2023 PSLE Discussions and Strategies (Children born in 2011)

[bbbay]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2120301\" time=\"1696728660\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2120301 time=1696728660 user_id=53606]
Do note that Sec 1 (and Sec 2) exam papers are not readily available on the market, unlike primary school papers. This is something that primary school parents may not know.

The implications? From S1/Y1, the child will have to be very independent, seek consultations from subject teachers if unsure what will be tested, what type of answer is expected, etc. While most schools will give at least 1 previous EOY paper for the kids to do/see the sample format, sometimes no answer is provided, or teacher doesnt have time to go thru it. Will your child be able to learn on their own like that?

I have friends with kids in IP, as well as others in Express. Whether or not a subject teacher is good/passionate in their subject & provides good notes, is really your luck of the draw, not whether IP or Express school. Also varies from class to class. This means that your child is more or less on their own, have to initiate forming bonds with helpful seniors/teachers etc who can share notes/advice/guidance. Very few helpful assessment books, especially Humanities. And no tuition is available for Humanities subjects (not at lower sec).

Many kids fail in S1/Y1 especially at first exam. They are still learning to juggle everything (including CCA) on their own. The difference between IP and Express is, the former has 6 long years to learn and adapt; whereas the latter has a very short runway before the next national exam. Will they recover fast enough? It’s a question mark that I would rather do without IMO.[/quote]

I may have different concerns: the yearly promotion exams in both O level and IP schools. we dont get to pick “good” the teachers, but it’s the same situations for every student. We should focus on areas we can control.

[00skyblue00]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2120296\" time=\"1696727347\" user_id=\"175278:

Travelling is a secondary consideration when deciding secondary school for my child.

My generalised views:

If my child has demonstrated independence and consistency in studies without tuitions and is reasonably flexible, I would let my child enroll in IP school his PSLE qualify him for.

If my child has demonstrated independence and consistency in studies without tuitions and is not flexible, I would prefer my child enroll in O level Seconday school his PSLE qualify him for.

If my child is not independent and not consistent and need lots of external helps (like tuitions/pushing), to get those good PSLE grades, I will not let my child enroll in IP school. I would prefer an O level Seconday school with nurturing/motivating environment. Attend open houses to gauge ethos of schools.

If my child is somewhere in the middle of these spectrums, to secure some insurance, I would look for a school his PSLE result qualified him with nurturing/motivating environment. Attend open houses to gauge ethos of schools. I would talk to my child over his preference for IP or O level curriculum.

Can elaborate on what does \"flexible\" refer to.

My understanding is O level lessons are more structured, while IP lessons may not follow textbooks and syllabus may be jumbled up, eg they may cover sec 2 topics in sec 1 first and vice versa. Some top express schools do advanced maths, sci or language or more than other schools. But most differences will start from sec 3. Generally sec 1 and 2 are similar.

[00skyblue00]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2120312\" time=\"1696739997\" user_id=\"175278:

I may have different concerns: the yearly promotion exams in both O level and IP schools. we dont get to pick “good” the teachers, but it’s the same situations for every student. We should focus on areas we can control.

Yes, many parents even IP parents are not aware of the significance of critical years sch exams esp sec 4.

[bbbay]

00skyblue00\" post_id=\"2120313\" time=\"1696740863\" user_id=\"143605:

Can elaborate on what does \"flexible\" refer to.

My understanding is O level lessons are more structured, while IP lessons may not follow textbooks and syllabus may be jumbled up, eg they may cover sec 2 topics in sec 1 first and vice versa. Some top express schools do advanced maths, sci or language or more than other schools. But most differences will start from sec 3. Generally sec 1 and 2 are similar.

Not so much on accelerated academic learnings. IP curriculum include ongoing projects, presentations and extended essays (and even novel, non academics subjects) that require students to manage their own learning and time, unlike the typical O level curriculum which are mostly classroom base and much more structured. For lack of a better word I can think of(with my small set vocabulary) I use the word flexible to mean students comfortable to learn and delivery not in the traditional classroom/exam/lessons setups. Some other students may very much still prefer the classroom/exams setups - most of the time get to sit back quietly , listen to teachers in class, answer questions on exam paper, and receive the marks.

[zac's mum]

You may want to find out more at the open houses or ask current parents. From what i found out, the traditional written WA are nowadays mostly used for lower-tier Express schools and NA students.


Those top tier Express schools like some SAP schools and Crescent, as well as the Express track of dual-track schools, are more and more like IP schools nowadays, with many weighted projects and assignments, as well as higher order qn types in the written WAs.

