Use of correction-tape allowed in PSLE?

[Artbeaucoup]

Hi there,


when we mark PSLE scripts, there is a considerable number of students who still use correction tape to correct their mistakes.

Why we advise students not to use correction tape:
- quality of the correction tape has a crucial part to play. Some brands of correction tape are of inferior quality. The mistakes still show through despite applying 2 layers of the correction tape. This is not immediate. The ink only permeates through the tape after some time. So there will be a superimposition of answers. Teachers will mark the answer wrong when it becomes difficult to decipher what the child wrote.

- In the course of flipping the pages, some correction tape will peel off. It might be due to abrasion or again the poor quality of the tape. Needless to say, the corrected answers peel off as well. This can happen in the midst of the exam or when the teachers are doing the marking.

So it's best to cancel and write again. Of course, make sure they do it neatly. Nobody can make out illegible handwriting or incoherent answers that are scribbled all over the place.
Hope this helps...just sharing what I have observed when marking PSLE and school exam scripts

[mummyjoyce]

:? I didnt know that at all. I just went to buy 2 correction tapes (good brand) for my girl to use. KS - everything must be new - change battery in calculator, 2 new erasers, a few new blue pens, a new ruler, new lead for pencils.


I will let her know about the above. Thanks.

[kuzco]

My boy has atrocious handwriting and he tends to write very fast, sometimes making his handwriting difficult to read. Have told him many times to slow down and write neatly but he finds it difficult to do that. Oh dear, I hope he will do just that during the PSLE and not use the correction tape.


Yes, we will also be changing the batteries in his calculator and chinese e-dictionary.

Thanks, Artbeaucoup, for the tips.

[Jennifer]

I wrote to SEAB abt the use of correction tapes- discouraged but allowed. I guess it is "use at your own risk".


As for e-dict and calculator, a pupil can bring > 1 e-dict/calculator as long as the gadget is in the allowed lists.

[mrswongtuition]

This is what I advised all my students:

- If you write something wrong, cancel NEATLY with PENCIL.
- If what you've written is really messy, draw a box neatly around it and cross it out IN PENCIL.
- Do not use correction tape and write over it. If you really need to use correction tape, it should only be to cover up messes, not to write new answers over it.

Main reason for cancelling in pencil is in case they change their minds and want their original answers. They do not spend time rewriting, just need to erase their cancellation. Very useful for Maths

[pinky88]

Thanks Artbeacoup for sharing the details & Jennifer for yr confirmation w/ SEAB. Guess I will ask my boy not to bring any correction-tape or he will be tempted to use it. Kids nowadys depend too much on the correction-tape that they don't think carefully b4 they write.

[daisyt]

I checked with my girl (had PSLE last year) and she said, correction tapes are not allowed in PSLE. This was what the teachers told them and they did not use it during PSLE.

[joconde]

In the first place, are students supose to use pen or pencil in PSLE, or both allowed ? my son’s sci teacher told them that they will need to use pencil.

[daisyt]

joconde:

In the first place, are students supose to use pen or pencil in PSLE, or both allowed ? my son's sci teacher told them that they will need to use pencil.

2B pencil only for that shading of the circles on the OAS ( Optical Answer Sheet ). The rest in pen. If your son is still unsure, get him to ask the teacher again.

[mathsparks]

Looks like parents and kids are all preparing the stationery for PSLE.


My son’s teachers pooled their money and got the kids a psle survival pack for childrens’ day…so sweet of them… with 2b pencil, erasers, ruler, pencil case, protractor…plus notes of encouragements. So thoughtful of them.