Assessment Matters
Find out what to expect during school assessments, including rules, absence policies, and how marks are computed.
1. ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE
The school will provide parents with the schedule, components, and scope of assessment on a termly basis. The tentative termly assessment periods will be shared at the Level Introduction Meetings at the beginning of the year and the termly school letters.
2. ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS
Assessments will be administered at the stipulated time stated in the assessment schedule.
Students are to attend school following the usual school curriculum hours on assessment days. They will not be allowed to come earlier or later to take an assessment.
Students who are late will not be given extra time to complete the assessment.
Students will not be allowed to take the assessment if they are (1) late by 15 mins or more for papers with duration of 1 hour or less, or (2) late by 30 mins or more for papers with duration of more than 1 hour.
2.1 Before the start of the assessment
Students must:
bring all necessary materials needed for the assessment. They include pens, 2B pencils, erasers, rulers, sharpeners, mathematical instruments, and any other materials as advised by the teacher.
listen to the instructions given by the teacher/invigilator conducting the assessment carefully.
read the instructions on the question booklets/answer booklets carefully.
raise their hands if they have questions to ask the teacher/invigilator.
2.2 During the assessment
Students must:
read the questions and write and/or shade their answers on the Optical Answer Sheet (OAS) within the duration of each assessment paper. No extra time will be given for questions unanswered.
use a soft-lead pencil (i.e., 2B) to shade answers for multiple choice questions (MCQs) on the OAS provided. Answers to MCQs that are written on the question booklets will not be marked.
ensure they do not fold the OAS or make any other marks on it.
use a soft eraser to completely erase the wrongly shaded oval before shading the new oval.
write answers legibly. If answers need to be changed, erase the writing done with pencil or cross out writing done with pen, and rewrite the answers.
read all questions carefully. No marks will be awarded for information that is not asked for in the questions.
manage their time well. Do not spend too much time on a few questions, leaving no time for others.
remain seated and raise their hand to inform the teacher/invigilator if they feel unwell or need to go to the washroom urgently. Students are generally not encouraged to go to the washroom during assessments.
Students must not:
cheat or assist in cheating.
bring bags, books, papers, notes, mobile phones, computerised wrist watches or other unauthorised personal belongings (such as MP3 player, digital camera, etc) into the classroom. Such items should be placed outside the classroom or a place identified by the teacher/invigilator. Any student found to be in possession of any unauthorised material is liable to the same penalty as those who are caught cheating during the examination.
talk or communicate (verbally or non-verbally) with other students during the assessment unless permitted by the teacher.
leave the classroom even if the assessment is completed before the given time.
remove any used or unused writing paper, question booklet, answer booklet or OAS from the classroom.
2.3 At the end of the assessment
Students must:
stop writing immediately when told to do so by the teacher/invigilator.
remain quietly seated until the question booklets/answer booklets/OAS have been collected.
3. CHEATING AND MISCONDUCT DURING ASSESSMENT
Students are not allowed to continue the assessment and the assessment results may be forfeited if they
cheat;
attempt to cheat;
assist in cheating; or
do not follow the assessment regulations described above during assessment;
Disciplinary action will also be taken against candidates who are involved in assessment malpractice. This applies to all school assessment.
4. USE OF DICTIONARIES DURING ASSESSMENT
Students are allowed to use a dictionary for the Mother Tongue Languages, Higher Mother Tongue Languages and Non-Tamil Indian Languages (NTIL) Paper 1 (Composition).
For students taking Chinese Language and Malay Language, they are also allowed to use a hand-held electronic dictionary for the Mother Tongue Language and Higher Mother Tongue Language Paper 1 (Composition).
Dictionaries and electronic dictionaries must conform to the following requirements:
only monolingual dictionaries are allowed;
dictionaries used must not have any annotations on any of the pages. Annotations include tagging pages with stickers, highlighted text and/or written text;
electronic dictionaries must be silent and battery operated. Ear-pieces are not permitted;
only approved dictionaries in the SEAB list below may be used.
