New PSLE Scoring System: Achievement Levels
I have shared with you on what the PSLE T-score is about and how it affects your child in my previous article (Click here to read). Today, I am going to share with you the new PSLE scoring system – The Achievement Level.
This new scoring system will be implemented starting from 2021 and will affect the current batch of P4 students in 2019 when they move on to P6.
It has wider bands and the score will reflect a student’s actual individual performance and not his performance which is relative to others.
If a student scores 75 marks for EL, the raw score will be taken as it is to determine the AL and not formulated to give a transformed score as before.
The Achievement Levels in a Nutshell
| AL | Raw Mark Range |
|---|---|
| 1 | >= 90 |
| 2 | 85 - 89 |
| 3 | 80 - 84 |
| 4 | 75 - 79 |
| 5 | 65 - 74 |
| 6 | 45 - 64 |
| 7 | 20 - 44 |
| 8 | <20 |
There are 8 Achievement Levels (AL), with AL1 being the highest score and AL8 the lowest.
A student who scores within the raw mark range of an achievement level will receive the AL point regardless of how his peers perform.
Each AL reflects a student’s actual level of achievement and not relative achievement compared to others.
The wider scoring bands reduce fine segregation of students according to academic ability.
The total PSLE score of a student is the sum of all 4 subjects scores.
There are 29 possible PSLE scores, ranging from 4 (best score) to 32 (lowest score).
Example
If Student Z scores 65 for EL, 75 for Math, 73 for Science and 80 for CL, he will receive the following ALs and PSLE score:
| English | AL5 |
| Math | AL4 |
| Science | AL5 |
| Mother Tongue | AL3 |
| PSLE Score | 17 |
Streaming Criteria
Based on the PSLE score in the new scoring system, a student will be streamed to the different courses as follows:
| Placement Outcome | PSLE Score |
|---|---|
| Express | 4 – 20 |
| Express/Normal(A) | 21 – 22 |
| Normal (A) | 23 - 24 |
| Normal (A) / Normal (T) | 25 |
| Normal (T) | 26 – 30, with AL7 or better in both EL and Math |
Conclusion
This new scoring system helps your child to understand and focus on his own learning progress.
It is a move away from “excessive competition” among young learners so that each student can learn at his own pace and better plan his next step in the education journey. Every child is unique and “blooms” at different rate.
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