Primary School Leaving Examination
Encyclopedia
The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is a national examination taken by all students in Singapore
near the end of primary six in primary school
, which is also their last year in Primary school before they leave for secondary school
. It is administered by the Ministry of Education
. This nationwide examination tests the English language
, the Mother Tongue languages (typically Chinese
, Malay
, or Tamil
, and also some other South Asian languages, such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu), Mathematics
and Science
. Each subject paper is around 2 hours long, with this time varying by fifteen minute
s, except for certain components of language subjects. Multiple Choice Questions are tested using a standardised Optical Answer Sheet
(OAS) that uses Optical Mark Recognition
to detect answers.
The format of the PSLE and the presence of it in the Singapore education system gives the PSLE a part in national culture. PSLE material has also been exported to other countries. Also, some schools abroad have their students take the international version of the exam called the International Primary School Leaving Examination or iPSLE taken sometime in August to help them benchmark themselves vis-a-vis the performance of other foreign schools.
allocated to each question and the revisions in emphasis.
The examination format tends to vary by language, but each language examination usually has:
The maximum score for this examination is 30. The oral examination is divided into three sections: students are required to read aloud from a passage fluently (also known as Reading Aloud), this being graded on a score of 10. The students are then required to describe and interpret a picture (Picture Discussion) as thoroughly and detailed as possible in a clockwise or anti-clockwise way, and giving comments about their actions in a formal way and predict the consequence of such an action, and this also having a score of 10. It is advised that students do not point to the picture. No names should be given and everything is to be said in present tense. The final section (Conversation) requires the students to answer any questions the teachers asks of them related to the two sections, which often require their opinion and inference
, and provides the final ten marks. The examination is judged by two teachers who have to agree on a single score for each student.
A listening comprehension examination will then test the students' ability to comprehend the spoken English language in various daily situations, and is composed of twenty multiple choice questions which is based on information contained in audio
played to the students, and the examination is taken as a class, not individually. Usually questions will be based on one of seven passages in different scenarios. This particular examination lasts around twenty minutes, with the maximum score being 20.
There is a two-section composition
question composed of functional writing, also known as situational writing, where students write an informal or a formal letter, memo
, note or even possibly a short report, and an essay
, also known as continuous writing, usually written in the form of a narrative
or third person drama
. These two sections last a total of one hour and ten minutes. The functional section has a score value of 15; the maximum essay score 40. Two teacher
s are required to grade a composition paper, and the disparity in scoring made by each teacher should be minimal, and the average of the scoring taken if the disparity is small in order to yield the score for the questions. If the disparity is too large, the question papers are required to be re-graded, this time with three teachers.
The essay section in particular usually avoids giving questions requiring logical argument and favours scenic or event description. This stands in contrast to some of the questions asked often in the General Certificate of Education
(O levels). The examination paper asks the students to choose from two questions. The first question takes the form of a picture, representing a scene in which the students are supposed to write about and describe, and the second takes the form of a given situation or scenario, each including writing criteria, such as the required setting
of each of the two questions in which the students are supposed to fulfil.
The final examination testing the students' proficiency in the language is a written paper which tests the student's comprehension of the written language being tested, and usually lasts about 1 hour and 50 minutes in length. It has a total score value of 95. Multiple choice questions are given in the first section of the written paper, and tests grammar
, where students are required to spot a mistake in tense and provide the correct conjugate
or word form, or provide correct punctuation
which as of 2005 has a weight of 15. It also tests vocabulary
the students are required to choose a word from a list that fills in a blank that will express a sentence logically, with a current weight of 5. Students then are provided five questions, with a total weight of 10, where the student is to synthesise (join) two sentences together into one complete, grammatically coherent and agreeable sentence. Following this ten sentences with highlighted spelling and grammar mistakes which are supposed to be copyedited, with a total weight of 10. A cloze passage with a total of ten items and a weight of 10 is provided to the student; the passage tests grammar specifically.
After this, students are given a cloze passage testing comprehension as opposed to grammar, which currently has a weight of 15 in which they fill in blanks with words on their own. Students may be given a graphical stimulus; students will answer multiple-choice questions based on the graphical stimulus. Students are then given a passage to comprehend, and are tested first by answering five multiple choice questions about it, with a total weight of 5, and answering in full sentences ten open-ended questions with a total weight of 20.
