<![CDATA[Why screen kids in P1?]]>From ST Forum on 7 Sep 2012. My P1 ds also confirmed that he has done this IQ test recently.



ON JULY 30, my son, who is in Primary 1, came home from school to say that an external teacher had given his class a test that consisted of patterns. This teacher had not mentioned the word "test" or "IQ" and the pupils were given 30 minutes to fill their answer sheets.

I did an online search of IQ tests and found one where my son was able to recognise 46 out of the 60 questions. Based on this, I deduced that the test given was the Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices test.

When my daughter, a Primary 3 pupil in another school, saw the patterns, she said she had taken the same test when she was in P1.

I was concerned as to why the school had conducted such a test, what the results would be used for, and who would have access to them. I also wanted to know why the test was given without my knowledge as even the Gifted Education Programme screening test requires my consent.

I wrote to both the school and Ministry of Education (MOE) reflecting my concerns. On Aug 2, the school’s learning support teacher called and said the test was given to determine which pupils have the potential to do better and it measures numeracy and literacy skills.

I pointed out that the test contains only patterns and so has little to do with maths or language ability. The teacher then said she did not actually see the test, and forwarded my questions to MOE.

On Aug 22, MOE replied. It said the "screening exercise" is used to "identify pupils who require additional help early" and to "obtain a more holistic picture of the pupils’ needs". It would be following up with parents to explain the findings and discuss intervention programmes.

I wrote back the same day asking for a clearer response and have not got a reply to date.

MOE should let parents know when or why "screening" is done on our children.

Parents have a right to consent to an IQ test and know how the results are being used. In the light of the new approach to education with more focus on learning through play in the early years, are we still sticking to the conventional idea of what makes a kid smart?

Is it even necessary to screen children at Primary 1 when reasoning and cognitive skills are just emerging?

David Chin

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/topic/40330/why-screen-kids-in-p1RSS for NodeSat, 18 Apr 2026 14:07:32 GMTSat, 08 Sep 2012 14:30:41 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 02:25:57 GMT]]>screening for kids is safe. At least we know if there is any problem.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1235495https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1235495Tue, 11 Mar 2014 02:25:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 07:14:45 GMT]]>also mentioned earlier, i believe the sch doesnt want parents to "well-prepare" their kids for the screen, and tat explains why the sch didnt inform beforehand…


however i strongly disagree if the sch keep mum all the way… whether the results gd or poor, sch should inform parents after the screen asap…

no parents will be happy if they are keep in the dark while the children goes thru so many things… worse still, not the sch inform parents, the kids!!!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/852028https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/852028Tue, 18 Sep 2012 07:14:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 02:43:13 GMT]]>

Mawar:
My crystal tells me that in the very very near future, schools also cannot do health screening in school. Cannot measure height weight or do eye check up. No dental, no jabs. All cannot !!!! :rotflmao:

The issue here is not cannot screen but that the parents were not informed of the screening. Health screening, dental care and jabs are all made known to parents. Parents have to sign a consent form for those.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851761https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851761Tue, 18 Sep 2012 02:43:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:12:27 GMT]]>

Mawar:
My crystal tells me that in the very very near future, schools also cannot do health screening in school. Cannot measure height weight or do eye check up. No dental, no jabs. All cannot !!!! :rotflmao:

Why not? When all these have been around for a long time and no parents have ever protested?

But certainly NOT if it ever occur to them to take a BLOOD TEST on the sly of all the kids to test for...say - HIV! One may say early detection is the best but it is not ethical for the school to do it on the sly if you can see my point!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851497https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851497Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:12:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:46:38 GMT]]>

Mawar:
My crystal tells me that in the very very near future, schools also cannot do health screening in school. Cannot measure height weight or do eye check up. No dental, no jabs. All cannot !!!! :rotflmao:

:goodpost:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851326https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851326Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:46:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:40:05 GMT]]>

Mawar:
My crystal tells me that in the very very near future, schools also cannot do health screening in school. Cannot measure height weight or do eye check up. No dental, no jabs. All cannot !!!! :rotflmao:

haha... that will be too much if parents were to complain even with health screening... if there's any illness (touch wood), isnt early detection better?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851315https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851315Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:40:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:19:36 GMT]]>

Mawar:
My crystal tells me that in the very very near future, schools also cannot do health screening in school. Cannot measure height weight or do eye check up. No dental, no jabs. All cannot !!!! :rotflmao:

Great insight from your crystal!! :salute: :rotflmao:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851295https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851295Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:19:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:47:22 GMT]]>My crystal tells me that in the very very near future, schools also cannot do health screening in school. Cannot measure height weight or do eye check up. No dental, no jabs. All cannot !!!! :rotflmao:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851173https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851173Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:47:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:03:15 GMT]]>just because we have had friends who have encountered such issues, so i’m quite supportive towards screening early… but afterall, it depends how they do it as well…


my friend also hope she had taken action back then earlier…!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851115https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851115Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:03:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:47:37 GMT]]>Don’t think it’s the same girl. My friends’s girl can read, but often got the word order wrong for spelling. She’s in Sec school now, and has learnt to cope with dyslexia. But her mummy wished that she had been diagnosed earlier … In lower Pri.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851097https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851097Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:47:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 07:46:44 GMT]]>

Laura02:
Verykiasumummy, your story reminds me of a very similar story my friend shared with me. Her daughter, too, was a hard working, obedient girl who brought home slightly above average grades in lower primary. In upper primary, the teacher started complaining that she was losing marks for careless spelling mistakes, careless math mistakes ... Finally, one teacher suggested testing for dyslexia, and the girl was found to be dyslexic - in P5!

