannot be deemed too difficult if the child has made consistent effort to grasp all aspects of the English components through practice and diligent learning of commonly misspelt words and read voraciously. All these have to start in P5 .

For Maths and Science PSLE papers, I notice that the questions are indeed getting more challenging through the years, especially critical-thinking questions.

PSLE exam is to sieve out the weaker students. The better ones have the option to choose if they want IB, IP route or O level route. Smart ones may not want to go IP route as they are not willing to commit 6 years just for an A levels. To play safe,opting the O level course will leave options open when the child turns 16 in sec 4. Nowadays, single pointers would rather go polytechnic than JC. Don’t choose IP just because your child qualified for it. Ask your child if they want to go JC or poly now as that will lead to long-term planning of what your child plans to study in future. What is the point of studying IP if your child plans to go poly to study their dream course?

Thanks for your analysis in the difficulty level.

[mylilgirl]

Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully are both acceptable for formal writing, as taught by DD’s EL teacher.


This year paper is similar to year 2012-2013, especially S&T questions, DD can’t remember which year. If the school did enough revision using past year PSLE booklet instead of prelim papers, it is more beneficial. Some schools set too tough papers that is quite different from the actual PSLE. This is especially so Math as Math Teacher told them that some of those questions are totally irrelevant. Students were highly encouraged to revise using PSLE booklet.

[deon629]

for SW, ds wrote email to the Discipline Master instead of the Principal. anyone knows how many marks will deducted?