To yield the final grade for the student taking the language, all of the students' examination scores for that language are added; as the maximum total score is 200, the total is divided by 200% to yield the students' percentage score for the language subject. The format described is the standard format for 2005; it varies slightly in weight for each section, with deletions of some sections if the student is taking Foundation English as part of the EM3 stream.
, physics
and biology
, and basic interpretation of statistics
on a primary school level. These distinctions into different fields are not made in the examination format but can be derived based on the different themes:
Long-answer questions in the PSLE worth four or five marks tend to be in two types, a [heuristic] type of question, which may require students to form a new theorem, concept or algorithm from pre-existing knowledge in order to solve the question, although this does not have to be shown; however a logical statement and evidence connecting the question to the answer has to be shown in order to be awarded marks.
The mathematics examination in the PSLE has faced complaints from parent
s who complain about material outside the syllabus, while facing criticism from some educators from overseas who argue that the examination eventually encourages rote
rather than actual conceptual knowledge based on incentives to the student. The 2005 paper drew criticism due to the poor setting of one of the multiple-choice questions, as mentioned below.
All examination scripts are shipped to the Ministry of Education for processing, which then sends them to other teachers in Singapore on a random basis for marking. Part of this procedure is to prevent possible bias
in marking, either intentional or unintentional, that may result when teachers mark examination scripts of students from their own schools. The multiple choice questions are graded by a machine in the Ministry of Education, which reads the OAS sheets.
Pupils who fail the PSLE would be retained in primary school to retake the PSLE in the EM3 stream the following year.
Pupils who pass are required to choose up to six secondary schools to which they would be posted by aggregate score. A computer
will then allocate slots to each school's intake for the next year. In line with the ideals of meritocracy
, all pupils who attempted the PSLE would be "queued" in order of merit, with the places in schools being filled up from the highest scorer to the lowest scorer. Thus the pupil with a higher aggregate score would get into his school of second choice (if he was not accepted into his school of first choice) over a pupil with a lower aggregate score who chose the same school as the first choice. The score of the last pupil who was allocated is known as the cut-off score for the school for that year.
If none of the six schools chosen accept the pupil, the Ministry of Education will work towards finding a school that based on proximity and location, rather than academic excellence of the school, without consulting the student. This makes proper selection of the six choices important. Priority organisation of the choices is also important; if the pupil's score both meets the requirements of the school of his or her third choice and second choice for example, the second choice will be allocated without the pupil being able to change his or her decisions.
Before 2003, pupils picked their choices before they took the examination and received their score. From 2003, pupils picked their choices after they received their score, after complaints by parents they could not make informed choices about their children's secondary schools before the examination scores were received, as the pupils might perform much better or much worse than expected.
In 2009, such things happened again, with plenty of students unable to finish the maths paper. A Maths Olympiad winner taking PSLE described the paper to be of "Olympiad standard". The entry scores for schools in 2009 dropped drastically for many schools. For example, Hwa Chong Institution
and National Junior College
saw their PSLE cut-off point drop by two marks.
In each examination subject, a T-Score
is computed based on the raw examination score as follows:
where:
By definition, then, the average T-Score in each subject is 50. Since there are four examination subjects, the average aggregate score is always 200.
, NUS High School of Mathematics and Science or School of the Arts
.
can take in as many students as they want via DSA. Other schools have also been granted permission by the Ministry to take in students specialising in the schools' niche areas up to a maximum of 5% of their total student intake.
, and following the nation's bilingual policies, to allow Singaporean or Singapore Permanent Resident students to enter without the Ministry's permission. These schools were granted the permission in April 2004 and started the school year in January 2005. They are Anglo-Chinese School (International)
and Hwa Chong International
. Another school was granted the permission to set up a school similar to the original two in 2006, the school is SJI International
which offers a similar programme to ACS (International).
s it offers. This includes swimming
, badminton
, table tennis
, football or soccer, golf
, track and field
and sailing
. It was opened in January 2004 and the school takes students directly into the school provided they have an active background in the sports offered by the school. When the school had its first intake, many students applied who were judged to excel in their sport but were posted to the Normal (Academic) or Normal (technical) streams. The school rejected these pupils as the school sought pupils who excelled both physically and academically. The school was criticised for being too result wise instead of grooming them into future sportsmen. Some of the students were finally accepted on an appeal basis after that. Students in the school aim for the International Baccalaureate (IB)
paper as it is less strenuous in comparison to the A' Levels, allowing the students to focus on their sports, the Singapore Arts School follows similarly.
