Fact: The new PSLE scoring system will not affect the curriculum and assessment standards of the PSLE.

MOE reviews the curriculum regularly to ensure that it is relevant and up-to-date. This will continue as per current practice and is independent of the changes to the PSLE scoring and S1 posting.

Fact: There is no passing or failing mark for each PSLE subject, or the PSLE as a whole.

The PSLE is a placement exam to guide students to take subjects in secondary school at levels that best suit their educational needs at the point of entry to secondary school. This will allow them to learn and progress at a comfortable pace.

A student who obtains a PSLE Score of 26 to 30, and scores an AL 7 or better in both English Language and Mathematics – or AL B or better at Foundation level for these subjects – can progress to the Normal (Technical) course in secondary school.

Fact: The AL bands reflect students' stages of understanding and mastery of the particular subject, while ensuring meaningful S1 Posting outcomes for all students.

The design of the scoring bands strikes a careful balance between reducing undue differentiation between students’ examination results, and ensuring meaningful secondary school posting outcomes. The upper AL bands are designed to avoid too many students achieving the same PSLE Score and requiring more tie-breaking to determine secondary school postings. At the middle to lower ALs, students’ scores are more widely distributed, hence finer differentiation is less meaningful.

As the assessment standards of the PSLE have not changed, the outcomes under the AL scoring system are similar to the T-score system. Students were not advantaged or disadvantaged, and did not find it more challenging to qualify for the Express course at the 2021 PSLE.

As there are fewer possible PSLE Scores, schools are less differentiated by COPs. Students and their parents will thus generally have a wider range of schools to choose from at every PSLE Score. We encourage students and their parents to choose schools that would be a good fit for the student’s overall learning needs, based on the school’s distinctive programmes, subjects and Co-Curricular activities offered, culture, ethos, home-school distance, as well as support for Special Educational Needs if required.

Fact: The proportion of students qualifying for different courses under the new scoring system will remain largely similar to the T-score system.

Students will qualify for the respective courses as long as their PSLE Scores meet the placement criteria.

Under the new standards-referenced scoring system, if more students demonstrate the requisite level of achievement to cope with and benefit from a more demanding course, they will be eligible for that course.

Fact: Your child will take all subjects at the Express level if he/she is placed in the Express course.

Students whose PSLE Scores qualify them for the Express course will have demonstrated that they possess the overall ability to cope with the demands of the course. Hence, they may take all subjects at the Express level, even if they scored AL 6 to 8 for any of them at the PSLE.

Students whose PSLE Scores qualify them for the N(A) or N(T) courses may offer certain subjects at N(A) or Express level if they score AL 5 or better in a Standard level subject at the PSLE. They will be eligible to take the subject at the N(A) level, if they score AL 6 or better at the Standard level or AL A at the Foundation level in that subject at the PSLE.

Fact: Based on MOE's simulations, about 9 in 10 students will not need to undergo balloting.

Posting to secondary school will still be based on academic merit. Tie-breakers are used only if there are two or more students with the same PSLE Score vying for the last available place(s) in a school.

Order of tie-breakers:

1. Citizenship
2. Choice order
3. Computerised balloting

Students will only be balloted when those vying for the last place(s) in the same school have the same PSLE Score, citizenship and choice order of schools.

THE PSLE REMAINS A USEFUL CHECKPOINT

It gauges a student's understanding of key concepts and academic strengths, and guides their future learning in secondary school.

• Primary school is a time when students develop foundation skills in literacy and numeracy, and acquire habits and skills that will help them learn in the future.
• At the end of primary school, students take the PSLE, which helps to determine where each child's academic strengths lie. This in turn guides the child to a suitable academic programme in secondary school - one that best suits their learning needs. In this way, students can learn and progress at a comfortable pace.
• The PSLE result also serves as a fair and transparent mechanism to determine secondary school posting.
• We acknowledge that the PSLE is unable to assess many other attributes that are also important for work and life. This is why the new scoring system aims to reduce excessive focus on academic results.

THIS PROVIDES A GOOD BALANCE

• The standard curriculum in primary schools caters to the majority of students. Examinations such as the PSLE are used to assess the levels of understanding of students across a wide spectrum.
• Under the new Achievement Level (AL) system, the 8 ALs are designed to represent these levels in a broader manner. While we do not want to differentiate too finely between students examination results, we do want to get an idea of their progress after 6 years of primary school, so that they can be matched to suitable academic programmes in secondary school.
• For example, while there may not be any difference between a student who scores 65 and another who scores 66 marks in a subject, there is a difference between one who scores 65 and another who scores 75. We want to be able to recognise this difference.
• If there are too few ALs, there would be more students with the same PSLE Score, which would lead to more balloting in S1 posting. This would cause more anxiety among parents and students.
• 8 ALs, therefore, offer a good balance.

