Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)

[autolycus]

lee_yl\" post_id=\"2127931\" time=\"1706143609\" user_id=\"17023:

My few friends with kids in various international schools, don’t expect their children to score perfect 45pts.

In fact, they are happy that their kids can score, say, IB38pts to be able to make it to the local Uni. All are thankful that there is an alternate route for their kids, or else they felt that their kids would probably have taken the Poly route joined the workforce before going for further studies.

I don’t know why the need to emphasize “only three perfect scores”. We all know if really want to score 45pts go ACS(I) not ACS International.

I'm just pointing out that the score range tracks with the intake range. It isn't unexpectedly good nor bad. It is what it is. As for ACS(I), it's not that if you want 45 pts you go to ACS(I): it's if you can get into ACS(I), statistically you must be academically advantaged enough to get 45 pts.

[autolycus]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2127932\" time=\"1706144296\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2127932 time=1706144296 user_id=53606]
A side qn: why is it that ACS International is allowed to publish how many perfect scorers it has from its 2023 batch? I thought there was some ban on revealing how many perfect scorers from this batch onwards? Since neither SJI nor ACS Independent reported to the media this statistic in Jan 2024 (when they had always previously done so), i inferred that there was a change in instructions from the top somewhere. MOE or IB itself?[/quote]

ACS (International) isn't an MOE-system school. SJI (Independent) and ACS (Independent) are.

[autolycus]

lee_yl\" post_id=\"2127929\" time=\"1706142492\" user_id=\"17023:

I am not keen to dwell into too much details as we often end up missing the forest for the trees.

For some who think there is no advantage when Singaporeans are pitted against international students, so be it, I don’t need to convince anyone.
I am here to share my experiences.

I have friends whose kids with IB 36-38 pts currently in or have already graduated from overseas med schools recognized by Singapore Medical Council. Something they would not have attained had they taken the A-level route. For this alone, my friends are thankful for the availability of the IB route.

I have no disagreement with any of this, but I do note that it is also not possible to have a forest without trees. I think we do have a duty to share useful experiences, and the wider the range that is shared, the better for everyone.

[bbbay]

The trees we chose to pay attention to, determine the forest we see.

[autolycus]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2127953\" time=\"1706163552\" user_id=\"175278:

The trees we chose to pay attention to, determine the forest we see.

Beautiful. Indeed. The only complete map is the one that is 1:1 scale.

[lee_yl]

Paying too much attention to the trees you chose to, closes the mind and ignores the perils of cognitive bias. I prefer to appreciate the diversity that comes in a forest.


At 1:1, a map may not be complete for human perception. One won’t be able to appreciate the celestial wonders of the cosmos or the marvels of microscopic life if one holds on to the idea of the 1:1 map being complete.

[00skyblue00]

lee_yl\" post_id=\"2127929\" time=\"1706142492\" user_id=\"17023:

I am not keen to dwell into too much details as we often end up missing the forest for the trees.

For some who think there is no advantage when Singaporeans are pitted against international students, so be it, I don’t need to convince anyone.
I am here to share my experiences.

I have friends whose kids with IB 36-38 pts currently in or have already graduated from overseas med schools recognized by Singapore Medical Council. Something they would not have attained had they taken the A-level route. For this alone, my friends are thankful for the availability of the IB route.

Local schs offering ib is unique coz it is only available to specific group who are more academically able. Cannot compare with international schools offering ib. For the average students in SG, not many have the option to enrol in international schools.

Even our fingers are different in shapes and sizes. How to provide same conditions to every tree? In real life, it is not possible. Those with means get the option to enrol in international schools, no one is stopping them. We congratulate them to have become successful despite not product of sg system. If sg choose to switch to ib for the masses, the same will happen also, but opposite, ib will have to be customised to sg population.... Which happens to Cambridge A levels... became SG-Cambridge A levels. Then igp will be for SG-IB instead...

That's also why some \"average\" students decided on career path and take themselves out of the formidable A levels to go Poly. But there is still a risk, to get to the top in Poly.