. Students will also sit for Advanced Placement and Scholastic Assessment Test examinations in the senior years for benchmarks for admission into foreign universities. The school offers an accelerated mathematics and science curriculum based on a modular system, also offering languages, humanities, arts, and other elective subjects integrated into its modular system. Students are admitted based on several factors, performance in an application form, interviews, tests, and an admission camp. 25 places out of the 170 places offered in 2007 are also reserved for Primary 6 students wishing to apply with their PSLE results.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
near the end of primary six in primary school
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
, which is also their last year in Primary school before they leave for secondary school
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
. It is administered by the Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education (Singapore)
The Ministry Of Education is a ministry of the Government of Singapore that directs the formulation and implementation of policies related to education in Singapore.-Statutory boards:...
. This nationwide examination tests the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, the Mother Tongue languages (typically Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, or Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, and also some other South Asian languages, such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu), Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. Each subject paper is around 2 hours long, with this time varying by fifteen minute
Minute
A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
s, except for certain components of language subjects. Multiple Choice Questions are tested using a standardised Optical Answer Sheet
Optical answer sheet
An optical answer sheet is a special type of form used in multiple choice question examinations. Optical mark recognition is used to detect answers...
(OAS) that uses Optical Mark Recognition
Optical mark recognition
Optical Mark Recognition is the process of capturing human-marked data from document forms such as surveys and tests.-OMR background:...
to detect answers.
The format of the PSLE and the presence of it in the Singapore education system gives the PSLE a part in national culture. PSLE material has also been exported to other countries. Also, some schools abroad have their students take the international version of the exam called the International Primary School Leaving Examination or iPSLE taken sometime in August to help them benchmark themselves vis-a-vis the performance of other foreign schools.
Examination subjects and procedure
The format of the examinations within the PSLE has been revised consistently throughout its history, in order to suit the Ministry of Education's policy. However, the standard examination procedure retains many of the same elements throughout the years despite changes being made to the requirements of each question, the scoreScore (gaming)
In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points, and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties...
allocated to each question and the revisions in emphasis.
Language examination and qualification
In order to test the students' grasp of the language subjects, such as the English language or the Mother Tongue languages at the end of primary school, there are several separate examinations. As the student is usually required to take examinations for both his/her Mother Tongue language and the English language, (with the exceptions of exemption or additional languages), the average student repeats the following procedures twice. With each Mother Tongue subject, there are three levels of examination, the standard level, the foundational level and the separate and optional "Higher Mother Tongue" subject. A student will have to choose between standard and foundational Mother Tongue based on his/her proficiency in the language. Whether a Higher Mother Tongue subject is taken also depends on the student's proficiency in the language. English, Mathematics and Science are available at the standard and foundational levels. A student can opt to take different subjects at different levels. In the past, whether a student took Higher Mother Tongue or not was determined by which stream he/she was in, namely the EM1 (higher) stream and the EM2 stream (standard). These streams had the same standard subjects except for the additional EM1 subject of Higher Mother Tongue, which differentiated the streams. This streaming was based on the overall performance of the student when he/she was in Primary 4, his/her fourth year in primary school. There was also an EM3 stream (foundational), in which a student took all four subjects (English, Mother Tongue, Mathematics and Science) at the foundational level. EM3 Science (a foundation Science curriculum for the EM3 stream) was not available then, it will be only available from 2010, and also the new Science syllabus. From 2007, Primary 4 pupils underwent subject-based rather than overall streaming, so that the labels EM1, EM2 and EM3 disappeared, leaving only the options to take different subjects at the standard or foundational level and the option of taking Higher Mother Tongue. At the end of Primary 4, the students' parents decide their combination of subjects. At the end of Primary 5, the school will make the final decision on the student's combination of subjects.The examination format tends to vary by language, but each language examination usually has:
- Composition writingComposition (language)The term composition , in written language, refers to the collective body of important features established by the author in their creation of literature...
(Paper 1) - testing the students' compositionComposition (language)The term composition , in written language, refers to the collective body of important features established by the author in their creation of literature...
skills and student's proficiency in writing in various scenarios. Divided into two parts: Situational (letters, e-mails etc.) and Continuous (narrative or recount). Both parts need to be attempted. - Comprehension and Language Use (Paper 2) - testing the students' understanding of a passage and written use of the language (e.g. grammar, pnctuation, vocabulary). Carries majority of marks in that language.
