Mid-year exams to be scrapped in all primary, secondary schools by 2023

[floppy]

MrsKiasu\" post_id=\"2061825\" time=\"1647488613\" user_id=\"43981:

To me at this junction is whether can make it to JC then to Uni or not.

If Uni is the end game, there's:

1. Sec -> JC -> Uni (local / overseas)
2. Sec -> Poly -> Uni (local / overseas)
3. Sec -> ITE -> Poly -> Uni (local / overseas)
4. Sec -> Prep School -> Overseas Uni

Getting into Uni isn't a difficult target - it's probably an easier target compared to:
1. Getting into a 'choice' JC
2. Getting into a 'choice' course in Poly

Of course, if you are looking into a 'choice' JC and a 'choice' course in a 'choice' Uni, that's going to need some work. Otherwise, it's a question of 'how much' resources you can spare.

[lee_yl]

SG_KP1\" post_id=\"2061832\" time=\"1647490797\" user_id=\"188234:

I didn't pay much attention to the younger one's WAs through P4. Just look and sign. But in P5 I started to pay attention because I know the content / exam format jumped up and there is no mid-year to see how they are doing.

I'll try saying it a different way and then exit stage left (which many may applaud ). Do people feel stress from the exams themselves or from the implicit results tied to the exams (i.e. the posting exercise after \"the exam\")? As currently structured, the posting exercise will still take place. If so, I'd hypothesize that many will feel the same whether there are 0 exams or 100 exams.

There will be little anxiety or stress (I always believe there will be some anxiety with something you \"care\" about but this is different from \"undue stress\") when one is able to accept that the child tried his/her best and the posting result is whatever it is (they will still continue to learn and grow regardless of which uniform they put on). One just needs to be comfortable with the notion that your child is the only one (in your circles) that didn't make it to Raffles whatever, IP, affiliated secondary school, Express, etc.

Good point. So stress comes from where exactly? Mid-year exams or the ultimate PSLE / O-level results that are needed to further sort the children into the different schools?

After studying hard for mid-year exams, children are awarded with one month June holidays. Very fair.

If during June holidays, students have to go back to school for CCA/competitions preparation and remedial classes, do more pass year papers, then June holidays not really holidays? Last time my era, June holidays no need to go back to school for extras

I can tell you for parents who don’t care which sec school the child goes to, even if there’s no reform of the system, these parents also will not feel stress! So it’s not mid-yr exams, it’s parents’ mindset?

[lee_yl]

MrsKiasu\" post_id=\"2061836\" time=\"1647491534\" user_id=\"43981:

34 :yikes:

Not all university degrees recognized by our govt.
Out of the 34, mostly are “distance learning”?

[doodbug]

sushi88\" post_id=\"2061835\" time=\"1647491135\" user_id=\"100857:

If that's what you are aiming for, it's really not a mammoth task....but aiming for scholarships and studying in coveted courses and universities, then that's a tougher journey.

You know there are 6 local national universities and total 34 universities in Singapore? This is already a lot of choices compared to our time. All you need to do is to prepare the finances for a university education. If you are a parent fully aware of your children's well-being and knowing their aspirations for a tertiary education, the probability of them going to one is pretty high. There are many poly students now in the universities too....poly has become a very viable alternative to entering the university these days, i.e. many students go to poly with the intention of entering the university.

I so agree with this post.

Instead of (in somee cases, on top of) pressurizing the kid to do well and get into the course of his/her choice, I think some of us are pressuring ourselves to prepare the finances to support their university education (that includes private universities, overseas universities) because we know that there are university options around if we look beyond NUS/NTU/SMU that our kids probably can get into - just that not all options come cheap.

We really need to change our mindset on Poly. Poly is a very viable (and actually often superior) pathway to university. Take for example Data Analytics or Computer Science - you can get 1 year's worth of credit exemptions, and you have had 3 years of reading a similar subject or picking up programming skills at Poly, vs a JC student who had probably taken far more theoretical subjects at A levels. There are of course, other courses where the playing field is more even across JC and Poly students.

[floppy]

doodbug\" post_id=\"2061843\" time=\"1647495334\" user_id=\"13281:

...
We really need to change our mindset on Poly. Poly is a very viable (and actually often superior) pathway to university. Take for example Data Analytics or Computer Science - you can get 1 year's worth of credit exemptions, and you have had 3 years of reading a similar subject or picking up programming skills at Poly, vs a JC student who had probably taken far more theoretical subjects at A levels. There are of course, other courses where the playing field is more even across JC and Poly students.

Except technical (i.e. IT, engineering, STEM) courses, most other courses won't grant you up to a year's worth of credit exemptions.

Hence, the problem with most (old-school) parents mindset is, Poly \"waste\" one year.

Perhaps the parents' mindset need to change. That the addition year is spend studying / learning new stuff (which is true), is spend making (hopefully, lifelong) friends and networking (which is true also), and is spend living a student's life that many parents would definitely prefer compare to their own working life (which is mostly true).

[Imp75]

floppy\" post_id=\"2061845\" time=\"1647497213\" user_id=\"97579:

Except technical (i.e. IT, engineering, STEM) courses, most other courses won't grant you up to a year's worth of credit exemptions.

Hence, the problem with most (old-school) parents mindset is, Poly \"waste\" one year.

