Is PSLE so important?

[tianzhu]

Is PSLE so important?

A very sad incident involving a young boy who cut short his life. Parents often try to stretch their kids so as to develop them to the fullest. But, we should also be mindful of their limitations.

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20080711-76007.html
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Got news yesterday that my son's good friend committed suicide by jumping down 16th floor from his home.
Daily, he diligently finishes the loads of homework from school but under tremendous stress. Nobody noticed anything wrong with him. He is his usual self in school and even teased my son after school the day before his death. Is PSLE so important? What really drives this boy to his death in the early morning at 6am when he just woke up? Never undermine the stress these kids are facing. Depression may not necessarily be as obvious as one thinks.
I urge all parents with children in Primary Six this year to be extra sensitive to the needs of your children. They may be under pressure and depressed without showing any symptoms.
My heart goes out to Jun Wei's family. May he rest in peace.

[ChiefKiasu]

tianzhu:

Is PSLE so important?

A very sad incident involving a young boy who cut short his life. Parents often try to stretch their kids so as to develop them to the fullest. But, we should also be mindful of their limitations....

This is so sad. It's not the first case, and will not be the last. This is the reason why we hope that MOE will review its early childhood education policies and be more mindful of the level of stress they are causing to our young, instead of dismissing such incidents as collateral damage in our bid to be ever more efficient in churning out smarter and smarter kids.

[heutistmeintag]

Did the boy leave a note complaining about his workload or PSLE? How does the conclusion that it’s study stress that kills the kid? Could there be other problems or am I being slow here?

[Vanilla Cake]

Hi All,


My Mum was confused about the above subject even though she had read the explanation from this link http://www.nyps.moe.edu.sg/News/P6%20T%20score%5B1%5D.pps

She was even more confused after I told her what some of my classmates got in PSLE 2008 (excluding bonus pts for HML) :

2 A* + 2 A - 255
2 A* + 2 A - 262
3 A* + 1 A - 261
4 A* - 262
3 A* + 1 A - 263
4 A* - 269
4 A* - 282

My younger sister needs a decent PSLE T-score aggregate to qualify for EESIS as Mum would like her to get into Mum's alma mater - RGS(S).

EESIS - Edusave Entrance Scholarships for Independent Schools.

Is it true that one MUST have a good command of both languages to ensure a decent PSLE T-score aggregate (above 265) ?

Pls share your views and thoughts in this matter.
Thanks in advance.

[corneyAmber]

Hi Vanilla,


Grades like A, A* etc...are the absolute raw scores attained in the PSLE exam.

The T-score aggregate is the relative score attained in the cohort. In other words, it is a ranking score. So if one scores very well in their A* subjects and it happens that the cohort's performance in the year are strong in those subjects, then the A* raw score when translated into T-score may not help to differentiate the child alot on a relative scale. In comparison to another difficult subject, the A* scored when translated into T-score, this would widen the gap further to differentiate a strong kid on a relative scale.

So I would say, see your luck during comparison with the cohort of the year. One can be a 4A* but the T-score may not necessarily be very high if the good A* are in subjects that most people are strong in.

So your example of 2 and 4 below clearly shows that the person 2 has scored well in the \"correct\" subjects...to be differentiated well on the T-score to get same T-score as person 4.


1. 2 A* + 2 A - 255
2. 2 A* + 2 A - 262
3. 3 A* + 1 A - 261
4. 4 A* - 262
5. A* + 1 A - 263
6. 4 A* - 269
7. 4 A* - 282

As to why a T-score will help? The technical explanation on the slides is confusing. If raw scores are used, the yearly aggregate swings may potentially be very huge and the cut-off points of the entry to secondary schools cannot be easily derived. After moderation, they are standardised to ranking score, so makes it easier to determine the limited range for entry to a school for both the secondary schools principals and parents. A large number of children may fail a difficult paper, but it does not mean that they cannot be promoted to a secondary school, so the T-score brings them back to a passing mark to qualify for promotion to sec school.

As for your question, to me, languages are usually the more difficult subjects to master for majority because of our \"rojak\" background and the subjectivity of the subjects. Hence languages usually will be the differentiator. However, we never know in which year they would suddenly set a very difficult Math or Science paper. When that happens, that becomes the differentiator too to swing the T-scores.

