When The Children Cry

I read, very curiously, the ST Forum letters that the PSLE Math exam is too difficult. That it is unfair because there are questions which are outside the "syllabus". That "top students" cried because they couldn't do the problems.

The complaints typically centre around the following: the questions are too difficult. Under exam stress, students might not be able to do well. Too much pressure on students.

When MOE clarifies that one of the purposes of the examination is to differentiate, others come in to say that this is not the case. Not the case? The whole purpose of the PSLE is to differentiate and assign secondary education to primary school students. How would you accomplish that if every student scored in the 90s? If questions were easier, you would be in effect be testing the tendency for students to make errors (under exam stress), as opposed to ability to solve math problems. In that respect, setting questions with a range of difficulty (from easy questions to harder questions) is the right thing to do.

As for students breaking down under pressure, you have to wonder who is putting them under pressure. I would suggest it is the parents, 95% of the time. 12-year old kids don't know any better but to reflect the angst and expectations of their parents. It is a bit rich for these parents to blame a difficult PSLE paper. And for those who say a tough paper hurts the kids' self-esteem, get real. If your self-esteem is tied to your ability to do a few math questions, you have bigger issues.

Possibly these complaints are just from a vocal minority. I hope that is the case. But sometimes the vocal minority is what swings policies, though that isn't happening here. (s377A anyone? but that's another topic altogether)