- Listening Comprehension (sometimes referred to as Paper 3 or 4) - testing the students' ability to comprehend speech in daily situations. Usually contains six to seven passages.
- Oral examination (sometimes referred to as Paper 3) - Testing the students' proficiency in speaking the language.
English language
The oral examination for the English language usually lasts about five to ten minutes per student; however, students are of the examination, the examination is often divided into two days of two separate sets of material each to reduce the inefficiency caused by the waiting time.The maximum score for this examination is 30. The oral examination is divided into three sections: students are required to read aloud from a passage fluently (also known as Reading Aloud), this being graded on a score of 10. The students are then required to describe and interpret a picture (Picture Discussion) as thoroughly and detailed as possible in a clockwise or anti-clockwise way, and giving comments about their actions in a formal way and predict the consequence of such an action, and this also having a score of 10. It is advised that students do not point to the picture. No names should be given and everything is to be said in present tense. The final section (Conversation) requires the students to answer any questions the teachers asks of them related to the two sections, which often require their opinion and inference
Inference
Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. The conclusion drawn is also called an idiomatic. The laws of valid inference are studied in the field of logic.Human inference Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions...
, and provides the final ten marks. The examination is judged by two teachers who have to agree on a single score for each student.
A listening comprehension examination will then test the students' ability to comprehend the spoken English language in various daily situations, and is composed of twenty multiple choice questions which is based on information contained in audio
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
played to the students, and the examination is taken as a class, not individually. Usually questions will be based on one of seven passages in different scenarios. This particular examination lasts around twenty minutes, with the maximum score being 20.
There is a two-section composition
Composition (language)
The term composition , in written language, refers to the collective body of important features established by the author in their creation of literature...
question composed of functional writing, also known as situational writing, where students write an informal or a formal letter, memo
Memo
Memo may refer to:* Most commonly Memorandum.* Bench memorandum, law* Memorandum Recordings - record company* Mêmo* MEMO - specialization in electrical engineering that studies Microwaves, Electromagnetism and Optoelectronic...
, note or even possibly a short report, and an essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
, also known as continuous writing, usually written in the form of a narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
or third person drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
. These two sections last a total of one hour and ten minutes. The functional section has a score value of 15; the maximum essay score 40. Two teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s are required to grade a composition paper, and the disparity in scoring made by each teacher should be minimal, and the average of the scoring taken if the disparity is small in order to yield the score for the questions. If the disparity is too large, the question papers are required to be re-graded, this time with three teachers.
The essay section in particular usually avoids giving questions requiring logical argument and favours scenic or event description. This stands in contrast to some of the questions asked often in the General Certificate of Education
General Certificate of Education
The General Certificate of Education or GCE is an academic qualification that examination boards in the United Kingdom and a few of the Commonwealth countries, notably Sri Lanka, confer to students. The GCE traditionally comprised two levels: the Ordinary Level and the Advanced Level...
(O levels). The examination paper asks the students to choose from two questions. The first question takes the form of a picture, representing a scene in which the students are supposed to write about and describe, and the second takes the form of a given situation or scenario, each including writing criteria, such as the required setting
Setting (fiction)
In fiction, setting includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story. Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may...
of each of the two questions in which the students are supposed to fulfil.
The final examination testing the students' proficiency in the language is a written paper which tests the student's comprehension of the written language being tested, and usually lasts about 1 hour and 50 minutes in length. It has a total score value of 95. Multiple choice questions are given in the first section of the written paper, and tests grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, where students are required to spot a mistake in tense and provide the correct conjugate
Grammatical conjugation
In linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection . Conjugation may be affected by person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, voice, or other grammatical categories...
or word form, or provide correct punctuation
Punctuation
Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure and organization of written language, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading aloud.In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences...
which as of 2005 has a weight of 15. It also tests vocabulary
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
the students are required to choose a word from a list that fills in a blank that will express a sentence logically, with a current weight of 5. Students then are provided five questions, with a total weight of 10, where the student is to synthesise (join) two sentences together into one complete, grammatically coherent and agreeable sentence. Following this ten sentences with highlighted spelling and grammar mistakes which are supposed to be copyedited, with a total weight of 10. A cloze passage with a total of ten items and a weight of 10 is provided to the student; the passage tests grammar specifically.
