Should schools do away with ranking?

[jtoh]

concern2:

I am one of the fortunate ones who got balloted in to the school of my choice. However, I do empathize tremendously with those whom, though staying less than 1km from the school, did not get a place for their children there, because it could have happened to me.


Such balloting exercises have been going on for years. It is not something new. Yet, nothing much has changed despite the voices of heartfelt injustice of those affected. However, imagine the situation whereby those staying nearest to the school are given the top priority, what will happen to the most popular schools? And what makes a school popular none other than its ranking in terms of academic results?

So it all began because MOE started ranking the schools, is that fair to say?

If the schools aren't ranked, and little information is disclosed about which school is better than which, then will parents have more varied criteria in choosing the school for their kids? Isn't this a more holistic approach towards education? The focus in quest for knowledge (academic point of view) rather than to be number one?

Can the education system DO AWAY WITH RANKINGS, starting from students' performance within their own classes? How acceptable are parents with this change? What is MOE’s purpose of announcing the list of top schools? Surely this did not start out from parental pressure? Surely MOE did not make this transparent because MOE feels parents wish to know this information?

Do you like the ranking system? Or do you think we can do just as well, if not better, without it?

MOE does NOT rank primary schools. And I don't believe MOE publishes a \"list of top primary schools\". In fact, the media has been instructed in recent years to move away from focusing just on the results of top performers in PSLE and how well the top schools are doing. You will notice that the media now seeks out students who do well at PSLE from neighbourhood schools, students who do well despite having to overcome adverse circumstances etc.

[verykiasu2010]

rankings of school is inevitable


even if / when bodies like MOE or ST do not do it, other unofficial bodies like kiasuparents.com will also rank them…you can’t run away from realities

[rains]

MOE has not ranked primary schools. Parents are the ones who rank them by comparing them against one another. Parents are the ones who need to stop comparing schools.


Parents should avoid registering their kids at schools that require balloting to get in.

Information about the school is only available through the parents whose kids are in the school. So parents are the ones who need to seal their mouths about the schools their kids are in.

Do you see it now? It’s us - the very clever parents who did all these things.

[tankee]

Information about schools are published on MOE website.

[verykiasu2010]

parents will not rank the schools after their kids are out of the system


even if they don’t rank them verbally, they still rank them in their head and compare them by saying "we are not comparing, xxx school is more preferred…"

be real, some are better than others, by any and many measures

almost every body rank them

the schools rank themselves too. when you visit their open house, they show you stats on how they perform compared with national average, and who form the national average ?

comparisons and competitions are inevitable, as certain as having eaten, visiting the toilet is a sure thing, just a matter of time

got input means got output

got sunrise means got sunset

let us not be hypocrites

[pupilview]

Maybe it is time we do away with alumni and church/clan association.All schools should allow students to take up mother-tongue of their choice.No such thing as only Chinese language offered as is the case in some schools.

[verykiasu2010]

pupilview:

Maybe it is time we do away with alumni and church/clan association.All schools should allow students to take up mother-tongue of their choice.No such thing as only Chinese language offered as is the case in some schools.

fyi - those schools with only Chinese language are founded as chinese schools by the Chinese clans association like Hokkien Huay Kuan and other philanthropist. hence they are the government-aided school (not fully government schools). these philanthropists or their nominees still still on the board of directors of the schools.

don't despise the alumni - they make strong contribution to their alma mater especially those very established schools - without them, the schools will not be what they are today - and you enjoy the fruit of their contribution

[Trapwithin]

Singapore is generally very metrics driven.

We like measurement, the ability the differentiate and compare.

When we buy gadgets, houses, cars, etc . .we compare.
So it would be tough to do away with the Ranking considering Primary school education is probably one of the most important thing that affects our children’s lives.

[verykiasu2010]

Trapwithin:

Singapore is generally very metrics driven.

We like measurement, the ability the differentiate and compare.

When we buy gadgets, houses, cars, etc . .we compare.
So it would be tough to do away with the Ranking considering Primary school education is probably one of the most important thing that affects our children's lives.

all these rankings are quite universal in many cities around the world - schools, universities, etc etc...it is not unique to singapore

please get used to it

[Trapwithin]

verykiasu2010:

Trapwithin:

Singapore is generally very metrics driven.

We like measurement, the ability the differentiate and compare.

When we buy gadgets, houses, cars, etc . .we compare.
So it would be tough to do away with the Ranking considering Primary school education is probably one of the most important thing that affects our children's lives.

all these rankings are quite universal in many cities around the world - schools, universities, etc etc...it is not unique to singapore

please get used to it

Very true indeed