'A different element of stress', say parents of first batch of PSLE students under new scoring system

BETTER FOR AVERAGE STUDENTS

When the new AL system was first introduced, Mdm Gina Lai stated she was “quite negative” about it and “wasn’t very happy”. “Why four subjects you have to break down into so much banding? But as we go along, and we understand the system more, actually, it benefits those that are average learners at this point in time, because some kids develop slower” she stated. Describing her daughter as an “average learner”, Mdm Lai stated her youngster had a better probability of getting a greater rating under the new system. “If based on the T-score, chances are she would 100 per cent (go) into the Normal stream,” she added. Her daughter ended up with a PSLE rating of 17, however the household was making ready for a rating of 19 to twenty primarily based on her mid-year and prelim scores, stated Mdm Lai. “With this new system, when we see the subjects, although her science and maths (scores) pulled her down, her language (scores) actually pulled her up,” she added. Comparing the new system to a pyramid, she stated: “The broad base, the bottom ones get to be escalated a little bit higher. The top will still remain on the top, but I think it benefits more of the average learners.” 

COMPETITION FOR SCHOOLS

While her daughter’s general rating falls throughout the indicative vary of the college she is aiming for, Ms Kanniakumari stated her youngster continues to be unsure concerning the competitors she is going to face when making use of for the college. “(In the previous system), there won’t be that many 250s, but there will be 250, 251, 252. But here now everybody is scoring 6, and we’re not only fighting with all the 6s, we’re also fighting with the 5s and the 4s who are going to apply. So it’s going to be tough for her.” With the T-score system, it was “clear cut” when one pupil did higher than one other, she stated. But with the new system, there’s “too many of them” in the identical band. “And this being the first year, I think it might be a little chaotic as well, we’re the guinea pig batch.”