Mid-year exams to be scrapped in all primary, secondary schools by 2023
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Other than not having enough full exam practices… Potentially…
Parents are going to be upset because instead of sitting down with the kids to prepare (sometimes last min) for 2 big exams every year, now there is a need to do it regularly before each Weighted Assessment which will likely be every term. Kids are going to be upset too because their parents will be nagging and screaming at them more often than the twice a year (assuming no WA under the old mid/final exam system).
In the event of bad results, instead of getting a “shock” twice a year only, now we get multiple small shocks (not sure if I like that - like heart palpitations whole year round). Then the question of - since the WAs are multiple bite sized papers instead of full paper like mid year exam - whether the child just happen to study the wrong items (ie studied but that topic or type of questions didn’t come out), and if the small bite size results is a good representation of the child’s standard.
The ones (parents and students alike) who are kan chiong about their results will become more gan chiong because every term’s (small weightage) bite size results count towards the final score… and the ones who are chilled about results will maybe… become even more chilled (since a bad 10% weightage result won’t matter that much)…
Hopefully parents see the big picture - whether it’s small bites or big stakes, it’s about the learning journey that matters, and this journey is a long one for our children. -
Actually no mid year exams may mean many mini tests after every topic and cannot be prepared because it’s just what you have to do everyday and just show what you have absorbed. Having a mid year means a student can postpone everything and cramp until exam time but now it’s really learn as you go… you know you know…you don’t know, you will find out soon enough instead of waiting until mid year or final exams. I think it’s a better learning system if kids are really into learning instead of results. If these mini tests are graded towards the final grade, I think parents may go into a frenzy for a while…
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I m not sure if our school is going by the bite sized WA. If yes, I will be happy at least keep the kids on their toe. We experienced cancellation, happy happy never study and happened to have ‘graded’ assessmt…was a disaster.
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lassie girl\" post_id=\"2060934\" time=\"1646743395\" user_id=\"35383:[quote=\"lassie girl\" post_id=2060934 time=1646743395 user_id=35383]
My experience with the younger child (has always had WA1-WA2-WA3-SA2) is that if you average the WA1-WA3 it is usually pretty close to the SA2 or what you'd expect for the year ex-ante (within some reasonable margin/tolerance). However, the two languages can see very volatile WA results at times depending on what component is tested and whether you are relatively good/bad at this specific part. The other swing factor is that on smaller tests careless errors or the lack thereof tend to depress or boost scores whereas over the course of a full exam you tend to get what you deserve.
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Then the question of - since the WAs are multiple bite sized papers instead of full paper like mid year exam - whether the child just happen to study the wrong items (ie studied but that topic or type of questions didn’t come out), and if the small bite size results is a good representation of the child’s standard.
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From prior discussions, depending on the school there does seem to be a difference on how the WAs vs. SAs are graded (SAs more strict). I always thought my kid's school was grading the WAs and SAs consistently, and perhaps that is why I came away with the conclusions above (not saying her school's tests are easy or hard, just that the grading is consistent).
Per some other comments above, for better or worse I do think full exam testing stamina is a \"skill\" that needs to be built up. I think some schools are only testing the languages Paper 1 and Paper 2 (and I guess Math Paper 1 - Paper 2) on the same day during the Prelims and then kids need to do this again at PSLE (a bit different than just being able to prepare for compo or Paper 2). Being able to concentrate back-to-back within the day, and multiple days in a row is a component of the output here. Especially if something doesn't go well you need to be able to shake it off and move on to the next paper with a clear mind / not pressing.
