December 23, 2020

In the Channel News Asia commentary “PSLE scores could impact life outcomes. So don’t let them” Dr Kelvin Seah Kah Cheng (NUS Department of Economics) writes about the subject-based banding (SBB) system that primary schools here are adopting. He explains that SBB aims to lower the pressure of the demanding Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) on students by altering the common curriculum to one that allows students to pursue their strengths and interests.

While encouraging stories of Singaporeans who have done well in their lives despite performing poorly for their PSLE are popular in the media, the impact of segregating students into academic streams of varied rigour has been deemed problematic. Students from express and normal academic streams often hail from different backgrounds which influences their academic performance due to factors that include “family income, parents’ education [and] innate ability”. These differences highlight the value of SBB, which allows students to learn subjects at a pace that best suits them.

Dr Seah recognises the merits of SBB, such as that it provides a customised education and more opportunities for students of different abilities to mingle in their subject-specific classes. However, he also cautions that SBB must allow for flexibility during the promotion process so that “late bloomers” are not left behind. Essentially, students must be allowed to read a subject at a greater level of difficulty without the hurdle of their teachers having to write hefty reports to justify their promotion.

Read the article here.