Review Underway of the Educational System

[caroline3sg]

Chenonceau:

I know we're all frustrated. I am/was too. That was why people wrote in and I started a petition. But there is a start. I'm not keen to simply write off the MOE's nascent efforts as completely useless. I have seen many people in organizations (and many organizations) accomplish the impossible.

That the impossible is sometimes within reach was what gave me and my son hope throughout our ordeal with the Chinese language. In days gone past, people didn't think flying was possible. We would NEVER fly as well as the birds. But today, huge planes carrying loads far heavier than any bird can criss-cross the globe... and some fly far longer distances than any bird, without rest.

It's my own character flaw that I'm always hopeful and unable to easily accept that things cannot be done.... never be done... no hope. It also helps that my PhD dissertation was titled \"How do people stay committed to impossible goals and eventually accomplish them?\". I've seen the impossible too many times to easily accept it at face value. If not, for what I learnt there... I could never have helped my son catch up on a 3-year reading level in Chinese in 10 months, whilst being illiterate in Chinese... and having a tutor only for 3 of the 10 months. In 10 months, my son went from Fail to a High B, mostly without tuition (and an unhelpful schoolteacher) and a Mother illiterate in Chinese. We are hopeful for an A soon.

There was also a time when no one thought the Opposition could win a GRC. PAP itself didn't think it possible. But it didn't stop hopeful people from trying.

We can hope. It is unlikely. But we can hope.

But yes... I know and agree that it is very unlikely at present... and MOE hasn't really done anything yet. And we see no results yet. And we are all frustrated and see MOE has a loser. It could well be too that my faith is misplaced... I really dunno, and am not prepared to disagree with you on what is possible or not possible for MOE. So... I suppose you're right then.

It is good that you do not give up easily. And I commend & salute the unwavering efforts you & your son put in for Chinese. If at the end of it, if one does not get the desired result, one can say he/she has put in his/her best effort and have reached thus far. In the process, he/she has learnt a lot too.

Noticeable improvements can be seen if count on ourselves for improvement than to depend on school teacher. This is fact and happens to almost everyone.

However, I would like to comment that in organisations, it is comparatively easier to accomplish the impossible than stat boards. As for PAP, they have slackened that's why WP has taken up 6 seats.

In life, in reality, sometimes we need to know where is its limits.

[jenao]

How hopeful you react to the recent MOE announcement I guess depends on which stage your kid is in. If you kids are 1/2 yrs old, then you are hopeful as you have 10 yrs to see significant changes and given that MOE come up with something like this every year, there should be some changes by the time your kids take their PSLE?


If your kids are almost entering primary school, then you are not so optimistic since the changes are mainly cosmetic, nothing very substantial and you may not see any improvement by the time your kids take psle. And if there are substantial changes later, you also are also weary since your kids will be affected. Case of better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.

And if your kids are in upper primary, then you are not hopeful since core issues like psle tscore, syllabus and materials etc remain the same. It is not just mentality of the parents. If top students need to go for tuition to have better t-score than their peers, then those average students or poor students definitely need tuition just to keep up.

[try]

Just something I read which I found interesting because I never knew that results were moderated to such an extent for the chinese language.


PSLE Chinese according to past MOE statistics which were similar to those in 2009 - 13% scored A*, 69% of students scored A, 11% scored B, 5% scored C. (Info taken from Eduguide magazine 166/08/2010 Volume 4, published by absolutelyparents.com which quoted its source was from MOE)

From what I gleaned from parents whose children had taken PSLE, most students(69%?) who scored Bs and Cs in schools will be able to score As in PSLE. Its a matter of a high A or a low A, which parents will not know, unless you do so comparison with students with the same number of A*/A/B/C.

Seemed that MOE is trying to encourage students by giving As during PSLE through moderating. Not only might this give the wrong impression of a child's chinese ability, parents whose children had been getting Bs or Cs in school may find it hard to select/decide chinese tutors/tuition centers as many can and should have majority of students who scored at least an A in PSLE given that only 18% scored B and below. http://i52.tinypic.com/3166kh0.jpg\">

[Chenonceau]

jenao:

How hopeful you react to the recent MOE announcement I guess depends on which stage your kid is in. If you kids are 1/2 yrs old, then you are hopeful as you have 10 yrs to see significant changes and given that MOE come up with something like this every year, there should be some changes by the time your kids take their PSLE?