THEY PROVIDE MEANINGFUL DIFFERENTIATION

• The design of the scoring bands takes into consideration the distribution of students’ scores across the mark ranges. As we expect slightly below half of the PSLE cohort to score 75 marks and above for Standard subjects, the upper AL bands have narrower mark ranges to avoid having too many students achieve the same PSLE Score, which would require more tie-breaking to determine secondary school postings. At the middle to lower ALs, students’ scores are expected to be more widely distributed, thus finer differentiation between their results would be less meaningful.

• The PSLE is a checkpoint for a student's learning. The AL bands reflect the way the curriculum and examinations are designed, where levels of understanding are not linear. The ALs reflect this reality of learning, where each band reflects a level of understanding of a subject. The ALs also provide an indication of the students' readiness level for the next course of study.

FOCUS ON DOING YOUR BEST

• You may push a child towards the next band, but they may find it challenging to cope with the subject in secondary school. This can affect their morale in the longer run.
• It is better for the child to do their best, and move ahead, at a pace that is comfortable for them, rather than struggle to cope.

This way, the child is more likely to remain a lifelong learner.

• Similar to the T-score system, there are no pass or fail grades for individual PSLE subjects, or the PSLE as a whole.
• The PSLE is a useful checkpoint to gauge a child's understanding of key concepts and academic strengths. It is also a placement exam to determine the most appropriate course and subject level for a student, based on the student's educational needs at the point of entry to secondary school.
• A student who obtains a PSLE Score of 26 to 30, and scores an AL 7 or better in both English Language and Mathematics - or an AL B at the Foundation level for these subjects – can progress to secondary school, and would be eligible for the Normal (Technical) [N(T)] course.
• Similar to the T-score system, students who are not eligible for Express, N(A) or N(T) would be offered the option to repeat the PSLE, or progress to NorthLight School or Assumption Pathway School with their principal's endorsement.
• Regardless of the placement outcome of the child, there is flexibility within our system. Schools continually monitor the progress of our students to develop them to their fullest potential. As early as the middle of Secondary 1, students who are placed in N(A) or N(T) and do well may be allowed to do selected subjects at the Express or N(A) level respectively. They could also transfer to a more demanding course, if they demonstrate that they are able to cope with the curriculum.

• No, it is not harder to qualify for Express under the new system, as the new scoring changes will not affect the curriculum, assessment standards and the rigour of the PSLE.
• Under the new standards-referenced scoring system, if more students demonstrate the requisite level of achievement to cope with and benefit from a more demanding course, more of them will be eligible for that course.
• The proportions of students qualifying for different courses under the new system are expected to be largely similar to the T-score system.

PROVIDING CONFIDENCE AND BUILDING STRONG FUNDAMENTALS FOR STUDENTS

• Foundation level subjects support the learning needs of students to focus on building up strong fundamentals in these subjects and better prepare them for progression to secondary school.
• Students will qualify for the respective courses as long as their PSLE Score meet the placement criteria (See corresponding table).
• It is possible for students to qualify for Express or N(A) course even if they take one or more subjects at the Foundation level.
• Students should thus decide whether to take a subject at Standard or Foundation level based on their aptitude and ability to cope with the demands of that particular subject.

SCORING FOR FOUNDATION LEVEL SUBJECTS

• The AL bands for Foundation subjects reflect their curriculum and assessment load, relative to Standard subjects. Thus, AL A, B and C for Foundation subjects are pegged to AL 6, 7 and 8 for Standard subjects respectively. With just three AL bands for Foundation subjects, the mark range for each AL will naturally be wide. Because of the nature of the foundational level of these subjects, it is not meaningful to further differentiate students via more ALs. Moreover, this would run counter to the overall objective of reducing fine differentiation.
• The ALs also provide an indication of the students' readiness level for the next course of study. For example, students who scores AL A for a Foundation subject would have demonstrated the ability to cope with the subject's N(A) curriculum in secondary school.

THE PSLE SCORING AND SEC 1 POSTING CHANGES WILL NOT AFFECT:

• The curriculum
• The subjects tested at the PSLE
• The demand of the PSLE on students

However, MOE does review the curriculum regularly to ensure that our curriculum is relevant and up-to-date. This will continue as per current practice.

English Language and Mathematics are critical for building strong foundations in literacy and numeracy, in order for the child to access future education options. A grade of AL 7 or better in these subjects indicates that the student possesses the foundational knowledge and skills to cope with the demands of the secondary school curriculum.