Recommendation of changes to reduce Stress for PSLE
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Time and again , we have parents telling us the shock they recived in P5 CA1/SA1. Where so many children in the class fail.
If that was done to wake up , it does succeed in waking up the parents and rushing them to the tution/enrichment centres.
1.Simply test what you teach to a large extent.
To me its about exam papers set . Extremely tough papers demoralise children, make parents panicky, lead parents to queue up tution/enrichment centres, and that adds stress to parents and children.
There should be a clear division questions in the paper. As an example - 70% based on what is fully taught in class. 20% slightly tricky, infered questions, 10 % tougher/complex questions. If less than 50% of the kids in a class get less than 60-65%, something wrong, topics need to be revisited.
2. MOE should Discourage Tution/Enrichment:
Whether parents listen or not does not matter. Preach it. It will trickle down. Along with the above measure and other measures.
Once a child is scoring in around 70s the parents will not feel compelled to run to a tution centre.
It would then be a good to have thing not a necessity like it appears now.
One more, will write it later, g2g -
For Maths and Science, the topics are pretty much what you find in most Pr school curricula so I don’t think they need to be cut. I think the main stressor is the style and complexity of questions which require high levels of language comprehension and logical thinking. If the PSLE is intended to be a test of whether a child has learned basic concepts, then most questions should be straightforward. Perhaps there should be a clear demarcation of one or 2 ‘special’ or ‘starred’ questions for extra credit which are not compulsory. Also, markers should be less rigid in what sort of answers they accept, and partial marks should be given as long as it is clear that the child has a general understanding of the concepts being tested. This is already the case in Maths, I believe, so it’s mainly in Science that marking needs to be relaxed.
For English compo, markers should relax their rules about ‘no fantasy, no science fiction’ etc. And there should be less weight given to bombastic words and strange idioms. If the child can write continuous prose of 150 words that makes sense, that should get at least a decent pass.
If there is a need to sift out the gifted kids, then have another test. But it should not be like the Pr school GEP where there are prerequisites of English and Maths before a child may take the test; let every child who wants to try take the test. Who knows how many gems have been lost because of the prerequisite requirements?
These are the things that MOE can do. What is can’t do is change another main stressor - parents’ belief that exam grades are so important that all life grinds to a halt before the PSLE. -
When my son was in P4, friends and kind neighbor told hubby & I to be prepared for a sharp drop and big landfall. We thanked them for giving us advice what to expect in P5. It was indeed painful last year. Throughout the whole year, we were in the dark tunnel, wondering when we will see light.
We drifted on to P6. Dark tunnel continues, and that the path was even harder to walk.
1) Kids are demoralized bcos they have put in hard work, yet ‘rewarded’ with poor results bcos the exams are tough. They will find it meaningless to continue working hard.
2) Again, the same statement. Test what is taught, if you want parents to rely less on tuition. -
I like Sun’s points on…
- not cutting syllabus by reducing breadth of content
- BUT to tackle the DEPTH of content
- NOT dumbing down the syllabus
- teaching what you test
- discouraging tuition
I add my following thoughts…
- if you give more time for compositions , then over the next few years, expectations of writing skill will go up the fill the extra time given because there will ALWAYS be children who can push the envelope of possibility when the system is governed by the Bell Curve
- this syllabus needs to be taught DIFFERENTLY. If teachers know HOW to teach it, covering the syllabus is not a problem (provided there are smaller classes and better access to high quality materials). -
I subscribe to Sun’s viewpoints which are well thought.
With regards to maths, I wonder how some students manage to handle challenging qns (such as speed) while the majority struggle even with repeated explanations from teachers. Could it be due to the studying style (eg rote learning) as compared to logical thinking process which the MOE hopes to encourage? -
I think my issue with science is that, marks are awarded based on production of “Key words” and required answering style… So even a common sense answer without keywords = wrong… My P5 dd manages that but my P4 ds struggles… He enjoys science BUT he struggles during exams as he always like to say in his own words…
I acknowleged I am the type of parent who struggle with science. But is the marking focus today correct??? It appears to promote rote learning eg. memorise the standard answers for given set of questions. That is really stifling. -
Another thought - make it easier to switch between different streams in sec school. Schools should be required to have at least 2 or 3 streams so it is easier to transfer between Normal/Express/IP, in either direction. Better still if there is some common core across all streams so that students can have contact with stronger/weaker students. The content subjects can be divided into separate levels (again, movement between them should be relatively easy), which will cater for students who are strong in one subject but weak in another and average in the rest. If there is less do-or-die about getting into specific streams or schools, maybe there will be less stress over PSLE results.
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Another way to reduce stress is for MOE to send parents of P6ers to ‘Parenting 101’ course and explain to them that it’s not the end of the world if their kids don’t make it to IP.
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er … are we talking about reducing stress for the kids or for the parents?
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tankee:
er .... are we talking about reducing stress for the kids or for the parents?
Meant for the kids.....but from the look of it, parents need it more -
MMM:
My son loves science, so we didn't have much problems coaching him without tuition. But we got fed up bcos son couldn't score in his fav subject. We refused to bring in science tutor, still wanting to believe that school will teach students to answer OE questions the way PSLE markers are looking for. But we were deeply disappointed. I do not know how many others feel that way.I think my issue with science is that, marks are awarded based on production of \"Key words\" and required answering style..... So even a common sense answer without keywords = wrong..... My P5 dd manages that but my P4 ds struggles... He enjoys science BUT he struggles during exams as he always like to say in his own words...
I acknowleged I am the type of parent who struggle with science. But is the marking focus today correct???? It appears to promote rote learning eg. memorise the standard answers for given set of questions. That is really stifling. -
FQW:
Another way to reduce stress is for MOE to send parents of P6ers to 'Parenting 101' course and explain to them that it's not the end of the world if their kids don't make it to IP.
Not every parent wants their kids to attend IP schools.
I want my son to go through the normal route...to sit for O levels. -
tankee:
er .... are we talking about reducing stress for the kids or for the parents?
A lot of stress is transferred from parent to child. If parent can let go a bit, children will be less stressed. -
janet_lee88:
Don't bluff lah Janet. You spent $2,000 a mth on tuition just so that your son can sit for O levels? Hard to believe leh.FQW:
Another way to reduce stress is for MOE to send parents of P6ers to 'Parenting 101' course and explain to them that it's not the end of the world if their kids don't make it to IP.
Not every parent wants their kids to attend IP schools.
I want my son to go through the normal route...to sit for O levels. -
Give chance lah! :imanangel:
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:pokeeye: Probably Janet is spending $2000/mth for kid to go for a good secondary school.
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There is no need for me to bluff.
I know where my son stands. IP is not for him. -
janet_lee88:
I see, I tot you always say you hope [your ds] goes to the all boys sch down the road (which I read it as HCI). So I assume you're spending that kind of serious money to nudge him towards that. Mabbe I'm mistaken.There is no need for me to bluff.
I know where my son stands. IP is not for him. -
FQW:
You gotta be kidding. HCI is not for my son. My son is not anywhere near that standard. I am realistic.
I see, I tot you always say you hope [your ds] goes to the all boys sch down the road (which I read it as HCI). So I assume you're spending that kind of serious money to nudge him towards that. Mabbe I'm mistaken.janet_lee88:
There is no need for me to bluff.
I know where my son stands. IP is not for him. -
FQW:
Another way to reduce stress is for MOE to send parents of P6ers to 'Parenting 101' course and explain to them that it's not the end of the world if their kids don't make it to IP.
I agree with you FQW.. In addition talks can be held to advice parents how to go through the 'stress period' with their kid with Less stress ....