After this, students are given a cloze passage testing comprehension as opposed to grammar, which currently has a weight of 15 in which they fill in blanks with words on their own. Students may be given a graphical stimulus; students will answer multiple-choice questions based on the graphical stimulus. Students are then given a passage to comprehend, and are tested first by answering five multiple choice questions about it, with a total weight of 5, and answering in full sentences ten open-ended questions with a total weight of 20.
To yield the final grade for the student taking the language, all of the students' examination scores for that language are added; as the maximum total score is 200, the total is divided by 200% to yield the students' percentage score for the language subject. The format described is the standard format for 2005; it varies slightly in weight for each section, with deletions of some sections if the student is taking Foundation English as part of the EM3 stream.
Science examination and qualification
A science paper lasts for around 1 hour and 45 minutes. Students are given 30 multiple choice questions with a weight of two marks of each, thus a total weight of 60; 14 open-ended questions, with weights of 1 or 2 marks each measure proficiency in several units of the curriculum, with a total weight of 40. The questions in the examination paper are set to test concepts instead of memorised knowledge, hence assessing the true Science ability of pupils. The syllabus covers various aspects of chemistryChemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, and basic interpretation of statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
on a primary school level. These distinctions into different fields are not made in the examination format but can be derived based on the different themes:
Physics
- energyEnergyIn physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
, its forms such as heatHeatIn physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
, basic thermodynamicsThermodynamicsThermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...
in a systemSystemSystem is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
and the conservation of energyConservation of energyThe nineteenth century law of conservation of energy is a law of physics. It states that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant over time. The total energy is said to be conserved over time... - forceForceIn physics, a force is any influence that causes an object to undergo a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in shape. In other words, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity , i.e., to accelerate, or which can cause a flexible object to deform...
- Biogeochemical cycleBiogeochemical cycleIn ecology and Earth science, a biogeochemical cycle or substance turnover or cycling of substances is a pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic and abiotic compartments of Earth. A cycle is a series of change which comes back to the starting point and which can...
s: water cycleWater cycleThe water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or H2O cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. Water can change states among liquid, vapor, and solid at various places in the water cycle...
, atmosphereEarth's atmosphereThe atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
, hydrosphereHydrosphereA hydrosphere in physical geography describes the combined mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of a planet....
, biosphereBiosphereThe biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be called the zone of life on Earth, a closed and self-regulating system... - matterMatterMatter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...
and fundamentals of materials scienceMaterials scienceMaterials science is an interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering. This scientific field investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. It incorporates...
, massMassMass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
and physical properties, discrete particleElementary particleIn particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a particle not known to have substructure; that is, it is not known to be made up of smaller particles. If an elementary particle truly has no substructure, then it is one of the basic building blocks of the universe from which...
s, phases of matter, effects of heat on matter - ElectromagnetismElectromagnetismElectromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
and its components electricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and magnetismMagnetismMagnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...
Biology
- Human anatomyHuman anatomyHuman anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye...
: senseSenseSenses are physiological capacities of organisms that provide inputs for perception. The senses and their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields, most notably neuroscience, cognitive psychology , and philosophy of perception...
, respiratory systemRespiratory systemThe respiratory system is the anatomical system of an organism that introduces respiratory gases to the interior and performs gas exchange. In humans and other mammals, the anatomical features of the respiratory system include airways, lungs, and the respiratory muscles...
, muscularMuscular systemThe muscular system is the anatomical system of a species that allows it to move. The muscular system in vertebrates is controlled through the nervous system, although some muscles can be completely autonomous.- Muscles :...
and skeletal system, digestive system - Scientific classification of lifeLifeLife is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
- PlantPlantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s and their parts, methods of defenseSelf-defenseSelf-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...
and photosynthesisPhotosynthesisPhotosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
, transportTransportTransport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
in plants, active transportActive transportActive transport is the movement of a substance against its concentration gradient . In all cells, this is usually concerned with accumulating high concentrations of molecules that the cell needs, such as ions, glucose, and amino acids. If the process uses chemical energy, such as from adenosine... - AnimalAnimalAnimals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
gestationGestationGestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
and plant germinationGerminationGermination is the process in which a plant or fungus emerges from a seed or spore, respectively, and begins growth. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the...
