Parliamentary Replies
Exam Performance
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Member of Parliament for Hong Kah GRC
Question
To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is his Ministry’s assessment of the progress of Malay students at the PSLE, GCE O Level and GCE A Level examinations over the past 10 years, in particular for Mathematics and Sciences; (b) whether Malay students from non-English speaking homes are disadvantaged in performing well because of problem sums and open-ended questions in Mathematics and Science subjects; and (c) what more can be done to help Malay students progress at the same rate, if not better, compared to their peers from the other race groups.
Response
The performance of Malay students at the PSLE, ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels Mathematics and Sciences over the last 10 years has been stable. Other subjects like English and Malay have seen improvements over the same period. In 2001, there was a drop in the proportion of students scoring A* to C grades in PSLE but this was observed across all the ethnic groups and was due to earlier changes in the promotion criteria which allowed some students who previously would have been in the EM3 stream to sit for Standard PSLE Mathematics and Science papers.
Some students who are weak in English would find difficulty in their Maths and Science PSLE examinations. This applies to students of all races, not just Malays. To address this, Learning Support programmes to improve English and Mathematics are available in all primary schools. These programmes are taught by trained teachers using specifically developed techniques to focus on and help weaker students improve and catch up with their peers.
Schools will do their part in helping weaker students improve. But MOE also works in partnership with community groups such as Mendaki, parents support groups and other VWOs to provide extra support for these students. Parents and families, of all races, can support students by ensuring that they attend school regularly, motivating them to work hard, and adopting good habits like reading widely. Community and self-help groups can also help families deal with problem issues related to finances, jobs and relationships, in order to create a more supportive home environment.