If your kids are almost entering primary school, then you are not so optimistic since the changes are mainly cosmetic, nothing very substantial and you may not see any improvement by the time your kids take psle. And if there are substantial changes later, you also are also weary since your kids will be affected. Case of better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

And if your kids are in upper primary, then you are not hopeful since core issues like psle tscore, syllabus and materials etc remain the same. It is not just mentality of the parents. If top students need to go for tuition to have better t-score than their peers, then those average students or poor students definitely need tuition just to keep up.

:goodpost:

[Chenonceau]

try:

Just something I read which I found interesting because I never knew that results were moderated to such an extent for the chinese language.


PSLE Chinese according to past MOE statistics which were similar to those in 2009 - 13% scored A*, 69% of students scored A, 11% scored B, 5% scored C. (Info taken from Eduguide magazine 166/08/2010 Volume 4, published by absolutelyparents.com which quoted its source was from MOE)

From what I gleaned from parents whose children had taken PSLE, most students(69%?) who scored Bs and Cs in schools will be able to score As in PSLE. Its a matter of a high A or a low A, which parents will not know, unless you do so comparison with students with the same number of A*/A/B/C.

Seemed that MOE is trying to encourage students by giving As during PSLE through moderating. Not only might this give the wrong impression of a child's chinese ability, parents whose children had been getting Bs or Cs in school may find it hard to select/decide chinese tutors/tuition centers as many can and should have majority of students who scored at least an A in PSLE given that only 18% scored B and below. http://i52.tinypic.com/3166kh0.jpg\">

Thank you!! I always suspected the A in PSLE could well be just a front. You can get lotsa As but still score low. So I look past the marks and go straight at comparing Top Essays in Chinese with my son's work. Then, he will end up where he ends up. I wanna see his best effort. If it ain't good enough... then well, so be it. If it is better than good, then good too.

Go back to first principles of education.

[Snow Crystal]

Try :goodpost:


Thanks for the information. You are right - it gives a wrong impression of ability. IMHO, strong foundation plays a big part in subsequent secondary school Chinese. But like what you said, MOE's dishing out of so many As certainly boost morale and maintain interest for the subject. Strategic move.

[Brenda10]

try:

Just something I read which I found interesting because I never knew that results were moderated to such an extent for the chinese language.


PSLE Chinese according to past MOE statistics which were similar to those in 2009 - 13% scored A*, 69% of students scored A, 11% scored B, 5% scored C. (Info taken from Eduguide magazine 166/08/2010 Volume 4, published by absolutelyparents.com which quoted its source was from MOE)

From what I gleaned from parents whose children had taken PSLE, most students(69%?) who scored Bs and Cs in schools will be able to score As in PSLE. Its a matter of a high A or a low A, which parents will not know, unless you do so comparison with students with the same number of A*/A/B/C.

Seemed that MOE is trying to encourage students by giving As during PSLE through moderating. Not only might this give the wrong impression of a child's chinese ability, parents whose children had been getting Bs or Cs in school may find it hard to select/decide chinese tutors/tuition centers as many can and should have majority of students who scored at least an A in PSLE given that only 18% scored B and below. http://i52.tinypic.com/3166kh0.jpg\">

Hi Try

:goodpost:

Thank you for sharing.

We can notice that many questions were raised for help at PSLE Math, Science or EL forum but not CL.

For the year 2010, the PSLE exam results:

A and A*
English 44.3%
Math 43.3%
Science 43.2%
Chinese 81.2%

[jtoh]

Can someone please clarify this for me.


If someone scores >91 marks at a PSLE subject, is he automatically given an A*? That is, the marks you score at PSLE are absolute. So if you score 89, you are given an A, regardless of the performance of your cohort.

Then, only after moderation via T-score {where T-score = 50 + 10 ([X-Y]/Z)} , will that subject’s contribution to the T-score be adjusted?

OR is the scenario this: That there is no set mark for A*, A, B etc and that each grade is determined based on cohort performance and a normal curve? So someone could score 85 marks and still get an A* in PSLE?

[Brenda10]

Hi jtoh,


My friend’s DD said she had at least 3 questions wrong (11 marks gone) during 2009 but still managed to get an A* for Math.

This was not included any possible careless mistake that she may make too.

[Chenonceau]

I THINK (not sure) that there is a set mark for A.


However, the paper can be set in such a way that up to 75% of marks are pitched at easy difficulty, with the remaining 25% difficult. The variance would thus be between 75%-100% but within the band, there will still be differentiation that is relevant to the t-score.

My 2 cents. Not sure.