Secondary School Selection 2012

[janet88]

hshs:

janet_lee88:

Collected the 2013 sec schools listing yest.

Hubby used Excel to map out the schools starting from the lowest. We striked out all girls' schools and schools which are too far. Son is :nailbite: when he saw the COP of the entry levels of schools he is aiming for. Then I explained to him why his father & I were so stressed back then...but didn't want to add more pressure earlier.

Hi Janet, wd u b able to share the excel spreadsheet here so that it will benefit others as well. Thank u.

Could you PM me your email add again? Sorry, deleted by mistake.

[jedamum]

Janet,

Can you share why you opt for sji over your son’s preferred acs? Thanks. Can pm me if not convenient to share here.

[Nebbermind]

janet_lee88:

Son hoping for ACS I...I am looking at SJI.

Wah, acsi...so yr son is not as jailat as u portray hor.

[BeContented]

Chenonceau:

mummy so kiasu:

Kids applying for DSA have to go for interview or sit for selection test, not just base on their P5 & P6 SA1 results. School standards may vary. I have a friend whose son was in the top 10% of his neighbourhood primary school & his PSLE T score was only 22+. Whereas, NYPS top 30% (including GEP) is national top 10%.

Oh dear!! Really?

Thot your DS also in neighborhood school? Isn't this typical of the neighborhood school? I guess just like not all good schools are the same, some neighborhood schools are not as neighborhood.

For those who are not aware, dun get shocked.
In DS school, >50% DO NOt get to express stream. Less than 10 students in whole P6 cohort score >250 ie. only top 3% vs good school 30-40%. So it's true, top 10% in real neighborhood school is 22x -25x (usually only 1-3 students above 26x). Top/first class range is 21x onwards....... :sad: sad but that's the reality.

[Chenonceau]

anneshirleygilbert:

Hi everyone,


My daughter brought home the Choosing Sec Sch Book yesterday. It's the grey one. I think most of you would probably have seen your children's.

I have a question as I'm not familiar with the system here. Would she stand a good chance of getting her second choice if she doesn't get her first choice? I mean, would all the first choice applicants get preference over those who put the same school as their second choice? even if her score is higher than those who had chosen that school as their first choice?

I realize there must be some strategy even in the choosing of schools... I've heard of cases where students, even relatively good students end up with Choice 6, simply because they were ill-informed. Any advice would be appreciated.

TIA
Anne

Hi Anne... I have not had time to look at the book yet, but when I do and have a strategy, I''ll share here. Wait a bit.

[Nebbermind]

anneshirleygilbert:

Hi everyone,


My daughter brought home the Choosing Sec Sch Book yesterday. It's the grey one. I think most of you would probably have seen your children's.

I have a question as I'm not familiar with the system here. Would she stand a good chance of getting her second choice if she doesn't get her first choice? I mean, would all the first choice applicants get preference over those who put the same school as their second choice? even if her score is higher than those who had chosen that school as their first choice?
I realize there must be some strategy even in the choosing of schools... I've heard of cases where students, even relatively good students end up with Choice 6, simply because they were ill-informed. Any advice would be appreciated.

TIA
Anne

If the policy hasn't over the last 2 yrs, then it doesn't matter, ie, if your T-score is higher than the other fellow while yours is 2nd choice and his is 1st, the seat still goes to you.

So in that sense, u donch have to worry about the other people...just place your choices according to your preference.

For school selection, you should get hold of the past 3 yrs' COP. Shortlist 2~3 schools for each 5-pt interval, say 240~245 choice 3 schools, 246~250 choice 3 schools.
So assume you get 245, you have already shortlisted 6 schools from 240~250.

[diannec]

Chenonceau:

anneshirleygilbert:

Hi everyone,


My daughter brought home the Choosing Sec Sch Book yesterday. It's the grey one. I think most of you would probably have seen your children's.

