ARNHEM (The Netherlands) — Instead of relying only on Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results for secondary school admissions in Singapore, teachers’ input can also be taken into account, suggested Mr Jan Wiegers, executive director of Cito, an organisation that administers national assessments in the Netherlands.

Noting the perennial debate in the Republic on the high-stakes exam for 12-year-olds, Mr Wiegers — who frequently visits Singapore — said this approach, which is being used in the Netherlands, could be piloted in Singapore. The key is making sure teachers are confident enough, he added, in a recent interview with TODAY.

To support teachers in making accurate judgments, he cited the pupil monitoring system developed by Cito used in Dutch primary schools. Teachers can use this computerised tool to administer class tests and key in students’ scores over the eight years of primary education, among other things. This system also allows parents to track their children’s performance.

Mr Wiegers was among the educators and officials whom Education Minister Heng Swee Keat met last week during his visit to Norway and the Netherlands to look at vocational training institutes and universities.

Currently, pupils in Dutch schools have to sit for tests set by external evaluators at the end of primary school. Primary school teachers would recommend secondary level tracks a child should enter — academic or vocational, for instance. Secondary schools admit their students based on teachers’ advice, with test scores serving as a second opinion to verify the teachers’ input. From next year, this approach will be made mandatory by law.

If there are discrepancies between a student’s test scores and his or her teachers’ advice, the primary school can revise the recommendation to a secondary school track more reflective of the child’s abilities, said a spokesperson from the Netherlands’ Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. “This only works upwards,” she said.

Mr Wiegers stressed that it would be a bad idea for Singapore to scrap the PSLE as “you need some form of objective measure of every student, independent of his or her socio-economic status”. But he added: “If you have only one test, you can’t really understand the student’s capability, as he or she might not be in the best situation to do the test at that time. Having a double-based decision helps (so) that it is not only the results of the test accounting for your future.”

Cito’s research has shown that the teacher’s advice on which track to place a student in and the outcome based on his or her test results are identical 80 per cent of the time.

Mr Wiegers’ suggestion echoed comments made by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development education expert Andreas Schleicher in an earlier interview with TODAY. The latter also suggested that instead of solely relying on national exams, teachers’ feedback could form part of a variety of assessments in Singapore.

Educators and observers here agreed that letting teachers have a larger say in secondary school admissions could be considered. Still, they cited concerns about subjectivity and parents’ readiness to accept the idea.

Ang Mo Kio Secondary principal Abdul Mannan pointed out that the latest changes to the Direct School Admission scheme allowing primary school teachers to make recommendations based on students’ leadership qualities, for example, is a step in that direction. He noted that if school admissions were to rely heavily on teachers’ recommendations, it might eventually result in universities setting entrance exams in order to have an objective benchmark.

Mountbatten Member of Parliament Lim Biow Chuan, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, felt the idea could be explored, but teachers need to be equipped to make professional assessments. “In Singapore, the intensity of involvement by parents in their children’s education is different … getting parents to accept that there are multiple pathways to success also takes time,” he added.

Some Dutch parents interviewed were also not entirely happy with their country’s education system. Sharing the sentiment of some Singaporeans, they prefer Finland’s system, where students sit for their first national exams at age 18.

Mr Wiegers stressed the importance of regular communication with parents, including making clear to them the advancement opportunities in the education system. He said: “I’d not say (the Finnish) system is better or your system is better, but the national debate should be on ‘what our culture is and what works for us’.”