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CASE STUDY
Uses of assessment information to support student learning in
SINGAPORE
E S C H B O R N , G E R M A N Y – O C T O B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 1
Using Student Assessment Results for Education Quality and Systems Strengthening
General Overview of Singapore and its Education System
Land
700 sq km
People
4.7 million
General Overview of Singapore and its Education System
GDP per capita in current U.S. dollars
1965 $510 2010 $43 300
General Overview of Singapore and its Education System
Students 500 000
Teachers 30 000
Principals & Vice-Principals 900
Schools 173 Primary Schools (Primary 1 – 6) 155 Secondary Schools (Secondary 1 – 4) 13 Junior Colleges (JC 1 – 2) 15 Mixed-Level Schools
The data refers to 1-12 school system. Pre-school is not part of the formaleducation system. The data excludes post-secondary education system whichincludes institutes of technical education, polytechnics and universities.
Canossa Convent Primary School Singapore
Universities
Polytechnics
Junior Colleges
Integrated Programmes
National Examination
Secondary Schools
National Examination
Institutes of Technical Education
Primary Schools
National Examination
A detailed schematic diagram of Singapore‟s education system is available in Education Statistics Digest http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/education-statistics-digest/
General Overview of Student Assessment Activities in Singapore
National examinations at the end of Grades 6, 10 and 12 are high stakes. G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination
(Grade 12)
School Assessment
G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination (Grade 10)
School Assessment
Primary School Leaving Examination (Grade 6)
School AssessmentSchool assessment are typically teacher-created
tests and examinations that mirrors the demands of the national examinations.
International Assessment
Trends in Mathematics & Science Study 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2001,2006, 2011
Program for International Student Achievement 2009
International assessments do not attract much public attention and has little influence on school
assessment.
General Overview of Student Assessment Activities in Singapore
Singapore‟s education system aspires to bemeritocratic, hence the reliance on national testresults.
Stake Holders Purpose of Assessment
Students and Parents Placement in subsequent stage and scholarships
Schools Benchmarking against other schools
Government Monitoring achievement of schools, ethnic groups andstudents from different home background
Employers As an indicator of ability of applicants
General Overview of Student Assessment Activities in Singapore
Singapore‟s education system is subjected to constant review. PERI (Primary Education Review & Implementation)
SERI (Secondary Education Review & Implementation)
The reports contain suggestions for improvement in the way assessment is done in Singapore.
The review of university education is on-going now and is due to be completed in 2013. 26% of each cohort gains admission to local publicly-
funded universities.
Presently, national examination results play an important role in university admission.
Focus and Key Questions for this Case Study
1. How is national examination information used to support student learning in Singapore?
2. How have the uses changed over time?
3. What were the mechanisms and drivers that allowed for those changes?
Findings
Supporting Student Learning: National Examination
There is a close match between the curriculum and nationalexamination. This is due to the consultative relationship betweenagencies responsible for the curriculum (Ministry of Education)and national examination (Singapore Examination and AssessmentBoard).
This ensures that the intended curriculum is implemented.
Findings
Supporting Student Learning: National Examination
Example: Mathematical problem solving forms a significant proportion of the nationalexamination because it is the focus of the curriculum framework.
Grade 6 National Examination
Findings
Supporting Student Learning: National Examination
Example: Mathematical problem solving forms a significant proportion of the nationalexamination because it is the focus of the curriculum framework.
Grade 6 National Examination
Findings
Supporting Student Learning: National Examination
“Identify areas that the school is underperforming in comparison to [the] nationalaverage (based on report given by MOE). Plan and strategize to improve. We alsolook into when the topic was first introduced and try and close the gap at the rootof the problem.”
Interview Data
Example: 2010 Grade 6 National Examination in Mathematics
School X
National Average
Quality Pass
42.9% 43.3%
Pass 79.0% 84.0%
The report also indicates how students in a schoolperformed in specific topics, in comparison tonational data.
Such data are used to improve the instructionalprogramme the following year. For example, School Xmay pay more attention to struggling students toimprove its percentage pass.
Findings
Supporting Student Learning: National Examination
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Un
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Placement of students in most suitable learning pathway
Findings Supporting Student Learning: Other Assessment LSM and LSP at Primary 1 & 2
Assessment at entry point to formal education determines if a student is given learning support in a small class and „specialist‟ help in core subjects – English language and Mathematics.
Foundation Subjects at Primary 5 & 6 and Normal Courses School-based examinations determines if a student will benefit more
from content differentiation. The least academically inclined students can study core subjects consisting of fewer topics and take more time.
Informal Remedial Lessons Across Levels Typically, twice a year, school-based examinations are used to identify
students who need „after-school‟ remedial lessons. Foundation Subjects & Normal Courses
Gifted Education Programme Selection Test at Primary 3 Two rounds of tests, the first for every student and the second on
invitation, are conducted to selected students for GEP in Primary 4 to Primary 6.
Findings
Shifting Landscape in the Use of Assessment
From … … to
Exclusive use of national examination results
Multiple ways of assessing students. While national examinations results remain significant, more tools are used now. Example: DSA
National examination results used for student placement.
National examination results used to support learning. Example: SpecialisedSchools
School-based assessment tended to mimic national examination.
School-based assessment are more holistic. Example: Holistic Assessment (HAPpe)
School were evaluated mostly on national examination results.
Schools are evaluated on a broad suite of criteria. Example: School Excellence Model
Findings
Mechanism & Drivers
Within Education
Curriculum sets direction (Thinking Schools, Learning Nation)
National examination provides the push in the direction
Professional development provides teachers with support to move in that direction (Professional Learning Communities)
Constant review to refine the system
Beyond Education
Inter-ministry committees involving key thinkers from the industry
Delinking education and politics (Lee, 2007)
Public opinions on impact of an examination-oriented society
References http://www.moe.gov.sg/publications/many-pathways/ is a historical account of education
in Singapore.
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/education-statistics-digest/ contains Singapore‟s education statistics.
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/syllabuses/ contains curriculum documents.
http://seab.gov.sg/ contains examination syllabuses.
http://www.primaryeducation.sg/holistic-development-of-your-child/holistic-assessment/ is about holistic assessment that is recommended by a review committee on primary education.
http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2009/07/inaugural-international-educat.php is a press release of an International Education Roundtable, during which the Prime Minister made a remark about the need to take politics out of education.
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/dsa-sec/ provides information on direct school admission, a route that places less emphasis on examination results.
http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2010/09/more-pathways-secondary-schools.phpprovides information on specialised schools for the least academic students in the system.