I have a question as I'm not familiar with the system here. Would she stand a good chance of getting her second choice if she doesn't get her first choice? I mean, would all the first choice applicants get preference over those who put the same school as their second choice? even if her score is higher than those who had chosen that school as their first choice?

I realize there must be some strategy even in the choosing of schools... I've heard of cases where students, even relatively good students end up with Choice 6, simply because they were ill-informed. Any advice would be appreciated.

TIA
Anne

Hi Anne... I have not had time to look at the book yet, but when I do and have a strategy, I''ll share here. Wait a bit.

As illustrated in the guide book, it's all based on merit. As long as the score is higher than another child's who has put as 1st choice, you will get the place even though you have put as 2nd choice. But for affiliated schools this might work differently (depends on the schools' policy) as it will require you to put it as 1st choice.

[kwcllf]

BeContented:

Chenonceau:

[quote=\"mummy so kiasu\"]
Kids applying for DSA have to go for interview or sit for selection test, not just base on their P5 & P6 SA1 results. School standards may vary. I have a friend whose son was in the top 10% of his neighbourhood primary school & his PSLE T score was only 22+. Whereas, NYPS top 30% (including GEP) is national top 10%.

Oh dear!! Really?

Thot your DS also in neighborhood school? Isn't this typical of the neighborhood school? I guess just like not all good schools are the same, some neighborhood schools are not as neighborhood.

For those who are not aware, dun get shocked.
In DS school, >50% DO NOt get to express stream. Less than 10 students in whole P6 cohort score >250 ie. only top 3% vs good school 30-40%. So it's true, top 10% in real neighborhood school is 22x -25x (usually only 1-3 students above 26x). Top/first class range is 21x onwards....... :sad: sad but that's the reality.[/quote]I second that cos my DS also from neighbourhood school. In the previous years, not many students in my DS' school get above 250. It was less than 10 students or about 3-4% of the P6 cohort in the school.

Previously, the school set exam standards that were very low. For eg, like maths, my DS' class (which is the top class) had a large number of getting more than 90%.

We wrote to the school and told them that the school's PSLE standards was very poor and that the school should set standards at least equivalent to PSLE standards. Although the school achieved like 97-98% PSLE pass rate, equivalent to the National Average, a closer scrutiny revealed much malaise.

For example, the perentage of Quality Passes (A* & A), the school was like 10-15% below National Average for maths, science, english. When we dealt deeper into the school's PSLE result, they revealed another category that I think many of us do not know about. They said the school's PSLE standard was up to par with \"SIMILAR SCHOOLS\". Apparently, there is this category that is not readily revealed.

To the school's credit, it has started to set PSLE standard papers. You know what? After the school did that, more than 50% or much higher failed their maths exam. This clearly showed the school's standard was not up to scratch and I hope they will continue to improve its academic results. MY DS just completed his PSLE exam and it would be interesting to see how the school performed since our feedback 2 years ago!

So, if your DC is in a neigbourhood school, don't be fooled by the fact that they are in the TOP CLASS. The standards are different and come PSLE, the results become apparent.

For MOE to say \"All Schools Are Good Schools\", I beg to differ as far as academic results are concerned. It is like saying \"All Principals Are Good Principals\" - if they are not good, then how can they be promoted to be principal. But is it a fact that all of them are competent??

[Chenonceau]

kwcllf:

For MOE to say \"All Schools Are Good Schools\", I beg to differ as far as academic results are concerned. It is like saying \"All Principals Are Good Principals\" - if they are not good, then how can they be promoted to be principal. But is it a fact that all of them are competent??

:goodpost:

[janet88]

Nebbermind:

janet_lee88:

Son hoping for ACS I...I am looking at SJI.

Wah, acsi...so yr son is not as jailat as u portray hor.

My son is still very playful...he is thinking of ACS I, bcos neighbour's son is there. 255 (2 A* 2As). I would love for him to go there too, seriously.

But I am looking at SJI bcos some friends whose sons are there told me environment is good, not too academic driven. But I don't mean to say SJI is not good. It is.