, growth, and life cycleBiological life cycleA life cycle is a period involving all different generations of a species succeeding each other through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction...
s - Sexual reproductionSexual reproductionSexual reproduction is the creation of a new organism by combining the genetic material of two organisms. There are two main processes during sexual reproduction; they are: meiosis, involving the halving of the number of chromosomes; and fertilization, involving the fusion of two gametes and the...
and asexual reproductionAsexual reproductionAsexual reproduction is a mode of reproduction by which offspring arise from a single parent, and inherit the genes of that parent only, it is reproduction which does not involve meiosis, ploidy reduction, or fertilization. A more stringent definition is agamogenesis which is reproduction without...
, flowerFlowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s, dispersalBiological dispersalBiological dispersal refers to species movement away from an existing population or away from the parent organism. Through simply moving from one habitat patch to another, the dispersal of an individual has consequences not only for individual fitness, but also for population dynamics, population...
of fruitFruitIn broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, classifying recognising plants' methods of reproduction and dispersal - Biological production and population growthPopulation growthPopulation growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
: recognising reasons for an exponentialExponential growthExponential growth occurs when the growth rate of a mathematical function is proportional to the function's current value...
and logistic functionLogistic functionA logistic function or logistic curve is a common sigmoid curve, given its name in 1844 or 1845 by Pierre François Verhulst who studied it in relation to population growth. It can model the "S-shaped" curve of growth of some population P...
in a graph - Cellular biology
Chemistry
- Chemical testChemical testIn chemistry, a chemical test is a qualitative or quantitative procedure designed to prove the existence of, or to quantify, a chemical compound or chemical group with the aid of a specific reagent...
ing for presence of various substances: calcium hydroxide solution (lime water) to test for carbon dioxideCarbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
, iodineIodineIodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
solution to test for starchStarchStarch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
, inferenceInferenceInference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. The conclusion drawn is also called an idiomatic. The laws of valid inference are studied in the field of logic.Human inference Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions...
about interconnected interactions and processes to yield products - Testing for results of biological processes
- PollutionPollutionPollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
and steps to prevent and combat pollution
Mathematics
The mathematics examination in the PSLE is often one of its most distinctive elements due to its format and style in contrast to most other examinations in other countries. The examination is two hours and fifteen minutes long, and is divided into three booklets. "Paper 1" includes "Booklet A" and "Booklet B" whereas "Paper 2" is in one whole booklet itself. Booklet A is multiple choice and consists of fifteen questions, the first ten being one point each in score value, and the other five being two points, and account for 20% of the examination score in total. Booklet B requires open-ended input, and comprises twenty questions, the first ten questions are worth one point and the other five questions are worth two points. They usually require little effort from the students and are meant to test individual knowledge components of the student. Paper 2 is worth a total of 60 points, and consists of several questions which are worth from 2 to 5 points. The questions are usually arranged in escalating difficulty, and some of the questions towards the end have received a degree of controversy from parents and educators from other countries. From 2009, the use of calculators were allowed in only Paper 2 of the Mathematics examination.Long-answer questions in the PSLE worth four or five marks tend to be in two types, a [heuristic] type of question, which may require students to form a new theorem, concept or algorithm from pre-existing knowledge in order to solve the question, although this does not have to be shown; however a logical statement and evidence connecting the question to the answer has to be shown in order to be awarded marks.
The mathematics examination in the PSLE has faced complaints from parent
Parent
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child . Children can have one or more parents, but they must have two biological parents. Biological parents consist of the male who sired the child and the female who gave birth to the child...
s who complain about material outside the syllabus, while facing criticism from some educators from overseas who argue that the examination eventually encourages rote
Rote learning
Rote learning is a learning technique which focuses on memorization. The major practice involved in rote learning is learning by repetition by which students commit information to memory in a highly structured way. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the...
rather than actual conceptual knowledge based on incentives to the student. The 2005 paper drew criticism due to the poor setting of one of the multiple-choice questions, as mentioned below.
Scoring and post-examination procedure
Although the students have an absolute score, each student's absolute score are compared with other students in order to yield an aggregate score, and the students are ranked according to that basis. This allows the examination to accommodate for overly easy or overly difficult questions. Typically aggregate scores range from 0 to 300. In 2007, for example, the highest aggregate score for the PSLE was 284 and the lowest aggregate score was 43. The lowest score for 2011's PSLE is also 43 as well.All examination scripts are shipped to the Ministry of Education for processing, which then sends them to other teachers in Singapore on a random basis for marking. Part of this procedure is to prevent possible bias
Bias
Bias is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of alternatives. Bias can come in many forms.-In judgement and decision making:...
in marking, either intentional or unintentional, that may result when teachers mark examination scripts of students from their own schools. The multiple choice questions are graded by a machine in the Ministry of Education, which reads the OAS sheets.