[blackyv]

phtthp\" post_id=\"2120289\" time=\"1696709734\" user_id=\"35251:

Since PSLE is over, can sit down with your daughter now, ask her how she has fared / performed overall, for each of the 4 subjects.

You can start to prep her, now.
Ask her -

If in November when the PSLE results are released and if she does qualify for IP, ask her if she is keen / interested in IP.

If she answer Yes,
be it IP (IB at MGS or otherwise A-level),
then
proceed to join IP now, at aged 12. Do not wait (delay) until aged 16.
That is,
provided IP is what your daughter truly wants to pursue. This desire to study IP, must arise and come from WITHIN herself, not forced upon by parents onto their child, a wrongful disastrous move in the subsequent later years to come, if it has been \"forced upon\".
Parents, especially to mothers,
Yes, you may have given birth to your child, 12 years ago. But you do not own your child. Let your child make the comfortable decision herself / himself, whether she (he) prefer to accept, choose ( IP or O-level).


As to what are the differences between
IP ( IB vs. A-level ),

there is another thread in this forum, which discuss the differences between these two. You may go over there to read.

Yeah, I did ask what's her thought on her performance. She only think she messed up her Chinese, she think maybe a 3-5. As for maths and science, quite confident with 1 and maybe a 2 for English.. frankly, she had no idea what's the different btw ip and I, when I explained to her, she just said , ok.. anything..

[blackyv]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2120296\" time=\"1696727347\" user_id=\"175278:

Travelling is a secondary consideration when deciding secondary school for my child.

My generalised views:

If my child has demonstrated independence and consistency in studies without tuitions and is reasonably flexible, I would let my child enroll in IP school his PSLE qualify him for.

If my child has demonstrated independence and consistency in studies without tuitions and is not flexible, I would prefer my child enroll in O level Seconday school his PSLE qualify him for.

If my child is not independent and not consistent and need lots of external helps (like tuitions/pushing), to get those good PSLE grades, I will not let my child enroll in IP school. I would prefer an O level Seconday school with nurturing/motivating environment. Attend open houses to gauge ethos of schools.

If my child is somewhere in the middle of these spectrums, to secure some insurance, I would look for a school his PSLE result qualified him with nurturing/motivating environment. Attend open houses to gauge ethos of schools. I would talk to my child over his preference for IP or O level curriculum.

Agree, actually she can handle her school work well without tuition until beginning of p6 when we ask her any subject she needs help, then only we send her to maths tuition. She did attend Chinese tuition since p1.. my wife scares they eat potato if don't force them take Chinese tuition . As for science, her strongest paper all the time, always the top few in class even without tuition and coaching from us.. she is a person who can and will do up a nice mind map notes herself

[blackyv]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2120322\" time=\"1696746815\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2120322 time=1696746815 user_id=53606]
You may want to find out more at the open houses or ask current parents. From what i found out, the traditional written WA are nowadays mostly used for lower-tier Express schools and NA students.

Those top tier Express schools like some SAP schools and Crescent, as well as the Express track of dual-track schools, are more and more like IP schools nowadays, with many weighted projects and assignments, as well as higher order qn types in the written WAs.[/quote]

I'm not that clear into how those schools teaches, and not really aiming for the best school.. actually if she can get into school like Anderson, cedar girl or chung Chen I happy liao ..haha .

[mystique_j]

Just want to add, for IP, it’s not easy to find tuition as well, especially for subjects like Science and Math because the coverage of the syllabus differs from school to school. There are only a handful of tuition centres that cater to IP students, and they are mostly around bt timah area. These centres may even open classes catering to each IP school or group similar IP schools together. So, availability of classes is also limited. Or you may need to resort to 1-1 tutors.


Test papers are also not easy to find. Plus, topics and format tested could be very different, so there’s really no use trying to do other IP school papers.

[manorway]

blackyv\" post_id=\"2120329\" time=\"1696757344\" user_id=\"56432:

Agree, actually she can handle her school work well without tuition until beginning of p6 when we ask her any subject she needs help, then only we send her to maths tuition. She did attend Chinese tuition since p1.. my wife scares they eat potato if don't force them take Chinese tuition . As for science, her strongest paper all the time, always the top few in class even without tuition and coaching from us.. she is a person who can and will do up a nice mind map notes herself

Plenty of Chinese tuition classes around for IP Chinese.

If she can do well for PSLE Science, then there should be no fear for the IP Science. There will be an adjustment period for sure. In IP schools, kids are encouraged to seek out teachers for consultations when they need help.

No need assessment books or exam papers. It is much better to go ask the teachers to provide extra questions if kids need practice questions.