Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE) In a press release announced a major changes to the current exam system (Primary and Secondary), which will take effect in 2019.
With these changes, MOE aims to reduce the focus on exams and allow kids to love learning. At yuupz, we have compiled a list of the major changes that will come into effect in 2019.
1) No exams or any grades-related test for Primary 1 and 2 students
Primary 1 and 2 students will no longer sit for major exams. The award of any form of marks or grades in P1 and P2 will cease to exist. All weighted assessments and the P2 year-end examinations will be removed. Teachers will use bite-sized assessments such as homework, discussion, projects and quizzes, to measure how much kids have learnt, but these are not graded.
When: From 2019
2) No mid-year exams for Primary 3, Primary 5, Secondary 1 and Secondary 3 levels
According to MOE, the new system will also be removing the Mid-Year-Examinations from Primary Three , Primary Five, Secondary One and Secondary Three from 2019 to 2021.
During these transition years, students are exposed to new–and often more rigorous–content. With the removal, students will have more time and ability to focus on adapting to the curriculum demands.
In addition, schools will conduct no more than one weighted assessment per subject, per school term for all levels starting from P3 to S4/5, besides the mid-year exam and year-end exam.
When: Secondary 1 From 2019, Primary 3,5 and Secondary 3 From 2020
3) Changes in Report Books
Report books will no longer state the following academic indicators:
- Position in class and level mean
- Pass/fail for end-of-year result
- Percentile scores for each subject
- Total marks -only total percentage will be reflected and rounded up to a whole number
- All marks will be rounded up to whole numbers
- Underlining and/or coloring of failing marks
Students can now focus on their own learning rather than the competition.
When: From 2019
4) Changes in Edusave awards criteria
As Primary 1 and 2 students will not be graded, MOE will adjust the academic criteria for awarding the Edusave Merit Bursary to Primary 1 and Primary 2 students and Edusave Good Progress Award to Primary 2 and Primary 3 students. The selection process will now recognize students’ attitudes to learning, such as diligence, curiosity, collaboration and enthusiasm.
When: From 2019
5) Mixed ability class
Class allocation will not segregate high progress and low progress students. Instead, classes will be allocated with mixed ability.
When: From 2019
Free up curriculum time and making learning enjoyable
Education Minister Mr Ong announced the changes will free up about three weeks of curriculum time every two years. He urged educators to use the time well and acknowledge that they were necessary.
Not everything will be scrapped
National exams such as the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), ‘N’, ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level Examinations will still remain. These are useful to measure the effectiveness of students’ learning ability. MOE believes that preserving national exams will sustain the quality of education.
But introducing these new changes, Minister Ong said the move will instill the joy of learning in students.
Here’s a comprehensive look on what are the changes are:
* Photo credit: MOE