No matter how we as parents try to find the loopholes to beat the system, we cannot escape the reality. So the only thing we can do is to provide what is needed to form the skills they need to maneuver in this new wild world... motivation, spirit, strong character

[00skyblue00]

Following this interesting discussion and sharing… and the manner they are done has been respecful and meaningful.

[autolycus]

lee_yl\" post_id=\"2127957\" time=\"1706168059\" user_id=\"17023:

Paying too much attention to the trees you chose to, closes the mind and ignores the perils of cognitive bias. I prefer to appreciate the diversity that comes in a forest.

At 1:1, a map may not be complete for human perception. One won’t be able to appreciate the celestial wonders of the cosmos or the marvels of microscopic life if one holds on to the idea of the 1:1 map being complete.

It's an age-old problem: paying too little attention to individuals results in reification and one kind of cognitive bias; paying too much attention to individuals leads to another kind. One should always be aware that the map of reality is 1:1, but we are free to use the microscope or the telescope to seek clarity at other scales. Sometimes, we even use both!

[autolycus]

usaik881\" post_id=\"2127975\" time=\"1706181012\" user_id=\"199461:

Let us look at two fundamental facts.

The first fundamental fact is – all exams, whether locally moderated exams such as the A Levels or non-locally moderated exams such as the IB, are moderated to a Bell Curve.

The first fundamental fact => whether the A Levels is harder or easier vis-à-vis the IB depends on the degree of difficulty of the respective exams. The moderating hand of the MOE is extremely heavy. Since MOE moderates the A Levels and MOE does not moderate the IB, it is far easier to score 45 in the IB than to score 90 in the A Levels. This is the first advantage of the IB vis-à-vis the A Levels.

The second fundamental fact is – for most UK medical school admission “consideration”, the A Levels candidate needs not only AAA but also an A in Chemistry to be considered (please read very carefully, AAA with an A in Chemistry = a perfect score) whereas the IB candidate does not need a perfect score to be considered.

The second fundamental fact => the IB candidate has a less steep hill to climb to be considered for UK medical school admission. This is the second advantage of the IB vis-à-vis the A Levels.

Note well. First, nobody is saying all IB 36 pointers can get into medical school. To be considered, most medical schools also require the passing of an interview, and a good score in BMAT or UCAT. Second, nobody is saying to score 36 points in the IB is a walk in the park. All that is said is, for the average Singaporean student, the IB as it stands has real advantages vis-à-vis the A Levels. Third, nobody is saying an IB candidate eyeing a medical school education can anyhow score the 36 points. Like any game, there are rules. If the rule for medical school admission consideration says Chemistry at such a score is required, then, it is a requirement to be met. Lastly, which is easier? To score 36 points in the IB (6 or 7 in Chemistry) or to score AAA with an A in Chemistry in the A Levels?

Some observations:

1) The curves may be belled, but the distributions are not necessarily Normal.
2) The grading curve may be linear, but the exam may be set to give a bell-shaped distribution.
3) It isn't necessarily 'far easier' to score 45 points for the IB Diploma than it is to score RP90; this is unknown because the student distributions are too different and the effort involved is also of a different kind.
4) It is a truism that the relative difficulty of two exams determines whether one is harder than the other if the same candidate population takes both.
5) The IB annual candidature (May/Nov) is larger and more diverse than the SG-Cambridge annual candidature, so we can't tell who actually has an advantage except perhaps in very narrowly defined cases. Apples, durians.
6) It is not possible to compare 36 points in the IB (including 7 in Chem HL) to AAA with A in Chemistry for the SG-Cambridge A-levels. Getting those 36 points is possible in too many ways, whereas getting AAA (inc Chem H2) covers only a few possibilities. However, we can say that the variance for an A-level A is likely larger than that for an IB 7, and leave it at that.

(Personally, I would certainly attempt AAA for A-levels before attempting 36 points for IB. More straightforward to obtain AAA, especially now with the advantage of hindsight and education. But that's probably not helpful to the parents in this group.)