Pupils who fail the PSLE would be retained in primary school to retake the PSLE in the EM3 stream the following year.
Pupils who pass are required to choose up to six secondary schools to which they would be posted by aggregate score. A computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
will then allocate slots to each school's intake for the next year. In line with the ideals of meritocracy
Meritocracy
Meritocracy, in the first, most administrative sense, is a system of government or other administration wherein appointments and responsibilities are objectively assigned to individuals based upon their "merits", namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or...
, all pupils who attempted the PSLE would be "queued" in order of merit, with the places in schools being filled up from the highest scorer to the lowest scorer. Thus the pupil with a higher aggregate score would get into his school of second choice (if he was not accepted into his school of first choice) over a pupil with a lower aggregate score who chose the same school as the first choice. The score of the last pupil who was allocated is known as the cut-off score for the school for that year.
If none of the six schools chosen accept the pupil, the Ministry of Education will work towards finding a school that based on proximity and location, rather than academic excellence of the school, without consulting the student. This makes proper selection of the six choices important. Priority organisation of the choices is also important; if the pupil's score both meets the requirements of the school of his or her third choice and second choice for example, the second choice will be allocated without the pupil being able to change his or her decisions.
Before 2003, pupils picked their choices before they took the examination and received their score. From 2003, pupils picked their choices after they received their score, after complaints by parents they could not make informed choices about their children's secondary schools before the examination scores were received, as the pupils might perform much better or much worse than expected.
The 2008/2009 PSLE Papers
Though complaints were made about the 2007 PSLE Papers being "out of syllabus" and too challenging, this continued in the 2008 PSLE Paper. The difficult questions in the papers were to "filter" the average and below average students, as claimed by the Ministry of Education, as only those who are truly the best can get aggregate scores above 250.In 2009, such things happened again, with plenty of students unable to finish the maths paper. A Maths Olympiad winner taking PSLE described the paper to be of "Olympiad standard". The entry scores for schools in 2009 dropped drastically for many schools. For example, Hwa Chong Institution
Hwa Chong Institution
Hwa Chong Institution is an independent school in Singapore for students aged 12 to 18 covering both secondary and pre-university levels. A Ministry of Education-designated FutureSchool, it operates under the Special Assistance Plan for bilingualism, and offers the Integrated Programme and also...
and National Junior College
National Junior College
National Junior College is the first junior college established by the Ministry Of Education, located in Bukit Timah, Singapore. It is considered as one of the top five junior colleges in Singapore. NJC offers a two-year course for pre-university students leading up to the GCE 'A' Levels...
saw their PSLE cut-off point drop by two marks.
Scoring
The score is calculated based on a bell curve. For example, if many do well in a paper, there is a potential reduction of the raw score and vice versa. Despite differences in performances each year. For example, an average student would get a score of 210+ if he/she scored 3 low As and a high B. A highly proficient student would easily get a score of 250 and above if they scored 2 or 3 A*s and high As.In each examination subject, a T-Score
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
is computed based on the raw examination score as follows:
where:
- T is the T-Score;
- x is the student's raw score;
- μ is the meanMeanIn statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....
(i.e. average) raw score; - σ is the standard deviationStandard deviationStandard deviation is a widely used measure of variability or diversity used in statistics and probability theory. It shows how much variation or "dispersion" there is from the average...
of raw scores.
By definition, then, the average T-Score in each subject is 50. Since there are four examination subjects, the average aggregate score is always 200.
Performance
In 2005, 51,087 pupils sat for the examination, a 0.4% increase from the previous year. The majority (or 97.8%) of the pupils qualified for secondary school. 62.2% of those who passed were eligible for the Special/Express course and the remaining 35.6% were eligible for either the Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical) courses. 1133 pupils (2.2%) of the cohort assessed was not ready for secondary school in 2006 or are more suited for vocational training.Controversy on flaws in papers
The 2005 mathematics paper for EM1 and EM2 students was flawed due to a question having no definite method of working the answer out. The "Question 13" was spotted by many and became infamous. The question was mathematically inconsistent in that one will get one set of answers when worked out one way and another set of answers when worked out by a different method. The Singapore Examinations and Assessments Board acknowledged the mistake a few days after the exam, annulling the question and awarding 2 marks to every student for the question.Other methods of admission to secondary schools
Students have the choice to go to other schools which does not use the posting system. Some of the top schools and the government schools have Direct School Admission. Some can go to other schools such as Singapore Sports SchoolSingapore Sports School
The Singapore Sports School is a specialized independent school in Singapore. It was initiated by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports , and caters to sporting teenagers who have talent in sports....
