Parents often ask me – will this year’s PSLE be harder or easier? My answer is that I do not know what questions will come out, but I do know our Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board sets a consistent standard, so do not worry.
Perhaps the reason I get these questions is because we release ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels in the exam format. Even though we also release PSLE questions by topics, we have not released the papers in full. So students do not know the spread– that may be the reason.
Hence, I am glad that SEAB has decided to release PSLE in the exam format too, so that students can have a better sense of the types and spread of questions that let all students show subject mastery, and prepare well – not to over-prepare and spend excessive time on drill-and-test, but to free up time for play, for exploring interest and holistic education; and not to under-prepare as PSLE can serve as a good gauge of their mastery of the subject, for the next phase of their learning journey. What matters most is for children to develop a love for learning.
I hope this will help students better achieve their potential, and enjoy their learning. By the way, looking at the questions – these were different from what I recall I did as a student. The questions test concepts and understanding, how knowledge is applied to figure things out – much like what we have to do in real life. I am sure many parents, like me, will find it different – but then again, our children grow up in a different world from ours – when there was no internet, no smart phone. We have to look to the future, to prepare our children better.
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