third read conference, eschborn, germany
DESCRIPTION
Yeap Ban Har presented a case study on using assessment information.TRANSCRIPT
CASE STUDYUses of assessment information to
support student learning in SINGAPORE
Y E A P B A N H A RM A R S H A L L C AV E N D I S H I N S T I T U T E
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
Other Case Studies
Maria Jose Ramirez (Case: Chile)World Bank
Ousmane Senghor (Case: The Gambia)Ministry of Education
Jean-Paul Reef (Case: Germany)Leibniz Institute
Osama Obeidat (Case: Jordan)Jordan Education Initiative
Maciej Jakubowski(Case: Poland)OECD
Yulia Tyumeneva(Case: Russian Federation)Higher School of Economics
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. dollars1965 $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 formal education system. The data excludes post-secondary education system which includes institutes of technical education, polytechnics and universities.
Canossa Convent Primary School Singapore
Universities
Polytechni
csJunior Colleg
es
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 be meritocratic, hence the reliance on national test results.
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 and students 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?
FindingsSupporting Student Learning: National
ExaminationThere is a close match between the curriculum and national examination. This is due to the consultative relationship between agencies responsible for the curriculum (Ministry of Education) and national examination (Singapore Examination and Assessment Board).
This ensures that the intended curriculum is implemented.
FindingsSupporting Student Learning: National
Examination
Example: Mathematical problem solving forms a significant proportion of the national examination because it is the focus of the curriculum framework.
FindingsSupporting Student Learning: National
Examination
Example: Mathematical problem solving forms a significant proportion of the national examination because it is the focus of the curriculum framework.Grade 6 National Examination
FindingsSupporting Student Learning: National
Examination
“Identify areas that the school is underperforming in comparison to [the] national average (based on report given by MOE). Plan and strategize to improve. We also look into when the topic was first introduced and try and close the gap at the root of 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 school performed in specific topics, in comparison to national data.
Such data are used to improve the instructional programme the following year. For example, School X may pay more attention to struggling students to improve its percentage pass.
FindingsSupporting Student Learning: National
Examination
PS
LE
Inte
gra
ted
P
rog
ram
me
Norm
al
(T)
Norm
al
(A)
Sp
eci
alise
d
Sch
ools
Exp
ress
O L
eve
ls
Jun
ior
Colleg
ePoly
tech
nic
sIT
E
A L
eve
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Un
ivers
ity
Placement of students in most suitable learning pathway
FindingsSupporting 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.
FindingsShifting Landscape in the Use of
AssessmentFrom … … 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: Specialised Schools
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
FindingsMechanism & 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-asses
sment/ 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.php provides information on specialised schools for the least academic students in the system.