Is PSLE so important?

[Adetan]

马炎庆建议教育部将学生平日的学校成绩，也列入小六会考的评分范围内。


淡滨尼集选区议员马炎庆昨日出席华助会活动，探讨“成绩重要，还是学会做人重要”。

针对近日引起热烈讨论的小六离校会考（PSLE）课题，马炎庆认为目前小六会考制度，因为是一试定终身的，因此风险稍微高了一点。

马炎庆说：“这表示，如果学生在应考时不在最佳状态，而没有完全发挥潜力，便会造成‘一失足成千古恨’的状况。”

因此，他认为或许教育部应该把学生在学校的课业表现，也列入升学的考虑范围内，不只是单单依靠小六会考成绩。

[Rational_Parent]

janet_lee88:

Schools and their teachers should focus on teaching, not to do so for the sake of glory. We have different views of this new decision of not naming. Lots of pros and cons regarding this.

But most people are highlighting the cons here.

In all honesty, I do not think top PLSE students of the past were in favour of their names and/or pictures being published. I would think it was their schools who had initiated the interviews etc.

But would your perspective change if the government allows only the top 10 T-scores to be published, no names and no schools? I feel this is a better option as it would have provided some kind of yardstick for interested parties (i.e. schools, students, parents, etc) to know whether their approaches, efforts and costs invested in their PLSE pursuit had been worthwhile and whether improvement and/or adjustment is needed. It may not be important to know how others have performed but it should be useful to know how your DC had performed, is it not?

I know of schools that present charts and tables during Principal talks, award presentations, etc to show how well their respective schools had performed in PSLE relative to the national standard in all subjects and T-scores, and I see this as a good exercise for schools to strategise and work on their weaknesses and for parents to determine if they want their kids in lower primary to remain in their respective schools. I wonder if schools will continue to receive PLSE statistics.

I don't know about you but keeping totally quiet on PLSE performance is akin to Chinese New year without firecrackers; there is not much to like and yet not much to dislike at the same time. But I really miss those firecrackers.

[janet88]

I think it’s perfectly ok for schools internally to give recognition to their top students.


If the govt indicates top scores without naming students or schools, next batch of PSLE students would have some idea and benchmark. I have not seen fire crackers before. Some fanfare in schools 2moro (THE BIG DAY) will give the students happiness and pride before they leave their primary schools.

[iFirefly]

Too many changes have taken place in too short a time.. For better or for worse?


Firstly, the P1 Registration.. Next, the removal of Sec Schs Banding.. Then, the abolishing of SYF Awards.. Now, the PSLE (not announcing top scorers).. :roll:

I do not see anything wrong with letting the public know who the top PSLE scorers are.. These children have put in so much effort and hard work into their studies, they certainly deserve our respect and recognition for their achievements.. Their teachers have worked hard too, having coached their students and supported them, both accademically and emotionally, during the exam period.. They too deserve our outmost respect for their dedication and commitment.. :salute:

With less or no information available from now on, parents will resort to using past years' data to make decisions, may it be P1 registration or Sec Sch selection.. Neighbourhood schools may have little (or NO) chance to change the opinions of parents (& public), as their academic achievements will not be made known to parents (& public) anymore.. And we cannot deny the fact that children's academic performance still ranks rather high on parents' minds, at least for now.. can we? :skeptical:

[wonderm]

firefly38:

Too many changes have taken place in too short a time.. For better or for worse?


Firstly, the P1 Registration.. Next, the removal of Sec Schs Banding.. Then, the abolishing of SYF Awards.. Now, the PSLE (not announcing top scorers).. :roll:

I do not see anything wrong with letting the public know who the top PSLE scorers are.. These children have put in so much effort and hard work into their studies, they certainly deserve our respect and recognition for their achievements.. Their teachers have worked hard too, having coached their students and supported them, both accademically and emotionally, during the exam period.. They too deserve our outmost respect for their dedication and commitment.. :salute:

With less or no information available from now on, parents will resort to using past years' data to make decisions, may it be P1 registration or Sec Sch selection.. Neighbourhood schools may have little (or NO) chance to change the opinions of parents (& public), as their academic achievements will not be made known to parents (& public) anymore.. And we cannot deny the fact that children's academic performance still ranks rather high on parents' minds, at least for now.. can we? :skeptical:

From the look of it, I think more and bigger changes could be on the way. Will the changes result in a more holistic education with less stress for students and parents, or will they result in grade inflation and dumbing down (like problems some of the western countries are facing now)? I hope the policy makers think carefully before making more major changes.

[jtoh]

I’m with firefly. I see nothing wrong with MOE publishing the names of the top scorers. These students have worked hard and done well and deserve their moment of glory. How would publishing their names make other students feel bad? As a student, I was not a great at Physics, but that didn’t make me feel bad when my friends scored A1 for the subject and topped the subject in my cohort. Do national swimmers feel bad that Michael Phelps is (was) breaking records and winning medals? Just because you can’t be #1 doesn’t mean you should feel bad for it nor deny those who are their little moment of celebration. Celebrate your own little achievements which are different from student to student. There’s no need for envy.

[jtoh]

wonderm:

From the look of it, I think more and bigger changes could be on the way. Will the changes result in a more holistic education with less stress for students and parents, or will they result in grade inflation and dumbing down (like problems some of the western countries are facing now)? I hope the policy makers think carefully before making more major changes.

That's my concern too.

[wonderm]

jtoh:

I'm with firefly. I see nothing wrong with MOE publishing the names of the top scorers. These students have worked hard and done well and deserve their moment of glory. How would publishing their names make other students feel bad? As a student, I was not a great at Physics, but that didn't make me feel bad when my friends scored A1 for the subject and topped the subject in my cohort. Do national swimmers feel bad that Michael Phelps is (was) breaking records and winning medals? Just because you can't be #1 doesn't mean you should feel bad for it nor deny those who are their little moment of celebration. Celebrate your own little achievements which are different from student to student. There's no need for envy.

Good point!

I am wondering, does this new policy includes O Level, A Level results as well? For the same reason, the policy should be consistent?

In the past, I read from the papers about the different starting pays for graduates of different courses. Would that be banned in future as well, so that people do not get stressed over which course seem to be more desirable? That will reduce the rush for certain faculties, and making it less stressful for all students and parents down the line?

[CRYSTALRN]

Just read news about Outstanding Teachers awards, is it "allow the officers to fire, prohibit the populace to light"? Will he cancel primary school’s annual commendation due to "stressful primary study"?


Sometimes, hard to grasp their logic. Just like "teach less, then learn more". If so, why not "teach nothing, then kids learn everything"?

This time, Funny again.

[janet88]

wonderm:

I am wondering, does this new policy includes O Level, A Level results as well? For the same reason, the policy should be consistent?


In the past, I read from the papers about the different starting pays for graduates of different courses. Would that be banned in future as well, so that people do not get stressed over which course seem to be more desirable? That will reduce the rush for certain faculties, and making it less stressful for all students and parents down the line?

yes, applies to all national exams according to the news flash i saw on cna last night.