Postpone the PSLE? More precise research needed

I refer to the report “PSLE still a necessary checkpoint for students: Study” (July 17) on the Institute of Policy Studies’ nationwide survey of parents’ perceptions of Singapore’s primary school system.

The conclusion on the Primary School Leaving Examination seems premised on responses to a single question: The extent to which the 1,500 parents agreed with the policy suggestion that high-stakes exams like the PSLE be postponed until a later age.

The researchers acknowledged that these findings “may suggest” the aforementioned. Without a counterfactual, however, such as comparisons with pupils who do not take the PSLE or similar national exams, no causal conclusions can be drawn.

Policy questions about the PSLE can and should take other forms beyond postponement.

Future analysis could consider, for instance, how parents and children prepare for national exams, and if they feel unnecessarily stretched in the lead-up.

In this vein, stakeholders’ perceptions should feature too, including those of pupils and teachers, and care must be taken with the sampling of respondents.

With the recent study, the respondents who had a child between five and 14 years were stratified across demographics and socio-economic indicators.

When it comes to perceptions of the PSLE, however, whether their children have completed the exam, the scores their children received and perhaps the primary schools their children attended would make a difference.

Even so, taking the above limitations into consideration, 42.5 per cent agreeing or strongly agreeing that the PSLE should be postponed is cause for concern.

That around four in 10 parents expressed this sentiment signals problems, which should be uncovered maybe through focus group discussions or in-depth interviews with these individuals.

Moreover, the PSLE should by no means be interpreted as “a necessary checkpoint” for students. Effective policymaking in this regard, to improve primary school education as well as the PSLE, therefore requires more extensive and precise research.