Impact of Narrow Ranges in PSLE's Upper Achievement Level Bands on Education and Tuition Arms Race

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Pritam Singh, Aljunied GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Education in relation to the ongoing review of education policy and efforts to curb an education “arms race”, what is the Ministry’s assessment of (i) the impact of the PSLE scoring system, where upper Achievement Level bands have comparatively narrow ranges and (ii) whether these narrow bands encourage excessive competition and tuition-seeking among students and parents.

Response

1. Compared to the previous T-score system, the PSLE Achievement Level (AL) scoring system has reduced fine differentiation of students and recognises students’ individual performance, rather than their performance relative to their peers. This is part of MOE’s ongoing efforts to reduce the overemphasis on academic achievement and strengthen students’ holistic development.

2. Nonetheless, excessive competition persists among some students and parents. As highlighted through the Education Conversations and the 2026 Institute of Policy Studies Survey on Singapore’s Education System, this is driven by a complex set of factors beyond the PSLE scoring system, including parents’ aspirations for their children, and concerns about their future opportunities.

3. Through the Education Conversations, we have also received various suggestions on how to moderate excessive competition, including adjusting the AL scoring bands.

4. While such adjustments could help in some way, they cannot address the broader drivers of competition on their own. MOE will study these suggestions carefully as part of our ongoing review.