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Challenging PSLE questions refined this year: Heng Swee Keat

SINGAPORE — Some of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) questions this year were crafted differently to guide the students’ thinking, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat revealed on Facebook today (Nov 22).

Release of PSLE results at St Hilda’s Primary School on Nov 22, 2013. Photo : Ernest Chua

Release of PSLE results at St Hilda’s Primary School on Nov 22, 2013. Photo : Ernest Chua

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SINGAPORE — Some of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) questions this year were crafted differently to guide the students’ thinking, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat revealed on Facebook today (Nov 22).

“One small refinement we’ve made is to craft the more challenging exam questions in a way that lets our children show what they’ve learnt, while keeping the PSLE standard high,” wrote Mr Heng.

He explained that if a question requires a student to work through a few steps to get an answer, it can be structured to “guide the student’s thinking, and give points for each of the steps he goes through, and not just for the final answer”.

“The question is still of a high standard, but the student finds it more accessible, and as he goes through the opening steps well, gains confidence to continue,” said Mr Heng. And if the student is unable to get the correct final answer, he can still get points if he gets the first few parts right, he said.

Noted Mr Heng: “I heard from exam invigilators that they could see our P6 kids really go all out this year, and work on the questions right up to the last minute, rather than give up on some.”

Students, he added, also told teachers they “felt the papers gave them a chance to do well, and they felt confident about their learning”.

“This is exactly what we want – to bring everyone’s focus back from chasing points to really learning. I sincerely hope that parents agree with us that this is the right way to help our children learn. Many more students did well this year, and as parents, we should be very proud of them,” wrote Mr Heng, as he congratulated this year’s students who received their PSLE results.

Mr Heng also urged students who wish they had done better not to give up: “You must never judge yourself or your friends by a number. It is much more important the kind of person you are.”

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