<![CDATA[The Truth behind those high T-scores]]>Of course, top schools will be more competitive. But, it is only an issue when the child cannot cope. So, yes… must choose wisely.


So far, my girl enjoys school and she complains holidays too boring. I am satisfied with her results and I think she has enough time to rest.

Oh yes, she mentioned a few are quite competitive. Not only in academic but also for leadership positions. She just stays away from them. I have met some of her friends. They seem humble and polite.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/topic/84815/the-truth-behind-those-high-t-scoresRSS for NodeMon, 27 Apr 2026 12:08:06 GMTWed, 28 Feb 2018 01:09:54 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Wed, 28 Feb 2018 00:44:21 GMT]]>

jtoh:
zac's mum:

I would assume it’s L1R5 (if applied to JC) or L1R6 (if applied to poly). Nobody uses any other calculations for O level score.


But the extreme pressure and intense cutthroat competitive spirit is prevalent at RI, RGS, HCI and NYGH. So parents & students, better be careful if you’re aiming to enter these schools. It can really drive a child to depression or despair.

I disagree with this statement. In contrast, the class my daughter was in was very generous in sharing information and knowledge with each other.

if there is intense competition and cutthroat spirit in RI, I am not aware. DS and his classmates help each other out in their strong areas and I was told by a teacher that the boys go in groups to clarify with her. There probably are such competitive people everywhere, just not confined to those 4 mentioned schools.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835755https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835755Wed, 28 Feb 2018 00:44:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:23:56 GMT]]>

zac's mum:
I would assume it’s L1R5 (if applied to JC) or L1R6 (if applied to poly). Nobody uses any other calculations for O level score.


But the extreme pressure and intense cutthroat competitive spirit is prevalent at RI, RGS, HCI and NYGH. So parents & students, better be careful if you’re aiming to enter these schools. It can really drive a child to depression or despair.
maybe Gepper students dont feel so much stress, because they are used to studying & absorb fast at fast pace speed, groomed from p4 to p6.

think those who fall into depression or despair, are usually those who don't meet the mark, and their parents \"force\" them to enter the few Top schools, or they received intensive tuition in 4 subjects, during their primary school time to score well, or over engrossed with handphone or internet or computer gaming attention diverted stuff, or overwhelmed with Cca in Secondary school until no time for revision, or social problems encountered with fellow classmates in school.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835731https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835731Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:23:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:16:56 GMT]]>

janet88:

although we really don't wish for any child to commit suicide because of exams, i see the AL score as a push in the direction of going insane. MOE has not addressed the issue of the tough syllabus.
as hubby is a full time tutor, we go to popular to check out the syllabus often. i am shocked to see the difficulty level brought down. even P2 problem sums is no walk in the park.
under current T-score, a p6 student with 2A * or 3A * can score 25x, still can enter Top school.

under new AL system, a p6 student with 4 points (each subject with score AL 1), can enter Top school.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835730https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835730Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:16:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:33:59 GMT]]>

jtoh:
zac's mum:

...But the extreme pressure and intense cutthroat competitive spirit is prevalent at RI, RGS, HCI and NYGH. So parents & students, better be careful if you’re aiming to enter these schools. It can really drive a child to depression or despair.


I disagree with this statement. In contrast, the class my daughter was in was very generous in sharing information and knowledge with each other.

😂 Agree with jtoh, our experience, no extreme pressure, no throat-cutting competition lah. Like everyone else, just hard work & camaraderie. Depression/despair arises only when 实力 does not match up - it's always about knowing the child & management of expectations, jmho.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835725https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835725Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:33:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:30:56 GMT]]>

jtoh:
zac's mum:

I would assume it’s L1R5 (if applied to JC) or L1R6 (if applied to poly). Nobody uses any other calculations for O level score.


But the extreme pressure and intense cutthroat competitive spirit is prevalent at RI, RGS, HCI and NYGH. So parents & students, better be careful if you’re aiming to enter these schools. It can really drive a child to depression or despair.

I disagree with this statement. In contrast, the class my daughter was in was very generous in sharing information and knowledge with each other.

My daughter's experience is similar to jtoh's daughter's. There were some competitive types there, but they were a minority, and my daughter just avoided them. She had several happy years in school, helping and being helped, and sharing the learning with her classmates.

But I agree with zac's mum that it's important to choose carefully - not all students will thrive in that kind of school. Not because of nasty classmates, but because they can see that others just learn faster and have time to be very involved in many other things on top of studies, which can give rise to feelings of inadequacy and can be pressurising. It's no fun to be always playing catch-up. My older daughter went to MI, which is much slower-paced and with fewer expectations in terms of speed of learning, CCA involvement etc. That was a good choice for her.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835723https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835723Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:30:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:19:56 GMT]]>

zac's mum:
I would assume it’s L1R5 (if applied to JC) or L1R6 (if applied to poly). Nobody uses any other calculations for O level score.


