New L1R4 system for JC entry

[zac's mum]

@SG_KP1 he is sooo ready for army! Yes he enjoyed it a lot. There are 3 different campsites, and which one their small group (mixed with 2-3 other schools from all over sg) is assigned to, is not revealed until the day itself. There are various expeditions as well: land, kayaking, and sailing. He was very blessed to be the rare handful chosen to be in the sailing boat (slept in the boat 1 night, taking turns for night watch). Made lots of friends there & loved the experience.

Sec 3 is a personal growth year imo. I can see him maturing in thought as well. His observation is that some of the triple science students are stuggling, though some can still score A1 easily. It’s not a homogeneous cohort even by combi.

[SG_KP1]

@zac-s-mum
Yeah, my older one (boy, uniform group kid) also enjoyed it quite a bit a couple of years ago.

I would agree with your comment on S3. I think part of the jump is the growing independence of the kids. For better or worse, some of them learn the hard way this year, which may turn out better in the long run.

[SG_KP1]

@slmkhoo
FWIW, I’ve taken several courses in recent times. Two were actual graduate level courses (graded on a forced curve and added to one’s transcript) while some others were continuing education classes with no real tests, homework, or punishment for not doing anything.

While I certainly learnt and enjoyed all of them, I definitely got more out of the former ones. Could be a combination of content, professor/instructor quality, peer engagement, and one’s own response to incentives (even if no one will ever see my transcript again).

One of my gripes about a “core” curriculum (or cross disciplinary or whatever it’s called) at the university level is that I don’t think many students put much effort into these courses. Maybe it’s still better than nothing. Either way, there are certainly different wants from the university offering, so I am fine with both options existing and people can pick what suits them best.

Anyways, I find what you’ve described at the secondary level as something that’s good in theory but I’m not sure it will work in practice or if it is what MOE wants to be doing.

[zac's mum]

@SG_KP1 my son jokes that there is a psychological effect of wearing long pants - makes them feel the need to act more like an adult haha

[chenlaoshi]

If L1R4 can do the job, there’s no need for L1R5: Chan Chun Sing on revised JC admission criteria -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftp4ur0m3uo

[zac's mum]

If an O level student is aiming for JC Science stream (let’s say mid to lower tier), what L1R4 combi would he/she offer then?

L1 English
R1 Humanities
R2 E Math
R3 Pure Science A
R4 Pure Science B

If this is the combi, then not all potential Science stream students will have taken A math. Will this be a problem? How will the JCs solve this? Provide bridging course for students taking H2 Math?

[zac's mum]

@zac-s-mum said in New L1R4 system for JC entry:

If an O level student is aiming for JC Science stream (let’s say mid to lower tier), what L1R4 combi would he/she offer then?

L1 English
R1 Humanities
R2 E Math
R3 Pure Science A
R4 Pure Science B

If this is the combi, then not all potential Science stream students will have taken A math. Will this be a problem? How will the JCs solve this? Provide bridging course for students taking H2 Math?

Forgot MTL. So student will be taking 6 subjects. If want to take the bare minimum 5, then R4 is MTL, and R3 is either Pure Science A or combined Science.

So an additional problem for JCs to solve: if student enters with only 1 Pure Science, can go Science stream or not?

[doodbug]

@zac-s-mum

This issue exists currently as well. I would imagine if a child is keen to go to the science stream in JC, he or she would have read E and A Maths, together with 2 pure sciences for O levels?

If you read Physics plus E and A Maths, you can still be in the Science stream in JC, taking Phy, Double Math and contrasting subject, or Phy, Computing, Math + contrasting subject.

If you read Chem plus E and A Maths, you can do hybrid combis in JC which are classed under Science stream like Chem, Maths, Econs + Humanities. Some JCs allow you to read Bio at H2 even without upper Sec Bio.

[zac's mum]

@doodbug said in New L1R4 system for JC entry:

@zac-s-mum

This issue exists currently as well. I would imagine if a child is keen to go to the science stream in JC, he or she would have read E and A Maths, together with 2 pure sciences for O levels?

If you read Physics plus E and A Maths, you can still be in the Science stream in JC, taking Phy, Double Math and contrasting subject, or Phy, Computing, Math + contrasting subject.

If you read Chem plus E and A Maths, you can do hybrid combis in JC which are classed under Science stream like Chem, Maths, Econs + Humanities. Some JCs allow you to read Bio at H2 even without upper Sec Bio.

I found this spreadsheet compiled by students:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1hpjWBFzvLA9jTskY3jwndnfJR55IG2ysmx7JC76AMOQ/htmlview

While it is possible, the choices of JCs available to you once u take “fewer” total subjects, is quite restricted.

This is probably why the “better”students will still strive to take more subjects.

What lessening of stress is there, really?

[doodbug]

@zac-s-mum It’s a reduction in stress in that those who wish to take fewer subjects, can do so, and fewer subjects are counted. This is very valuable especially for those who have a very committed side hustle or pursuing an activity like sports or other pursuits at a level that requires a lot of commitment.

Looking at the spreadsheet, I would say there seems to be many options. I am surprised there are a good number of JCs who do not have prerequisites for H2 Math, and only require combined science for H2 Science. It’s more open than I expect. Economics, Geog, History, China Studies in English generally do not have prerequisites, me thinks. All O level kids would have taken at least one combined science?