, NUS High School of Mathematics and Science or School of the Arts
School of the Arts, Singapore
The School of the Arts is Singapore's specialized independent pre-tertiary arts school. It was initiated by Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts, and caters to youths who have talent and capability in the arts....
.
Direct School Admission
Independent schools and Autonomous schools can admit up to 20% and 10% of their students via the Direct School Admission scheme (abb. DSA) respectively. Students apply through exercises conducted by the schools around July and August, receiving notice of the results shortly after. Schools offering the Integrated ProgrammeIntegrated Programme
The Integrated Programme , also known as through-train programme , is a scheme which allows the brightest pupils at secondary schools in Singapore to bypass the "O" levels and take the "A" levels, International Baccalaureate or an equivalent examination directly at the age of 18 after six years of...
can take in as many students as they want via DSA. Other schools have also been granted permission by the Ministry to take in students specialising in the schools' niche areas up to a maximum of 5% of their total student intake.
International schools
Since 2004, two international schools were given licenses to operate under the Ministry of Education's compulsory practices such as playing the National AnthemMajulah Singapura
Majulah Singapura is the national anthem of Singapore. Composed by Zubir Said in 1958 as a theme song for official functions of the City Council of Singapore, the song was selected in 1959 as the island's anthem when it attained self-government. Upon full independence in 1965, Majulah Singapura...
, and following the nation's bilingual policies, to allow Singaporean or Singapore Permanent Resident students to enter without the Ministry's permission. These schools were granted the permission in April 2004 and started the school year in January 2005. They are Anglo-Chinese School (International)
Anglo-Chinese School (International)
Anglo-Chinese School , Singapore is a Methodist private school, owned by the Methodist Church in Singapore. Students take a 6-year course, with the IGCSE in the fourth year and the International Baccalaureate in the sixth year. Before 2007, students took the International A-Levels...
and Hwa Chong International
Hwa Chong International
Hwa Chong International School , a co-educational secondary international school in Singapore, is an affiliated school of Hwa Chong Institution catering to both local and foreign students.-Overview:...
. Another school was granted the permission to set up a school similar to the original two in 2006, the school is SJI International
SJI International
Saint Joseph's Institution International is an independent coeducational Catholic international school in Singapore with approximately 700 students aged 12–18...
which offers a similar programme to ACS (International).
Singapore Sports School
The Singapore Sports School is for students who are perceived by the school to excel in sportSport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s it offers. This includes swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
, football or soccer, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
and sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
. It was opened in January 2004 and the school takes students directly into the school provided they have an active background in the sports offered by the school. When the school had its first intake, many students applied who were judged to excel in their sport but were posted to the Normal (Academic) or Normal (technical) streams. The school rejected these pupils as the school sought pupils who excelled both physically and academically. The school was criticised for being too result wise instead of grooming them into future sportsmen. Some of the students were finally accepted on an appeal basis after that. Students in the school aim for the International Baccalaureate (IB)
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...
paper as it is less strenuous in comparison to the A' Levels, allowing the students to focus on their sports, the Singapore Arts School follows similarly.
NUS High School
The NUS High School of Mathematics and Science opened in 2005 with an intake of 225 Secondary 1 and 3 students, offering a six-year programme leading to the NUS High DiplomaHigh school diploma
A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...
. Students will also sit for Advanced Placement and Scholastic Assessment Test examinations in the senior years for benchmarks for admission into foreign universities. The school offers an accelerated mathematics and science curriculum based on a modular system, also offering languages, humanities, arts, and other elective subjects integrated into its modular system. Students are admitted based on several factors, performance in an application form, interviews, tests, and an admission camp. 25 places out of the 170 places offered in 2007 are also reserved for Primary 6 students wishing to apply with their PSLE results.
School of Science and Technology, Singapore
The School of Science and Technology, Singapore (SST) opened its doors to its first batch of students at its holding site in 2009. The first batch of students will start their lessons in 2010 at the holding site, and at 2012, the permanent site will be ready.External links
- PSLE Singapore Exam Tips Free resources to excel in PSLE exam