All previously approved dictionaries, including those that no longer appear on the current approved list, can continue to be used for the national examinations unless there is a change in policy, syllabus, or examination format. Under any of these situations, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) may withdraw the approval for use of these dictionaries in the examinations.
For students offering Non-Tamil Indian Languages (NTIL), there is no approved list of dictionaries. They can bring in any dictionary as long as it is monolingual with no annotations on any of the pages.
Students are not allowed to borrow any dictionary from other students during the assessment.
Students are advised to bring along a spare set of batteries for their electronic dictionary as no extra time will be given if their dictionary fails to function during the assessment.
Stylus that comes with these approved e-dictionaries can be used in examinations.
Any unauthorised material or dictionary found in students’ possession during the assessment will be confiscated.
5. USE OF SCIENTIFIC CALCULATORS DURING ASSESSMENT
Students are allowed to use a scientific calculator for Mathematics/Foundation Mathematics Paper 2.
The following guidelines are to be adhered to in the use of calculators in examinations:
The calculator must be silent, with a visual display only.
The working condition of the calculator (including the power supply) is the responsibility of the candidates and any fault in the calculator will not be considered as justification for special consideration.
Candidates are not allowed to share calculators during the examination.
No calculators with an external storage function which can allow users to input and store data via external storage media, e.g., cards, tapes, and plug-in modules, are allowed.
No calculators with wireless communication capability with other machines, e.g., infra-red communication capability, are allowed.
Any enclosed instruction leaflets containing any mathematical formula, conversion table or instructions are strictly prohibited, and must not be taken into the examination venue. Any such information on the calculator that cannot be removed must be securely covered.
The original model number and brand must be indicated clearly on the calculator for verification purposes.
No calculators with capabilities for storing and displaying verbal information are allowed.
Additional guidelines for scientific calculators
No programmable calculators are allowed.
No calculators with permanent features of a programmed kind are allowed, e.g., calculators capable of numerical integration and/or numerical differentiation.
Please refer to the following list from SEAB for the approved calculators.
6. STUDENTS WHO ARE UNWELL ON DAY OF ASSESSMENT
The school conducts a temperature-taking exercise at the start of every day. If a student is unwell and/or has a temperature 38.0°C and above the school will contact his/her parents to fetch him/her home and seek medical advice. While waiting, the child will be brought to the sick bay.
Teachers will also check that students who are supposed to be on medical leave do not remain in school to take the assessments.
The school requests that parents co-operate and assist in this matter. Insisting that a child comes or remains in school when he/she is unwell may mean that he/she is exposing the other students in the class to the infection he/she has contracted. This is against the principle of social responsibility which we constantly try to impart to our students, and it will confuse the child.
It is also in the child’s best interest not to be in school when he/she is unwell. He/She will not be able to focus and do well for the tests he/she is taking due to illness. He/she needs to stay home to rest. The marks he/she scores may not be a fair reflection of his/her true ability.
7. ABSENCE FROM ASSESSMENT
Students who are absent will be given the assessment papers as practice and the marks will not be included in the overall mark computation.
Only the following are considered as valid reasons for absences during assessments:
medical reasons supported by a medical certificate (MC) from a doctor. MCs from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners are not accepted except if the TCM clinic is under the purview of a hospital
bereavement of family members
COVID 19 ART+ on day of paper
parent letter explaining absence with valid reason (valid for WA/TA only)
any other reason(s) deemed valid by the school
A medical certificate or any other relevant documentation (e.g., death certificate) must be given to the form teacher when the student returns to school to support his/her absence.
All other reasons will be considered on a case-by-case basis subject to the school’s approval.
Students who are absent for an assessment with an invalid reason will get a zero mark for that assessment and this assessment mark will be considered in the computation of the subject and overall total.
8. ASSESSMENT MAKE-UP
All assessments will be conducted as stated in the assessment schedule. There is no assessment make-up for students who are absent except for oral assessment, and the oral make-up will only be considered for students with valid reason for absence.
