PSLE System of Education in Singapore

Question: Discuss about thePSLE System of Education in Singapore. Answer: Introduction This essay talks about the T- Score PSLE system which has been prevailing in Singapore and also at the same time it also have been mentioned in the essay that what all issues were faced by the students who were following this system and what were the lacunas and benefits of this system. This essay has not contravened the word limit of 1000 words. The total word count for this essay was 1000 words. T- scores have been defined as Transformed Score which have been used in order to standardize the raw scores across the level or cohort. They give the relative rank or position of the performance of the student as compared to all other students in the same exam for which they were appearing for. It could be calculated for the individual subjects and the can be summed up as a single aggregate T- score same as it was done in the case of PSLE. By this method the students were also benefited as they would be ranked in a fair manner. Body of the Essay The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) has been regarded as a national assessment system for all graduating primary school students in Singapore and it settle on their admission into a secondary school. It was also proclaimed by the Minister for Education Yong Nyuk Lin in1960 that the government-administered PSLE was the first national examination system to be established in Singapore. At that time, the examinations were conducted in four language medium English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Today, all leaving primary school students are required to take the examination.Education has been an unquestionably essential feature of Singapores communal fabric. The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), was a students first standardized state test, which was the foundation of Singapores present learning system. From 2021, students who take their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) would be judged with Achievement Levels (ALs) of 1 to 8 in each of their four subject matters (Soezean, 2016). The total of these ALs would make up students final scores, which would now be called the PSLE Score. The Ministry of Education (MOE) first declared that these changes in Parliament in April would be made with the aim of decreasing an over-pressure on educational consequences (Ngerng, 2016).Changes to the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) scoring would be made as part of a larger shift to nurture well-rounded people and would move away from an over-emphasis which has been imposed on academic results of the students (Today Online, 2016). The changes were to be executed from the 2021 PSLE system, the changes would aim to (Yeh, 2015): Decrease fine demarcation of students; reflect a students level of attainment in spite of how his friends have done; encourage relatives to decide schools based on their comfort for the childs education wants, aptitudes and benefit. It was also indispensable to have the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) as a meter of judging that how much a 12-year-old student has grasped through his years of teaching. One may dispute that the PSLE has been constricted in its range and does not evaluate other students in their excellence. Though, it was unfeasible for such an appraisal to face all regions. So, the PSLE was said to be previously reasonable as in that people set the same documents in their four main questions. By brooking people into the variety of enlightening organizations by way of their T-scores, it guarantees that the knowledgeable desires of people have been met. For instance, some people may necessitate an extra rationally inspiring atmosphere while other students may need a less spirited atmosphere to set free their probable limits. Secondary educational institutions have been a point in time to study new talents and subjects, and falsify new friendships, between other understandings. It was believed that all the educational institutions contribute to the same purpose of granting an all-round teaching. But one may affirm that some educational institutions offer more prospects than others. In the conclusion, it can be concluded that however, an outstanding teaching was not about the forename of t he educational institutions, but about how people were keen to taking advantage of every chance, in order to set original objectives and endeavor to be enhanced in future (Strait times, 2015). Some people may say that certain schools have a history of negative peer pressure. However, it was up to the individual to decide on whether to be influenced by such forces or not.The PSLE system does not define one's future success, but ensures that the learning needs of pupils would be met. But Primary School Leaving Examination have been taken into account in order to remove it as the students faced several issues which includes the stress which was imposed upon the students because of this exam. Another issue was that it has become the tendency of the students that they compare their scores due to this system among themselves.So, the present PSLE scoring system would be scrapped in five years time to make way for a new grading system weighing ALs (YNG, 2016). Over the past weeks, there have been constant calls for the elimination of the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE): For example, An Associate Professor of a school i.e. Pauline Straughan affirmed single-mindedly that the Ministry of Education (MOE) should get rid of the PSLE system, so that schools would be at liberty from the fascination of testing, and teachers can then put their focus on teaching particularly. Regrettably, the teacher felt that reviewers fail to understand the point was that the attainment of ability or information (as well as the expansion of creativity) and the amalgamation of assessment were not equally restricted. A misguided presumption has also been made about the system that the occurrence of the PSLE means that students were engineered to organize for examinations per se; which was, of course, not the case (Tham, 2016). Conclusion Therefore it has been concluded that a new system would now replace the present PSLE system as it would allow students to put attention on their own education rather than trying to work on out doing others (Khamid,2016).The choice of schools would now weigh more for the admission of students in Secondary 1, followed by computerized balloting. In fact, the choice of schools would be the new tie-breaker after citizenship for the students with the same PSLE score (Shu, 2016). References: Khamid,H.M.A. (2016). New PSLE scoring system may help address over-emphasis on grades: Parents, teachers. Retrieved on 29th September 2016 from : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-psle-scoring-system/2679772.html Ngerng, R. (2016). New PSLE Education System: Taking a Deeper Look at the Numbers. Retrieved on 29th September 2016 from : https://thehearttruths.com/2016/07/16/new-psle-education-system-taking-a-deeper-look-at-the-numbers/ Shu, N. Y. (2016). Everything you need to know about the new PSLE scoring system in 60 seconds. Retrieved on 29th September 2016 from : https://mothership.sg/2016/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-psle-scoring-system-in-60-seconds/ Soezean, M. (2016). Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) scoring to change from 2021. Retrieved on 29th September 2016 from : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2016/07/15/primary-school-leaving-examinations-psle-scoring-to-change-from-2021/#prettyPhoto Tham, I.(2016). PSLE changes won't change Singapore's obsession with grades. Retrieved on 29th September 2016 from : https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/psle-changes-wont-change-singapores-obsession-with-grades Today Online. (2016). 10 things to know about changes to the PSLE scoring system. Retrieved on 29th September 2016 from : https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/10-things-know-about-changes-psle-scoring-system Strait Times. (2015). PSLE system fair, has its benefits. Retrieved on 29th September 2016 from : https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/psle-system-fair-has-its-benefits YNG, N. G. (2016). No more T-scores at PSLE: PM Lee. Retrieved on 29th September 2016 from : https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/no-more-t-scores-psle-pm-lee Strait Times. (2015). PSLE system fair, has its benefits. Retrieved on 29th September 2016 from : https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/psle-system-fair-has-its-benefits