PSLE scores to be scrapped, students to be given grades

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/psle-scores-be-scrapped-students-be-given-grades

Summary:

The high-stakes nature of the PSLE has often been cited by parents and observers as a major contributing factor to the stress in the education system. Therefore, 12-year-olds will in future no longer be given aggregate scores for the national examination. Instead, students could be given letter grades and placed in “wider bands” like in the O- and A-Level examinations.

Opinion:

Personally, we support the decision made to remove aggregate score during the PSLE examination. PSLE examination has caused a lot of stress in students, and the student's future seems to depend heavily on that aggregate score. Parents have also been adding onto that stress, putting pressure on their child to do well and also comparing their child's score with their relatives. Thus, removing the aggregate score will serve to remove some stress from the students. Students will feel less discouraged even though they may not score as well as their peers, as they do not know their score. However, this will also mean that the students will not know how well they fair in this national exam, and some may think they scored very well and thus stop working hard.