I suppose ultimately we don't feel comfortable with T-scores because we find it difficult to assess how our kid has fared in the exam. Which is why, they still furnish your raw score by the grades of A*, A, B...etc and T-score. So if you know you are roughly an A or A* all the time, if PSLE scores C, then you can appeal to check what has gone wrong. The only thing you cannot appeal against is the relative T-score because every cohort is different. But we can use the T-score to roughly gauge the strength of the cohort and benchmark yourself, that's all.

Anyway, this is only PSLE. In the real world, you will be benchmarked againt a much larger population outside your cohort. That is the real horror... :lol:

So my final point is, just understand the system and then do your best in the exams for the raw scores and don't try to aim for the right T-score(btw, there is no right T-score) as the disappointment will be great for things you have no control over. If your sister works hard for her languages because of the future challenges she needs to face in the real world, that should be a motivation good enough to drive her....not PSLE T-scores la! And if your mom is from RGS, she should be thinking like this. I don't think she was focusing on T-scores during her time to get into RGS.....She just worked hard at her potential.

[heutistmeintag]

Thanks for the very clear explanation on raw and t scores, ks2me.


I hope CKS will make this sticky as the question will be posed again and again.

[Vanilla Cake]

Hi ks2me,


To be honest to you, it's sad to have a Mum from RGS. Too much pressure for both myself and younger sister to excel academically.Below is the list of COP for RGS based on the past 4 years.

2004 - 263
2005 - 263
2006 - 264
2007 - 266

It's tough to get into RGS. My younger sister's command in Chinese is mediocre and may eventually pull down in her aggregate T-score in PSLE 2011.

Mum agreed with your comments. During her time, they have 2 choices for choosing secondary schools prior to the release of PSLE results. She was 3rd in P6 class and the top student went to RI followed by the 2nd that went to RGS too.

Warmest regards.

[lizawa]

Vanilla Cake:

Hi ks2me,


To be honest to you, it's sad to have a Mum from RGS. Too much pressure for both myself and younger sister to excel academically.Below is the list of COP for RGS based on the past 4 years.

2004 - 263
2005 - 263
2006 - 264
2007 - 266

It's tough to get into RGS. My younger sister's command in Chinese is mediocre and may eventually pull down in her aggregate T-score in PSLE 2011.

Mum agreed with your comments. During her time, they have 2 choices for choosing secondary schools prior to the release of PSLE results. She was 3rd in P6 class and the top student went to RI followed by the 2nd that went to RGS too.

Warmest regards.

Hi Vanilla Coke,

Since your younger sis managed to get passed the 1st round of GEP, she should already be in the top 10% of cohort. I strongly encourage her to apply for DSA to RGS, when her time comes. This will give her another chance to get into her school of choice. Especially if she is exceptionally talented in any areas, may it be a subject, CCA or hold any leadership position.

I think most importantly, we have to be happy learning and gaining knowledge in which ever school we go to.

Good luck to your posting !

[corneyAmber]

Vanilla Cake:

Hi ks2me,


To be honest to you, it's sad to have a Mum from RGS. Too much pressure for both myself and younger sister to excel academically.Below is the list of COP for RGS based on the past 4 years.

2004 - 263
2005 - 263
2006 - 264
2007 - 266

It's tough to get into RGS. My younger sister's command in Chinese is mediocre and may eventually pull down in her aggregate T-score in PSLE 2011.

Mum agreed with your comments. During her time, they have 2 choices for choosing secondary schools prior to the release of PSLE results. She was 3rd in P6 class and the top student went to RI followed by the 2nd that went to RGS too.

Warmest regards.

Based on nature theory, both you and your sister already have 50% of the genes, if not 100%. So don't feel sad, the rest is to bring out your potential. Yes the COP of RGS seems tough but now you can see how the T-score helps to put the numbers only slightly slanted in 2007 for the difficult papers set so it does not skew the number too much until it is unpredictable if a T-score can qualify into a certain school.

Also, I agree with with Lizawa said about clearing round 1 GEP, in fact it is top 6% if you really want to drill down the numbers. I believe if you minus away the boys in the top 6% and those who likes SAP schools, your sis still has a good chance to go to RGS.

I know during your Mum's era, everything is like a blackbox, so do you think now we have more information, is it better? Other than making us worry more....... :lol:

[ChiefKiasu]

heutistmeintag:

Thanks for the very clear explanation on raw and t scores, ks2me.


I hope CKS will make this sticky as the question will be posed again and again.

I just did it to prove that I listen to the community... but the calculation of PSLE T-scores is like rocket science to me.