My friend said she felt so terrible that she had scolded her daughter for being careless all those years, when the girl had been trying so hard. But none of the teachers had suggested, and she didn't suspect that the girls was dyslexic all that time.
sounds so familiar....

or do we have the same fren...??

but no, my fren's dd was some reading/comprehension disability, not dyslexia... i think the difference is she can read and spell but not understand... dyslexia is cannot read or spell...

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851015https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/851015Mon, 17 Sep 2012 07:46:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 06:51:14 GMT]]>Repeat post

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850920https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850920Mon, 17 Sep 2012 06:51:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 06:51:02 GMT]]>Verykiasumummy, your story reminds me of a very similar story my friend shared with me. Her daughter, too, was a hard working, obedient girl who brought home slightly above average grades in lower primary. In upper primary, the teacher started complaining that she was losing marks for careless spelling mistakes, careless math mistakes … Finally, one teacher suggested testing for dyslexia, and the girl was found to be dyslexic - in P5!

My friend said she felt so terrible that she had scolded her daughter for being careless all those years, when the girl had been trying so hard. But none of the teachers had suggested, and she didn’t suspect that the girls was dyslexic all that time.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850919https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850919Mon, 17 Sep 2012 06:51:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 06:38:24 GMT]]>

Chenonceau:
verykiasumummy:

back to the topic somehow... i find that early detection is very impt... i had a galfren whose dd was slow from p1 to 3... just pass standard... when she was in p4, so suddenly every subject was below 20 for her midyear... finally spoken to teacher and called back her prev yr form teacher and they had a short discussion, they suspect she has some form of learning disability... so my fren brought her dd to some recommended doc n was later diagnosed as reading/comprehension disability...


was so poor thing...

This is a nice post... especially the part in red. This said, I am thinking that there is no need to administer an IQ test to everyone in order to identify this girl early. Teachers know that she \"just pass standard\" in P1-P3. Teachers also know that the jump from P3 to P4 is very steep. \"Just pass standard\" in lower primary should alert teachers that the girl needs help.

No need IQ test.

Some kids \"just pass standard\" because they are victims of family violence etc... at home. Their parents tell them \"You're a monster\", \"You're a beast.\", \"Get lost and never come back. I won't miss you.\" They also need LSP and other help. The IQ test won't pick up these kids. But the \"just pass standard\" will.

Ideally, you should identify at-risk kids by looking at \"just pass standard\" indicators FIRST. Then you give ONLY these kids the IQ test to determine whether
(1) they score poorly because they're slow
(2) they score poorly because they have emotional issues

hi Chenonceau,

agree with what u said... there are of cos many other ways to detect these students through observations, responses and results... however i must say, my fren was in self-denial mode when she was told that her dd was a little slower than others... she finds that her dd is an obedient gal afterall and believes she can make it if she want... so it was very unexpected that her dd was diagnosed with reading/comprehension disability later... got a very big shock and things got out of hand for my fren too...

as parents, i can also relate her kind of reaction because i believe i may have the same reaction as well...

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850898https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850898Mon, 17 Sep 2012 06:38:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 06:37:57 GMT]]>

Chenonceau:
verykiasumummy:

back to the topic somehow... i find that early detection is very impt... i had a galfren whose dd was slow from p1 to 3... just pass standard... when she was in p4, so suddenly every subject was below 20 for her midyear... finally spoken to teacher and called back her prev yr form teacher and they had a short discussion, they suspect she has some form of learning disability... so my fren brought her dd to some recommended doc n was later diagnosed as reading/comprehension disability...


was so poor thing...

This is a nice post... especially the part in red. This said, I am thinking that there is no need to administer an IQ test to everyone in order to identify this girl early. Teachers know that she \"just pass standard\" in P1-P3. Teachers also know that the jump from P3 to P4 is very steep. \"Just pass standard\" in lower primary should alert teachers that the girl needs help.

No need IQ test.

Some kids \"just pass standard\" because they are victims of family violence etc... at home. Their parents tell them \"You're a monster\", \"You're a beast.\", \"Get lost and never come back. I won't miss you.\" They also need LSP and other help. The IQ test won't pick up these kids. But the \"just pass standard\" will.

