25 August 1999

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EDUN N25-02-033 VOL 5
04599
25 August 1999

31 August 1999
at 6.00pm

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR JUNIOR COLLEGES 1999

1. As in previous years, the Ministry of Education is providing information on the performance of junior colleges (JCs) to help students and their parents make informed choices when selecting JCs.

2. In Table 1, the colleges are ranked according to the different indicators, including value-added performance and fitness index. It shows that different colleges can excel in different areas. For example Yishun, Jurong and Victoria were ranked higher than other JCs in physical fitness. The data in Table 2 gives an overall picture of how each college performed in a number of selected academic performance indicators and the intake quality of its students.

3. For the 1998 GCE A-level examination, Temasek JC was the top JC for the value-added performance while Victoria JC came in second. The value-added performance of a JC is calculated by comparing its students’ A-level performance against the expected performance based on their O-level results when they entered the JC. The Ministry will award $20,000 to Temasek JC and $10,000 to Victoria JC for their value-added performance.

4. Also attached are data showing the L1R5 aggregate scores of students admitted to the different JCs in 1999 (Table 3).

5. Table 4 shows the students’ physical fitness and percentage of overweight students in each JC.

6. Data on the performance of each JC will be included in the Information Booklet which students will receive when applying for admission into JCs.
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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Table 1: Ranking of Junior Colleges by Performance Indicator
(Based on 1998 GCE A-Level Results and Fitness Test)

		Ranking	Ranking by Performance Indicator						Ranking
S/No	Junior College	of JC1 Intake in 1997	Mean A-Level Points	Mean Subject Grade	% Grades A or B	% Passed 3 A-Levels or More	% Passed GP	Value-Added Indicator^#	on Fitness Index*
1	Anderson JC	6	6	6	6	4	6	8	6
2	Anglo-Chinese JC	8	9	8	9	11	7	13	9
3	Catholic JC	11	12	13	13	12	13	14	13
4	Hwa Chong JC	2	1	2	3	2	2	3	10
5	Jurong JC	12	11	11	10	9	11	6	2
6	Nanyang JC	9	9	8	11	8	9	10	14
7	National JC	3	5	2	5	4	2	5	4
8	Raffles JC	1	2	2	2	4	1	7	5
9	Serangoon JC	14	14	14	14	14	12	12	7
10	St. Andrew's JC	7	7	7	7	7	7	4	12
11	Tampines JC	10	8	8	8	9	9	9	11
12	Temasek JC	5	2	1	1	1	2	1	8
13	Victoria JC	4	2	2	3	2	2	2	3
14	Yishun JC	13	12	12	12	12	14	11	1

*Based on all students, including those in JC1.
^# Value-added indicator is based on difference between actual and expected mean
A-level points.

Table 2: Performance of Junior Colleges
in the 1998 GCE A-Level Examinations

				1998 GCE A-Level Results
S/No	Junior College	No. Of Pupils	Mean L1R5	Mean A-Level Points	Mean Subject Grade	% Grade A or B	% Passed 3 A-Levels or More	% Passed GP
1	Anderson JC	786	10.4	63	2.1	69	98	92
2	Anglo-Chinese JC	784	12.5	56	2.7	49	89	91
3	Catholic JC	776	14.3	51	3.2	35	82	78
4	Hwa Chong JC	821	7.9	69	1.6	85	99	97
5	Jurong JC	716	15.1	55	2.8	46	90	82
6	Nanyang JC	713	13.4	56	2.7	45	93	85
7	National JC	804	8.8	67	1.6	84	98	97
8	Raffles JC	830	7.5	68	1.6	86	98	98
9	Serangoon JC	630	16.5	50	3.4	30	75	79
10	St. Andrew's JC	779	12.3	60	2.3	62	97	91
11	Tampines JC	763	13.5	57	2.7	50	90	85
12	Temasek JC	766	9.3	68	1.5	87	100	97
13	Victoria JC	751	8.9	68	1.6	85	99	97
14	Yishun JC	577	16.1	51	3.1	38	82	65

Table 3: L1R5 Aggregate Scores of Students
Admitted to Junior Colleges in 1999

		Arts				Commerce				Science
S/No	Junior College	Mean	Range			Mean	Range			Mean	Range
1	Anderson	12.6	6	-	16	12.2	7	-	16	10.1	6	-	13
2	Anglo-Chinese	12.1	6	-	16	13.7	9	-	17	11.0	6	-	15
3	Catholic	16.8	8	-	20	14.9	8	-	19	15.1	6	-	20
4	Hwa Chong	7.6	6	-	11	9.3	8	-	11	7.0	6	-	10
5	Jurong	16.3	11	-	20	16.1	10	-	20	14.1	7	-	19
6	Nanyang	14.7	8	-	19	14.1	9	-	17	12.2	6	-	17
7	National	10.1	6	-	13	9.8	6	-	12	8.4	6	-	11
8	Raffles	8.7	6	-	13	9.5	6	-	11	6.5	6	-	8
9	Serangoon	16.7	11	-	20	16.7	8	-	20	15.2	9	-	20
10	St. Andrew's	12.7	6	-	17	13.2	8	-	17	11.5	6	-	15
11	Tampines	14.3	8	-	18	14.3	8	-	18	12.6	7	-	16
12	Temasek	11.1	6	-	16	11.2	7	-	15	9.6	6	-	13
13	Victoria	9.4	6	-	13	10.9	7	-	14	8.1	6	-	11
14	Yishun	18.3	9	-	20	18.2	7	-	20	17.2	10	-	20

Notes:

1. The above L1R5 aggregate is based on all students who applied to the JCs through the Joint Admission Exercise and before taking into account bonus points.

