Educational Performance by Ethnic Groups - Ministry of Education press release (1 Oct 2001)

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1. The Ministry of Education has been releasing data on the performance of the major ethnic groups since 1988. The objective is to provide feedback to the communities on how their children have fared in the national examinations.

2. Attached are three sets of charts showing the performance of the various ethnic groups in the PSLE, GCE 'O' and 'A' Level Examinations for the past ten years (1991-2000). [Note that the percentages in these charts are based on school candidates who sat for the respective examinations in the given years.] Also attached is a chart on the percentage of a primary one (P1) cohort admitted to post-secondary institutions. [For the latter chart, the percentages are based on pupils who were first enrolled in P1 ten years before the given years.]

3. Chart A1shows the percentage of pupils who qualified for admission to secondary schools at the end of primary six. This had been steadily rising until 1996 and has since stabilised at about 96% overall. [For this chart, the percentages are based on all pupils, including those in the EM3 stream.]

Note: Percentages are based on all pupils, including those in the EM3 stream.

4. Charts A2-A5 show the percentage of EM1 and EM2 stream pupils who scored A*, A, B or C in English Language, Mother Tongue Language, Mathematics and Science respectively. These grades are chosen so that the results can be compared to those in the past. [There are other grades: D, E and U (for ungraded) which are not considered failure grades.] Performance in English Language and Science has been improving for the last three years while pass rate in Mathematics moved up for the second consecutive year in 2000. Percentage pass in Mother Tongue Language has been maintained at a very high level of 98-99%.

Note: Data for 1993-2000 refer to percentages of EM1 and EM2 stream pupils obtaining grades A*-C. Data for 1991-1992 refer to percentages of Normal and Extended stream pupils obtaining grades A*-C.

5. Charts B1 and B2 show the percentage of pupils who obtained at least 3 and 5 O-level passes respectively. Both indicators have been generally on the uptrend after a decline in 1997.

6. Charts B3-B5 show the pass rate in English Language, Mother Tongue Language and Mathematics respectively. After remaining at 69% from 1994 to 1997, English Language pass rate has improved to reach 76% in 2000. Percentage passes in Mother Tongue Language and Mathematics have been moving up for two successive years following a drop in 1998.

Chart B4: Percentage of GCE 'O' Level Pupils Who Passed Mother Tongue Language

7. Chart C1 shows the percentage of pupils who obtained at least 2 A- and 2 AO-level passes including General Paper. In 2000, the indicator fell by almost 1% point after two years of increase, due to a drop in the General Paper results.

Chart C1: Percentage of GCE 'A' Level Pupils with At Least 2 A- and 2 AO-Level Passes Including General Paper

8. Charts C2 and C3 show the pass rate in General Paper and Mother Tongue Language respectively. The former dipped by 1% point in 2000 following a rise for two consecutive years while the latter has hovered around 96% for the last three years.

Chart C3: Percentage of GCE 'A' Level Pupils Who Passed Mother Tongue Language

PERCENTAGE OF P1 COHORT ADMITTED TO POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS (PRE-U, POLY AND ITE) (CHART D)

9. Chart D shows the percentage of a P1 cohort admitted to post-secondary institutions viz. junior colleges, centralised institutes, polytechnics and ITE. Over the years, this percentage has been on the uptrend.

Chart D: Percentage of P1 Cohort Admitted to Post-Secondary Institutions (Pre-U, Poly and ITE)

Note: Figures for 1995-2000 are preliminary
The percentages are based on pupils who were first enrolled in P1 ten years before the given years.