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PSLE will remain key benchmark of education system: Heng

SINGAPORE — Since its introduction more than 50 years ago, the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) has been “instrumental” in getting the Republic to where it is today in terms of literacy and numeracy, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday.

SINGAPORE — Since its introduction more than 50 years ago, the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) has been “instrumental” in getting the Republic to where it is today in terms of literacy and numeracy, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday.

He was reiterating the importance of the examination, which has become a lightning rod for criticism about the pressure-cooker environment of Singapore’s education system, at the opening ceremony of the International Association for Educational Assessment Conference.

Cementing the place of this “important benchmark” within the education system, Mr Heng said: “Going forward, the PSLE will continue to be an important milestone examination in the system — to provide the assessment to help each child plan the next step of his education journey that is best for him, given his current pace of development, and to enable our schools and teachers to provide appropriate educational support for each child.”

Last week, Mr Heng had said that changes to the PSLE scoring system will not be announced any time soon as the ministry embarks on more immediate tasks, which will also pave the way for tweaks to the PSLE.

Yesterday, he said the review, which was announced last year, will “support (the) ongoing shift of our education system to move beyond the narrow focus on examination grades and academic success to a broader emphasis on equipping students with the values, attributes, knowledge and skills for work and life in the 21st century”.

He added that the review illustrates how Singapore has been updating its curriculum, teachers and assessment, so they remain relevant, while continually checking how well the country has achieved its objectives.

Mr Heng also listed some examples of how Singapore has tweaked its assessments. One was to include coursework assessment in national examinations, such as in subjects like art, as well as design and technology, where secondary school students get to plan, research and carry out projects.

Another is using assessment to enhance learning, such as the “two stars and a wish” technique, in which students comment on two things that are good about their peers’ work and give one suggestion for improvement.

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