Ideally, you should identify at-risk kids by looking at \"just pass standard\" indicators FIRST. Then you give ONLY these kids the IQ test to determine whether
(1) they score poorly because they're slow
(2) they score poorly because they have emotional issues

hi Chenonceau,

agree with what u said... there are of cos many other ways to detect these students through observations, responses and results... however i must say, my fren was in self-denial mode when she was told that her dd was a little slower than others... she finds that her dd is an obedient gal afterall and believes she can make it if she want... so it was very unexpected that her dd was diagnosed with reading/comprehension disability later... got a very big shock and things got out of hand for my fren too...

as parents, i can also relate her kind of reaction because i believe i may have the same reaction as well...

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850897https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850897Mon, 17 Sep 2012 06:37:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 02:25:04 GMT]]>C la. Ask u all sleep, don't sleep, now headache lah?


Firefly,
So u down to earth?
What u're curious about me? :?
Want to know my love story then go forum under relationship to c.

Me? Mysterious, aiyoh, I'm just an ordinary mother of 3.
Anything else that u still want to know??? :evil:
Here KSP, reason : bossy :rotflmao:

Ya, taking a 2nd look at u, I can't figure out u're a lady or a man in disguise???: :scratchhead:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850589https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850589Mon, 17 Sep 2012 02:25:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 02:20:32 GMT]]>

fightingmom:
ksi:

take care fightingmom, sorry to work you so hard in the debate thread.... take care!


Thank you, ksi! Don't worry lah.. It's the hot weather , plus juggling with the coaching of my dd, PSLE anxiety , housework and helping my DH's stuff that triggered that headache yesterday. Will definitely take good care of myself. :snuggles: 💋

And oh yah... Taking about the debate ... How come so quiet now ? :scratchhead: die of \" natural death\" liao is it ?

Take some vitamin boosters.
Debate thread...think need to start engine...Monday blues.. 😂

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850582https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850582Mon, 17 Sep 2012 02:20:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 02:02:51 GMT]]>

Mychildren:


So firefly is from Venus or Mars??? :scratchhead:
I am from EARTH... You mean you are not??!!! :nailbite: :scared: :yikes:
:shock: :siam:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850559https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850559Mon, 17 Sep 2012 02:02:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:30:38 GMT]]>

ksi:
take care fightingmom, sorry to work you so hard in the debate thread.... take care!

Thank you, ksi! Don't worry lah.. It's the hot weather , plus juggling with the coaching of my dd, PSLE anxiety , housework and helping my DH's stuff that triggered that headache yesterday. Will definitely take good care of myself. :snuggles: 💋

And oh yah... Taking about the debate ... How come so quiet now ? :scratchhead: die of \" natural death\" liao is it ?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850470https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850470Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:30:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:25:11 GMT]]>take care fightingmom, sorry to work you so hard in the debate thread… take care!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850465https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850465Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:25:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:18:54 GMT]]>

mamago:
fightingmom:



Oh... Haha... So nice to know you all miss me :hugs:
Had a splitting headache yesterday evening so I slept early.

And yes, dr ksi, you still owe us our winking hunks. 😄 Peapot cannot wait so she loaded her Daniel Henney as her avatar already. 😉


Hi, good morning, Fightingmom :rahrah: .... Hope you are feeling better after a restful night...

:imanisland: morning mamago!

Yes yes.. Am ok already. :hugs: so sweet of you 💋
Once in a while I get this kind of splitting headache. :roll: will be alright after a good nite sleep.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850459https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850459Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:18:54 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:14:21 GMT]]>

fightingmom:
mamago:

[quote=\"ksi\"]

OMG Pen... is she confused about my gender again? :faint:
Don't believe I am ajumah who :drool: over Korean hunks ah? kekeke Think she has to visit the k dramamama thread more... aiya that reminds me I still owe the mamas the hunks... no wonder peapot MIA already...tired of waiting for me to deliver the hunks... :oops:


Ya boi... Peapot darling, we KSP ajjuma miss you leh...

(And Fightingmom too, no sound no picture tonight ....)

Oh... Haha... So nice to know you all miss me :hugs:
Had a splitting headache yesterday evening so I slept early.

And yes, dr ksi, you still owe us our winking hunks. 😄 Peapot cannot wait so she loaded her Daniel Henney as her avatar already. 😉[/quote]
Hi, good morning, Fightingmom :rahrah: .... Hope you are feeling better after a restful night...

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850457https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850457Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:14:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:10:34 GMT]]>

mamago:
ksi:



OMG Pen... is she confused about my gender again? :faint:
Don't believe I am ajumah who :drool: over Korean hunks ah? kekeke Think she has to visit the k dramamama thread more... aiya that reminds me I still owe the mamas the hunks... no wonder peapot MIA already...tired of waiting for me to deliver the hunks... :oops:


Ya boi... Peapot darling, we KSP ajjuma miss you leh...

(And Fightingmom too, no sound no picture tonight ....)

Oh... Haha... So nice to know you all miss me :hugs:
Had a splitting headache yesterday evening so I slept early.

And yes, dr ksi, you still owe us our winking hunks. 😄 Peapot cannot wait so she loaded her Daniel Henney as her avatar already. 😉

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850455https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850455Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:10:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why screen kids in P1? on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:06:52 GMT]]>

ksi:


yrchildren.
got such nick in ksp meh ?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850449https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/850449Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:06:52 GMT