PSLE 2012 - Results Discussion

[rains]

It’s different strokes for different folks.


Not exactly a numerical person, I had no inkling that only the top 1% gets 270. I read ‘PSLE Survival Guide’ and the kid targeted at 270 to get 247. I thought it would be a ‘safe’ t-score to target at even if it’s unrealistic.

It’s no use telling my kid that she had to study for herself. For herself, I reckon she would think passing would be good enough. It’s no use telling her that she just needed to do her best, because her best would be defined as finishing an exam with every question answered - correctly or not, that’s another matter. She wanted a good score to get into her dream school, but how much effort to put in and how to get that score, she had no idea. To give my sleeping beauty an idea of what ‘studying hard’ means, we had to give her a target score and explain the implications of getting that score. Her school churns out t-scores since P5, so it’s easier for her to see horror where she stood. Of course, that doesn’t mean the end of the works, but that’s another story.

[Jakaranda]

slmkhoo:

watmekiasu:

[quote=\"Nebbermind\"]If parents had already pumped in extra resources such as tuition and the kids still did not do well, shouldn't the kids take responsibility to what happened?


I think the parents should take the responsibility for this. They should have checked to ensure that the tuition was effective. I am a hands-off mum but I make a point of giving my dd the past year papers during SA1 and SA2. From there, I can tell if the tuition is effective and her weaknesses. I take action from there.
Tuition may be 'effective', but it doesn't mean the child will necessarily do well, just better than without tuition.

[/quote]More importantly a pupil should take in and absorb every bit of information learnt in school. The school should help you firm up your foundation and tuition is supposed to teach you something that is higher than the standard level, more like an enrichment. I always listen with 120% attention during lessons, ask whenever I have doubts and complete my homework with my best effort. Also, I take my time to relax at home after school (and completing my homework) as my self-studying is done either in school or the library. (And I did pretty well in PSLE!)
It's just not about the duration but the quality of studying.

[Jakaranda]

Nebbermind:

What is 270?


If 260 is that top 3%, I would guess that 270 is like the top 1%.
If the school psle cohort is 250~300, that would generally equal to the (regular) top 3 kids if it is distributed equally throughout the SG cohort. But since we know it is not, then most schools will have no more than 1~2 kids with that kind of score.

Did I get the numbers wrong in my estimation...and being realistic? :scratchhead:

Hmm, GEP schools might be an exception. As far as I know there are more than/around 10 ppl scoring 265-280 in my school. All of them--except for one classmate and me--came from the GEP/TAG/best class in mainstream, though.

[Jakaranda]

jedamum:

With schools setting different difficulty papers and 4A yielding 220+ at times, how do one set targets?

Ask seniors for opinions (such as difference btw difficulty of sch paper&PSLE) and estimate one's standard as accurately as possible

[Jakaranda]

Just realised that I have not set a target (academically) in my whole life…But my mum has set one for me now since I got into RGS: Either I try Oxford, Cambridge or get into Havard…

[BlurBerry]

wonderm:

It is very interesting to see how differently we parents work with our kids.


For us, we never set any T-score target not because we think it will give them too much stress, but because even we parents do not know how to translate 270, 260 or 250 to actions. Since T-score is a ranking score, to us, it is meaningless for us to set a goal for them to be top 3% or top 10% of the national cohort. They wouldn't know how to be top x% of 40,000+ students. We also do not set any goals in terms of marks like above 90%, 80% or 70% because it really depends on how hard the papers are.. Since there is no way we can know or control how hard the teachers set the papers, I think it is unfair or not very useful for us to set such goals.

Instead, we monitor the children's learning attitude and also the type of mistakes they make. From the mistakes we can tell if they don't fully grasp the concepts or they are making too many careless mistakes, these need to be addressed as and when it happens, not till after the exam. If we sense they lack concentration or motivation during their revision, we will also give them feedback and make them understand they are studying for themselves. With these things addressed, we always re-assure them that the final result will take care of itself and whatever the T-score, it is good enough that they have worked hard and done their best.

I most certainly agree with you on this.

[Mr Kiasu]

Jakaranda,


What is the highest score for your school’s mainstream student? Any difference in performance between your school’s TAG class students and those from the top mainstream class? Heard that students from TAG did better than those from GEP in the past. Is this true?

[Jakaranda]

Mr Kiasu:

Jakaranda,


What is the highest score for your school's mainstream student? Any difference in performance between your school's TAG class students and those from the top mainstream class? Heard that students from TAG did better than those from GEP in the past. Is this true?

Highest score for mainstream is 273 i think, as far as I know (does not exceed 275) scored by my classmate.
TAG and GEP...?I'm not sure, I have few friends from TAG and almost none from GEP. Most GEPs are one-sided, which means that they are only good in 1/2 subjects but there are exceptions (I see a 283 from the GEP) :gloomy: Whereas TAG pupils are mainly all-rounders.

[BeContented]

wonderm:

It is very interesting to see how differently we parents work with our kids.


For us, we never set any T-score target not because we think it will give them too much stress, but because even we parents do not know how to translate 270, 260 or 250 to actions. Since T-score is a ranking score, to us, it is meaningless for us to set a goal for them to be top 3% or top 10% of the national cohort. They wouldn't know how to be top x% of 40,000+ students. We also do not set any goals in terms of marks like above 90%, 80% or 70% because it really depends on how hard the papers are.. Since there is no way we can know or control how hard the teachers set the papers, I think it is unfair or not very useful for us to set such goals.

Instead, we monitor the children's learning attitude and also the type of mistakes they make. From the mistakes we can tell if they don't fully grasp the concepts or they are making too many careless mistakes, these need to be addressed as and when it happens, not till after the exam. If we sense they lack concentration or motivation during their revision, we will also give them feedback and make them understand they are studying for themselves. With these things addressed, we always re-assure them that the final result will take care of itself and whatever the T-score, it is good enough that they have worked hard and done their best.

:goodpost:
Even tho DS has just completed his PSLE, I am still not totally clear-minded or too bothered about how t-score & it's various components affect. To me, simply it's a bell curve measured based on cohort of that year. Paper hard or easy, it's still a bell curve. T-score, school's COP, scholarship etc will move up or down accordingly based on cohort as well.
I do set a certain target based on what I assess/estimate to be my DC current ability, but I am realistic as anything can happen during PSLE itself - health, luck, wrong estimation on my part etc.

But like what wonderm mentioned, learning attitude is key. If they have done their best & do consistent work, what else can I ask for

2012 is over, a fresh new start.
Happy new year to everyone. :rahrah:

[mummy so kiasu]

jedamum:

With schools setting different difficulty papers and 4A yielding 220+ at times, how do one set targets?

Depend whether they are low or high end A. 4A can be 22x or 23x. Maybe you can base on 90% if your child is in a neighbourhood school & 80% if your child is in a top school. My boy gets 3A & 1A* in school. Whereas for PSLE, he gets 2A & 2A*. School marking is usually stricter than PSLE & most kids will get better results in PSLE.