But the extreme pressure and intense cutthroat competitive spirit is prevalent at RI, RGS, HCI and NYGH. So parents & students, better be careful if you’re aiming to enter these schools. It can really drive a child to depression or despair.
I disagree with this statement. In contrast, the class my daughter was in was very generous in sharing information and knowledge with each other.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835721https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835721Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:19:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:17:12 GMT]]>

janet88:
hubby told me during lunch with colleagues, one of them said the family celebrated when the relative's child received 265 for PSLE and got into RI...but the boy was so burnt out studying and got 21 points for O levels.

The boy wasn't in the through train? Why was he taking O levels?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835720https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835720Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:17:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:13:50 GMT]]>I would assume it’s L1R5 (if applied to JC) or L1R6 (if applied to poly). Nobody uses any other calculations for O level score.


But the extreme pressure and intense cutthroat competitive spirit is prevalent at RI, RGS, HCI and NYGH. So parents & students, better be careful if you’re aiming to enter these schools. It can really drive a child to depression or despair.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835719https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835719Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:13:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:08:25 GMT]]>21 points for L1R5?

21 points for L1R2B2?
21 points for 9 subjects?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835718https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835718Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:08:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:00:20 GMT]]>

Cloud Cloud:
laughingcat:

[quote=\"janet88\"]hubby told me during lunch with colleagues, one of them said the family celebrated when the relative's child received 265 for PSLE and got into RI...but the boy was so burnt out studying and got 21 points for O levels.


Actually Janet, it could also means PSLE score of 265 with tuition on 4 subjects and parental support. O-level of 21 points with no-tuition for all subjects. Perhaps?

Too involved in cca?[/quote]oh ya! CCA

But then thinking about it, there could be so many reasons. On the other hand, a child with such high PSLE score also shows that he has some sense of maturity at P6 but his 21 points for O-levels is definitely shocking.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835715https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835715Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:00:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:57:13 GMT]]>

laughingcat:
janet88:

hubby told me during lunch with colleagues, one of them said the family celebrated when the relative's child received 265 for PSLE and got into RI...but the boy was so burnt out studying and got 21 points for O levels.


Actually Janet, it could also means PSLE score of 265 with tuition on 4 subjects and parental support. O-level of 21 points with no-tuition for all subjects. Perhaps?

Too involved in cca?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835713https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835713Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:57:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:48:09 GMT]]>

janet88:
hubby told me during lunch with colleagues, one of them said the family celebrated when the relative's child received 265 for PSLE and got into RI...but the boy was so burnt out studying and got 21 points for O levels.

Actually Janet, it could also means PSLE score of 265 with tuition on 4 subjects and parental support. O-level of 21 points with no-tuition for all subjects. Perhaps?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835709https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835709Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:48:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:39:57 GMT]]>hubby told me during lunch with colleagues, one of them said the family celebrated when the relative’s child received 265 for PSLE and got into RI…but the boy was so burnt out studying and got 21 points for O levels.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835707https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835707Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:39:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 10:58:51 GMT]]>:faint:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835704https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835704Tue, 27 Feb 2018 10:58:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 05:51:24 GMT]]>Under the new system, I have to make sure my younger child does reasonably well in all subjects. Fortunately, she is only in K2 and I still have time to prepare her.


My elder one was much weaker in Chinese. Under the new system, she may not have made it to her current school.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835662https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835662Tue, 27 Feb 2018 05:51:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 05:22:44 GMT]]>Very true. I do believe that parents is the no.1 factor for PSLE T-scores for majority of the cases.


However, this pushing strategy by parents is unlikely to work well in the long term. It can make the child a passive learner — i.e. only study when pushed by the parent. In the most extreme case the parent needs to be 100% present (literally sitting in front of the child all the time), otherwise the child will not study at all.

For O levels pushing still works to some extent, but A Levels and beyond requires more self-initiative from the student; i.e. need to be self-motivated to study without external pushing by parents.

Other than parental involvement, the attitude and motivation of the child is also important, basically the desire to learn and improve. For motivated students, I have seen students request to have tuition by themselves, not their parents. Also request more homework on their own initiative.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835655https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835655Tue, 27 Feb 2018 05:22:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 05:01:30 GMT]]>

mommyNg:


Agree. The new AL system is mostly about changing how grades are being presented to the parents and students (from T-scores to AL band).
The new PSLE AL system has actually become or turned into the new O-level scoring system for Junior P6xers now, starting wef 2021.

example

for O level : -
To enter a Junior college (JC), the maximum Cut-off point allowed, is 20 points.

If score beyond 20 points, cannot enter Junior College.