Regardless, the format is going to be whatever MOE / specific schools dictate so we just need to roll with whatever that is and try to do the best we can... -
newbieks\" post_id=\"2060931\" time=\"1646743148\" user_id=\"178749:
Oops I mean she is in Sec 3 and took the v long full paper 2 for WA1 this year.. not that she is in P2
Sorry, I misread P2 as Pri 2 instead of Paper 2. I should have known better since I mentioned Sec 3 in my earlier post
More practice is definitely required. Even in Year 3, components like 病句改正 and 片段缩写 are still quite new - mainly because in most schools, they were not exposed to the full extent of these components in Year 2 (e.g. some schools practice/test 病句改正 in the form of 5 individual sentences instead of 5 questions in a cloze passage structure whereas some schools covered 片段缩写 in WA's which test a few components + 阅读理解二（B) only instead of O'Level Paper 2 full paper format).
It is worth noting too that for WA, time given is usually shorter as compared to semester examinations too (either because some WA are \"downsized\" in terms of tested components or because of the subject's period duration).
One suggestion I gave to my students is to time themselves when doing work during normal times. This should apply to paper 1 components too - planning ~8 min, email writing ~45 min, compo ~1 hr.
And to your earlier question, yes, there are students who fail in Year 3 because of time management issues because the weightage for each question in the latter components average 4-5 marks, with editing alone worth 12 marks (8 content, 4 language) -
chenlaoshi\" post_id=\"2060944\" time=\"1646746601\" user_id=\"162894:
Thanks chenlaoshi.. the WA was a full 1hr 45min paper following the O level format I think. My girl refuses to practice more, so in my heart, of course best if can pass and clear HCL in Sec 4. If not, no choice will have to drop it. Sorry, I misread P2 as Pri 2 instead of Paper 2. I should have known better since I mentioned Sec 3 in my earlier post
More practice is definitely required. Even in Year 3, components like 病句改正 and 片段缩写 are still quite new - mainly because in most schools, they were not exposed to the full extent of these components in Year 2 (e.g. some schools practice/test 病句改正 in the form of 5 individual sentences instead of 5 questions in a cloze passage structure whereas some schools covered 片段缩写 in WA's which test a few components + 阅读理解二（B) only instead of O'Level Paper 2 full paper format).
It is worth noting too that for WA, time given is usually shorter as compared to semester examinations too (either because some WA are \"downsized\" in terms of tested components or because of the subject's period duration).
One suggestion I gave to my students is to time themselves when doing work during normal times. This should apply to paper 1 components too - planning ~8 min, email writing ~45 min, compo ~1 hr.
And to your earlier question, yes, there are students who fail in Year 3 because of time management issues because the weightage for each question in the latter components average 4-5 marks, with editing alone worth 12 marks (8 content, 4 language) -
newbieks\" post_id=\"2060954\" time=\"1646755501\" user_id=\"178749:
I see, newbieks. That's really good - so far all my Year 3 students' WA aren't full paper. Hmmm, can try to persuade her to just put in a little bit more effort so as to at least pass the subject and not let the past few years of time and effort go to waste? She can even devise a plan to focus more on certain components so as to \"secure\" the marks - e.g. more verbal communication & watching news snippets to brush up for oral or practice on compre section only etc.
Thanks chenlaoshi.. the WA was a full 1hr 45min paper following the O level format I think. My girl refuses to practice more, so in my heart, of course best if can pass and clear HCL in Sec 4. If not, no choice will have to drop it. -
Hallelujah. A new term "WA" is born.
So what’s the difference between WA and old CAs that we got used to? In terms of weightage to the final grade. 20%? 40%?
I really don’t see the difference. Sounds like the emperor is changing new clothes. -
The one we just had was ‘simplified’ ones…like Quiz, MCQ and for short answers. I like how teachers sent reminders like a wk before the WA…I hope it continues.
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ChiefKiasu\" post_id=\"2060973\" time=\"1646787515\" user_id=\"3:
WA : Weighted Assessment
Hallelujah. A new term \"WA\" is born.
So what's the difference between WA and old CAs that we got used to? In terms of weightage to the final grade. 20%? 40%?
I really don't see the difference. Sounds like the emperor is changing new clothes.
CA and WA mean the same thing.
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