2. Students are given 2 bonus points if they have a pass in Higher Mother Tongue Language, and another 2 points if their secondary schools are affiliated to the JCs that they are applying for, or they have been provisionally admitted to the JC. Students are also given 1 to 2 bonus points based on their ECA performance. Normally, the maximum bonus points allowable are 4 points. However, students applying to Hwa Chong JC, Nanyang JC and Temasek JC for their Chinese LEP programme can enjoy additional 2 bonus points. These students are therefore allowed up to a maximum of 6 bonus points.

3. Further details can be found in the guide to the Joint Admission Exercise, which students will receive when applying for admission into JCs.

Table 4: Fitness Data For Junior Colleges in 1998

S/No	Junior College	Fitness Index^#	Percentage Overweight*	% Passed NAPFA^@ Test
1	Anderson Junior College	86.8	4.4	81.3
2	Anglo-Chinese Junior College	83.4	8.6	77.8
3	Catholic Junior College	78.1	5.5	63.0
4	Hwa Chong Junior College	82.9	4.8	73.0
5	Jurong Junior College	91.7	4.5	90.4
6	Nanyang Junior College	78.0	5.6	64.5
7	National Junior College	89.7	3.8	84.2
8	Raffles Junior College	88.5	4.0	81.5
9	Serangoon Junior College	86.3	6.3	80.3
10	St. Andrew's Junior College	78.7	8.4	70.4
11	Tampines Junior College	81.8	7.6	74.7
12	Temasek Junior College	86.1	4.9	80.3
13	Victoria Junior College	90.4	3.3	86.3
14	Yishun Junior College	92.7	4.3	90.1

# The Fitness Index (FI) is defined as the average of:
        (i) the percentage of pupils within the acceptable weight range and;
        (ii) the percentage of pupils who pass the NAPFA test.
* Refers to percentage of pupils who are overweight by 20% or more according to
        standards provided by the Ministry of Health.

@ National Physical Fitness Award.

The acceptable weight range is from 80% to below 120% of standard weight.

APPENDIX

Explanatory Notes for Tables on Ranking of Junior Colleges

1. The following four tables provide information on the performance of junior colleges in the 1998 GCE A-level examination, data on physical fitness of their students, and aggregate scores of those admitted in 1999.

Table 1:	Ranking of Junior Colleges by Performance Indicator
Table 2:	Performance of Junior Colleges in the 1998 GCE A-Level Examinations
Table 3:	L1R5 Aggregate Scores of Students Admitted to Junior Colleges in 1999
Table 4:	Fitness Data for Junior Colleges in 1998

2. Table 1 shows the rankings of each JC in terms of intake quality, absolute and value-added performance, and physical fitness. The rankings are based on data shown in Table 2. The value-added ranking is based on difference between actual and expected mean A-level points of students. Table 3 gives the range of L1R5 aggregate scores of students admitted to the different JCs in 1999. Table 4 gives the different indicators of the fitness level in the junior colleges.

3. Data on academic performance is based on students who took the A-level examination for the first time and the fitness data is based on all students, including those in JC1.

Description of Terms Used in the Tables

4. Ranking on JC1 Intake in 1997: This column ranks the JCs in terms of mean L1R5 aggregate score of their 1997 JC1 intake i.e. the cohort which took the A-level in 1998. L1R5 is the aggregate score for JC admission and the cut-off score is 20.

5. Mean L1R5: This is the average L1R5 aggregate score of students who took the A-level examination for the first time in 1998.

6. Mean A-Level Points: This column gives the average A-level points obtained by students based on their performance in the best 3 A-level and 2 AO-level subjects (General Paper and mother tongue language). The maximum number of points is 20 (grade A) for A-level subjects and 8 points (grade 1) for AO-level subjects, giving a maximum total of 76 points.

7. Mean Subject Grade: For A-level subjects, students are awarded grades A, B, C, D, E, O or F. For the purpose of computing the mean, a grade A is assigned a value of 1, B a value of 2 and so on. The mean subject grade of a particular college is obtained by adding each of these values for each subject taken and dividing by the total number of subjects taken.

8. % Grades A or B: This column shows what percentage of the subject entries in each JC were graded A or B. It is computed by summing all the grades A and B and dividing the sum by the total number of subjects taken by students.

9. % Passed 3 A-Levels or More: This is the percentage of students who obtained at least 3 A-level passes (grades A-E).

10. % Passed GP: This column shows the college’s pass rate in GP (grades 1-6).

11. L1R5 Aggregate Scores of Students Admitted: Table 3 shows the L1R5 aggregate scores of those admitted to the different courses in 1999.

12. Fitness Index: The Fitness Index (FI) is based on students’ height and weight, and their performance in the National Physical Fitness Award (NAPFA) test. The Index is based on all students (JC1 and JC2), and it is defined as the average of:

i.) the percentage of students within the acceptable weight range (based on weight-for-height table provided by Ministry of Health’s School Health Service), and

ii.) the percentage of students who passed the NAPFA test.

The acceptable weight range is from 80% to below 120% of standard weight.

13. Percentage Overweight: This column shows the percentage of students who were overweight by 20% or more, based on standards provided by Ministry of Health.

14. % Passed NAPFA Test: This is the percentage of students who passed the NAPFA test in 1998. The NAPFA test comprises 6 test items developed by the Sports Medicine and Research Centre of the Singapore Sports Council.