Likewise (simiarly), for new PSLE AL system, to enter Secondary 1 Express stream, the maximum Cut-off is 20 points.
Minimum is 4 points.

with

4 to 20 points : can gain admission into Express stream, Sec 1


23 to 24 points : gain admission into Normal (Academic) stream, Sec 1


26 to 30 points : admission into Normal (Technical) stream, Sec 1

At the lower end (bottom rank) of AL scheme, eg : AL 5, the band is very wide, from (65 to 74) marks range.

Does it matter whether one score 65 marks or 74 marks, for a subject ?
No, it doesnt, because still end up in the same \"AL 5 \" range.

AL 1 : 90 and above

AL 2 : 85 to 89

AL 3 : 80 to 84

source of info

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/8-achievement-levels-offer-a-good-balance-says-moe

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835653https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835653Tue, 27 Feb 2018 05:01:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 04:20:39 GMT]]>

janet88:

although we really don't wish for any child to commit suicide because of exams, i see the AL score as a push in the direction of going insane. MOE has not addressed the issue of the tough syllabus.
as hubby is a full time tutor, we go to popular to check out the syllabus often. i am shocked to see the difficulty level brought down. even P2 problem sums is no walk in the park.
Agree. The new AL system is mostly about changing how grades are being presented to the parents and students (from T-scores to AL band).

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835646https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835646Tue, 27 Feb 2018 04:20:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 03:55:35 GMT]]>agree with you janet88.

When my older kid did her PSLE in 2014, I was relieved and told myself I’ll have 1-2 years of break before I start cracking my head again for those HTO questions. Little did I know, the next year when my younger child is P3, I saw some questions that was done by older child in P4. Needless to say, I haven’t had any break since 2012 and looking forward not to have a Long Service Award for PSLE preparation.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835641https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835641Tue, 27 Feb 2018 03:55:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Tue, 27 Feb 2018 03:45:37 GMT]]>Not sure if I’m deviating from this topic.

Many say that PSLE don’t determine everything but I don’t agree. It’s true some kids are late bloomers but the system is such that they’ve placed results above all. I was really shocked when I saw documents to be submitted for certain JCs for DSA even includes PSLE results. Sec 1 to 4 results I understand, but why PSLE?
Things keep getting harder and harder. 4 year gap between two kids and I can see the slight difference in HTO questions and not forgetting 2 kids are under different English / Chinese testing format.
Education has become too rigid that even parents don’t find the joy of learning, let alone the kids. Even I have problem understanding some questions, let alone our kids. It’s no wonder friends who are able to afford, escape the system here and head for other countries or head for international schools. Some cited that they didn’t want their children to have too much pressure. Can see the difference in their children’s faces nowadays. So happy. Meanwhile for me, I just have to 乖乖地 "embrace" our system since got no $$ to run away.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835639https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1835639Tue, 27 Feb 2018 03:45:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Sun, 06 Nov 2016 03:08:35 GMT]]>

phtthp:

Under AL-score -
Pupil can clock up points, per subject, very fast
If mother tongue is weak : can pull down the other 3 subjects (EL, Maths, Science), easily.

And the last two band (AL 7 and AL 😎 : because too wide a range, students may lose motivation to study
although we really don't wish for any child to commit suicide because of exams, i see the AL score as a push in the direction of going insane. MOE has not addressed the issue of the tough syllabus.
as hubby is a full time tutor, we go to popular to check out the syllabus often. i am shocked to see the difficulty level brought down. even P2 problem sums is no walk in the park.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1731023https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1731023Sun, 06 Nov 2016 03:08:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Sun, 06 Nov 2016 02:04:58 GMT]]>

CatMoon:
The REAL TRUTH is that ..... the PSLE is the NEW O-levels!


It determines what a child will be doing for the next 6 years.
Sorry to correct.

The Truth is ...
The PSLE T-score (up to 2020), or the PSLE AL-score (2021 onwards) -
Is not only the NEW O-level (for students going 4 year O level course) , but also the NEW A-level
(for students taking the direct Express to 6 years A level major exit exam, via IP curriculum)

Current T-score system better than the new AL-score.

Under AL-score -
Pupil can clock up points, per subject, very fast
If mother tongue is weak : can pull down the other 3 subjects (EL, Maths, Science), easily.

And the last two band (AL 7 and AL 😎 : because too wide a range, students may lose motivation to study

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1731017https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1731017Sun, 06 Nov 2016 02:04:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Truth behind those high T-scores on Sun, 06 Nov 2016 00:25:51 GMT]]>The REAL TRUTH is that … the PSLE is the NEW O-levels!


It determines what a child will be doing for the next 6 years.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1731004https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1731004Sun, 06 Nov 2016 00:25:51 GMT