Poly is after all an institution that imparts hands-on skills .... so yeah technical course sounds like a good idea to go Poly. However for non-stem, I still find the A level-uni grad analytical skills much better than poly-grad. Maybe its the GP or whatever...that forces you to read abd think broadly

[SG_KP1]

Terrydad\" post_id=\"2061838\" time=\"1647493444\" user_id=\"193857:

No one's asking you to exit stage Left, haha

Lets look at this rationally. If 40% of students every year enter Uni, and your kid is in the top JC, then that's about 95th percentile of the cohort. Your child has a probability of 99.9% chance of entering Uni.

Seriously, I know those Rafflesian circles you are talking about. Maybe you need to make some friends from other JCs or Polys lol. Not going to Raffles doesnt make you any less of a person. And if your kid catches your thinking, if he doesnt get into Raffles among his circle of friends, how will he see himself? Or if he didnt make it to medical school and everyone does? Or if he didnt get that coveted job and others did? How would his self worth hold up against such fixed parameters? This is like comparing the size of your car or some other *ick swinging exercise.

It's just a pointless scarcity mindset. Which is a fixed mindset, btw. Singapore is one of the richest countries in the world. Theres no real scarcity to speak of. You dont have to crouch in survival Hunger Games mode.

ITE kids make it to medical school. Poly kids edge out RJC kids to medical school. Whatever uniform your kid wears in secondary school doesnt matter as much as you think. If your friends think otherwise, maybe it's time to ask yourself, how much do you really care for them?

I think you've mis-interpreted what I was trying to say, or perhaps my thoughts were not very clear. But that's neither here nor there.

My only point is that cutting exams isn't going to reduce stress by itself. Countries with cut-throat exam systems (i.e. gaokao) have people that are not stressed and the kids are doing fine. Countries with few exams and so-called \"playful childhoods\" (i.e. West or USA) have people that are flipping out at every stage of the process too. It's just that instead of trying to rack up a bunch of full scores, the kids are out trying to save the dolphins or what not. For better or worse, nearly all systems have a finite amount of resources, and there's a posting or admissions process at various points along the way.

So there are two routes you can take. One, try your best and once that's done don't worry about it. Two, worry about the comparisons, what you have, what you don't have, etc. My point is that the first option is and always has been available for people everywhere. The exams are not the problem (IMHO).

As for me, I have no preconceived notions of where my kids need to go to school or what jobs they will have. For the younger one, I don't have any belief of where she will be posted at age 13. I only know that she will give it her best shot later this fall (and we will provide what support and guidance we can), and that's good enough for me. Her uniform right now isn't famous, but she's proud to wear it and we thank her teachers/school whenever we can.

Lastly, I actually don't know anyone in the Rafflesian circles (or any other circles for that matter), so there's no one I need to worry about impressing. It's a good thing no one asks me about my car because I don't have one...

[doodbug]

floppy\" post_id=\"2061845\" time=\"1647497213\" user_id=\"97579:

Except technical (i.e. IT, engineering, STEM) courses, most other courses won't grant you up to a year's worth of credit exemptions.

Hence, the problem with most (old-school) parents mindset is, Poly \"waste\" one year.

Perhaps the parents' mindset need to change. That the addition year is spend studying / learning new stuff (which is true), is spend making (hopefully, lifelong) friends and networking (which is true also), and is spend living a student's life that many parents would definitely prefer compare to their own working life (which is mostly true).

At NUS, if I am not wrong, Arts and Social Sciences and Business, polytechnic students are given 20MCs exemptions, which translates to one semester.

[doodbug]

Imp75\" post_id=\"2061846\" time=\"1647497484\" user_id=\"2358:

Poly is after all an institution that imparts hands-on skills .... so yeah technical course sounds like a good idea to go Poly. However for non-stem, I still find the A level-uni grad analytical skills much better than poly-grad. Maybe its the GP or whatever...that forces you to read abd think broadly

I get what you mean. A lot of our impression stems from our experience in the workforce, i.e. those who are in their 30s, 40s, 50s. I would concede the huge gulf in the past.

I would say, things have changed a bit in recent years. For those of us who have kids at NUS/NTU/SMU (I ext proportionately have that many A level students) clude the other AUs because those don, do hear them out as to whether they think there is a big difference in the capabilities and performance of A lvl vs Poly students. All students get many chances to interact with a large swathe of students nowadays through group projects and residential living and learning, and to hear if they feel A level students are superior academically and professionally.

This is a broad generalisation, but I do believe it still holds true that the brightest A level kids, are intellectually stronger than the top poly kids. However, things are not so clearcut if we are talking about the average A level candidate.

[floppy]

Imp75\" post_id=\"2061846\" time=\"1647497484\" user_id=\"2358:

Poly is after all an institution that imparts hands-on skills .... so yeah technical course sounds like a good idea to go Poly. However for non-stem, I still find the A level-uni grad analytical skills much better than poly-grad. Maybe its the GP or whatever...that forces you to read abd think broadly

You are generally not wrong.

It's not just the GP, it's their abilities (read: better results, especially in language and STEM subjects - aka 3 out of 6 compulsory subjects that make up the L1R5) that tends to make JC students seem better in their analytical skills.

Our 'analytical skills' aka critical thinking skills stem from a school known as \"Socratic Questioning\". Socrates \"established the importance of seeking evidence, closely examining reasoning and assumptions, analysing basic concepts, and tracing out implications not only of what is said but of what is done as well\". In short, the importance of connecting language, Math and Science.

Poly grads, mostly, fare poorly in one or more of those 3 components. Hence, the perception that they are not as strong in analytical skills as JC grads. However, things are definitely changing. Many poly students have better results than the average A Level student, and many poly courses have better COP than the average JC 12-14 COP (when standardising them on a 5 subject basis).