For GEP students, do note that there is a separate guideline for students who are absent for WA/EYE on a case-by-case basis. This guideline is only applicable for GEP assessment subjects (i.e., English Language, Mathematics and Science).
9. COMPUTATION OF SUBJECT TOTAL FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE ABSENT
Computation of EYE Subject Total for a Student who is Absent for a Language Component or Mathematics Paper
For English Language, Mother Tongue Language and Mathematics EYE, if a student is absent with a valid reason for either a component or paper, the marks for that assessment will not be included in the overall subject total for the year if the weighting of the component or paper missed is 20% and more of the total weighting. This would mean that a VR (Valid Reason) will be reflected in the Report Book, where relevant.
Example 1: Primary 5 English Language EYE
A student is absent with valid reason for Paper 1 which is less than 20% of the total weighting
Example 2: Primary 5 Mathematics EYE
A student is absent with valid reason for Paper 1 which is 20% and more of the total weighting
10. QUALIFYING FOR SCHOOL-BASED ACADEMIC AWARDS
To qualify for school-based academic awards the students must have assessment marks computed for ALL the assessments in that year (i.e., WAs/Prelim/EYE) for the academic subjects (i.e., English, Mathematics, Mother Tongue Languages(including NTIL) and Science). That is to say that should a child miss any of the assessments even with Valid Reason(s), he/she would not qualify for school-based awards for that year. They will continue to be eligible for Edusave Awards where relevant.
As there are only a few students taking Non-Tamil Indian Languages (NTIL) and Mother Tongue in-lieu (foreign language), the school does not have an Academic Excellence in Subject Awards for NTIL and foreign language subjects. Students who are exempted from Mother Tongue Language are only eligible for Academic Excellence in Subject Awards for English, Mathematics and Science.
* Please refer to Section 9 on Computation of Subject Total for students who are absent.
** Please note that qualification for the Edusave Awards/Scholarships are based on a separate criteria and are not dependent on qualifying for the school-based awards.
11. PROMOTION AND SUBJECT COMBINATION
Students are promoted to the following year’s classes based on the following criteria:
From | To | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
Primary 1 | Primary 2 | En-bloc promotion in most cases. Students generally remain in the same classes unless there are strong reasons to effect a change. |
Primary 2 | Primary 3 | Students are reallocated into new classes based on non-academic considerations such as gender, ethnic mix, and student dynamics. This list is non-exhaustive. |
Primary 3 | Primary 4 | Most students are promoted en-bloc with their classmates unless there are strong reasons to effect a change or if students are placed in mixed form classes. The school will continue to use non-academic considerations such as gender, ethnic mix, learning needs, and student dynamics. This list is non-exhaustive. |
Primary 4 | Primary 5 | Students are generally promoted based on both academic and non-academic considerations such as gender, ethnic mix, learning needs, and student dynamics. This list is non-exhaustive. |
Primary 5 | Primary 6 | Students are generally promoted en-bloc with their classmates unless there are strong reasons to effect a change. Such reasons could include student needs and changes in subject combinations (if applicable). Students who do not pass any subject at the end of P5 may be advised to switch to a less demanding subject combination at P6. |
Primary 6 | Secondary 1 | Starting from the 2023 P6 cohort, students are posted through Posting Groups 1, 2 and 3 under Full Subject-Based Banding (Full SBB). This allows them greater flexibility to offer subjects at appropriate subject levels in the secondary schools. Students who do not qualify for the above courses after PSLE and have attempted the PSLE for the first time may re-attempt PSLE with the same subject combination taken in the first attempt or a different subject combination based on his/her PSLE results or apply to Assumption Pathway School (APS)/ NorthLight School (NLS). Those who have made more than one attempt at PSLE will be preferentially offered a place in APS or NLS. |
* For additional information please refer to the Assessment Booklet for Parents sent via PG.