EDUCATION Tay Jia Shin. Foo Tze Han. Chen Caijie. Fang Ziying.

Are they obsolete in our Brave New World?

Standardised Tests and Testing

Background Standardised tests have long since been

used as a tool for measuring the capability of a student. Its continued use over the years is on the basis that these tests provide an objective benchmark across the nation, or even internationally.

Standardised Tests and Testing Modern Day Examples:

Primary School Leaving Examinations [PSLE]

GCE O’ Levels Examinations GCE A’ Levels Examinations Scholastic Aptitude Test [SAT]

Demands of Education in the B.N.W.

Flexibility

Cultural Awaren

essUsage of ICT

Flexibility Teachers require a repertoire of

instructional strategies as they work with a variety of students engaged in studying a number of subjects

Cultural Awareness Because of globalization and the

international movement, there is a need for students to interact with people of different cultures

Usage of ICT As technology improves, its presence in

the education is also magnified. These technologies provide opportunities for the future to improve efficiency.

Advantages1. Benchmarking2. Standardise basic set of knowledge

and skills

Benchmarking Benchmarking sets a certain standard

and criteria for the quality of education. It ensures the quality of students’ education.

Standardize Knowledge Students would be equipped with similar

set of skills and knowledge. This would allow convenience for future

employees and employers in the workforce

Disadvantages1. Mismatch of test content among

schools2. Resources over merit3. Geographic, learning limitations

where they do not promote student learning

4. Racial, cultural and social biasness

Racial, cultural and social biasness

These cultural differences exist especially in larger countries such as the United States of America are barriers to the benchmarking. This is because some content tested might be more relevant to one cultural group. In another aspect, a standardized test might not be possible because there are differences in the value of intelligence and ability among different cultural groups. Although test-makers review items for obvious biases, there are still subjective and sensitive issues within.

Geographic, Learning Limitations Geographic limitations might pose the

problem of honesty in large countries where there is a time zone difference and the tests cannot be conducted simultaneously. This creates the chance for students to cheat in the test resulting in inaccuracy of the results.

Learning limitations is when teachers focus excessively on emphasized test topics. This is not facilitative for a broad-based curriculum education.

Geographical, Learning Limitations Other limitations include test-taking

ability of the student. Some students are not favorable towards sitting behind a table for hours. Again, the test would not be able to access the student accurately

Resources over Merit Students of higher social classes are

able to attend test preparation courses where they are given an advantage over their peers. Therefore standardized tests might not test for merit of a student but rather the resources available to him

Mismatch of Test Content Standardised tests are intended for

broad use and therefore might not be relevant to the content taught in a particular school’s curriculum.

Suggested Improvements Performance based assessment

where students’ ability is not measured by a single test.

Online test

Supplement the test with other forms of assessment

Does our Education System Breed Elitism?

Singapore’s Education System Based on a system of educational

meritocracy Streaming in primary schools at

Primary 4 was introduced in the 1979 along with the concomitant emergence of bilingualism as the decisive feature of education

Meritocracy A system of government or

administration wherein appointments are made and responsibilities are assigned to individuals based upon their ‘merits’, namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or examinations.

Meritocracy

1 •Candidates receive training (which may differ depending on means such as family background)

2•Candidates are evaluated and their abilities are

judged through a series of standardized assessments.

3 •The results of the assessments are recorded and tagged to the various candidates

4•Responsibilities and opportunities for

advancement in social/economic ladder is distributed accordingly

5 •Cycles repeats and the candidates are encouraged to work harder with rewards in previous procedure.

Elitism Elitism is the belief or attitude that some

individuals, who form an elite — a select group of people with intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most weight; whose views and/or actions are most likely to be constructive to society as a whole; or whose extraordinary skills, abilities or wisdom render them especially fit to govern.

Elitism

6 •Continue from Meritocracy cycles

7 •Individuals who excelled in their performance are now grouped together through physical means (institutions/workplace) and forms a tight unwelcoming social group.

8 •Feelings of group exclusiveness is fuelled by the high benchmark needed for entrance.

9•Group members act hostilely/aggressively to those outside their

clique, who they view as inferior, as conflation of achievements with character and moral attributes occurs.

10 •Conflation of ideology eventually spreads to meritocracy and elitism.

Social DarwinismConstituent ideas of meritocracy are paradoxical Meritocracy VS Talent Allocation, Competition Impossible for all to be equal from the start Individuals are rewarded based on ‘merits’

and not race, religion, language or background, however background and other aspects undeniably affects distribution of ‘merits’

Social Darwinism Socio-economic background affects

one’s opportunities [private tuition etc.] and consequently, indirectly creating differences

Ambiguity towards definition of ‘merits’

Meritocracy Elitism Merit was assessed in one-off fashion, rather than

continuously membership of the elite came with “lifetime tenure”.

“With the scholarship, come the job, with the job comes the career, with the career comes the superscale pay.”

Those adjudged to have merit became a social class without room for others. This new social elite sought only to reproduce themselves, building further barriers to entry. Old boys club, power elite relations & connections

ensure doors are shut to others who are just as able.

Meritocracy Elitism Lack of social obligation. 

The elite were not particularly concerned about helping those less well off.

If called to serve they have to be compensated due to their overdeveloped sense of entitlement.

As elitism take root fewer people are willing to serve unless they are over-compensated due to their overdeveloped sense of entitlement.

Singapore, meritocracy has been the main ideological resource for justifying authoritarian government and its pro-capitalist orientations.

Meritocracy Elitism Through competitive scholarships, stringent

selection criteria for party candidacy, and high ministerial salaries, the ruling People's Action Party has been able to co-opt talent to form a elitist group.

As Singapore becomes more embedded in the processes of globalization, new forms of national crisis, alternative worldviews and a widening income gap will force its ideology of meritocracy to unravel.

Are the problems only unique to Singapore?

Bilingualism in a Multicultural Society

Bilingualism Bilingualism is defined as

(of a person) able to use two languages for communication, or (of a thing) using or involving two languages

Not limited to the English language and Mandarin

Problems faced(Singapore) Ineffective

Students tend to prefer a single language more than another, neglecting and not applying the less favoured in daily life

Negligence of local English (Singlish) Government’s leniency in Singlish makes

several Singaporeans unable to speak proper English. Though there are campaigns held to speak correct English, the government is not strict to ban Singlish.

Problems Faced(Singapore) Disharmony between English and Chinese

educated groups Cultural gaps between generations that speak

different languages Previous Singapore generations spoke

Hokkien and other languages but not English and not everyone spoke their Mother tongues. With the introduction of bilingualism, these generations will not be able to communicate well with newer generations.

Problems Faced(Singapore) Loss of Asian values with the dominance

of English Despite introducing bilingualism into the

country, there are still people who are more educated English wise and others more Chinese wise. These two groups may clash since they have different cultures and education.

Western Liberal Mindset VS Chinese Confucian Ideologies, a clash of two ideologies may invalidate bilingualism to opinionated people

Problems(Canada) Ineffective Bilingualism

Less than one fifth of Canadians know both official languages: French and English

Structural problems in teaching Lack of teaching materials Lack of qualified teachers High dropout rates in secondary school

language programs

MERCI.