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So, is the problem really with the PSLE examination? The IPS study found that most parents support PSLE, with 85.9 per cent of respondents indicating that it is a useful checkpoint for children. A similar percentage of parents felt that the PSLE is necessary to assess students fairly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the one hand, parents recognise the usefulness and relevance of PSLE, but on the other hand, they are getting more stressed by it. What exactly are parents anxious about?<\/p>\n
The IPS study found that parents are less stressed about homework and preparing children for examinations. Instead, they increasingly worry that their child is not achieving the grades he or she is capable of, is falling behind or might lose out in the education system in the longer run.<\/p>\n
That last phrase is revealing. A 12-year-old experiences PSLE as something happening this year. A parent sees it as a consequential event in a 15-year chain.<\/p>\n
PSLE results determine which secondary school their kids go to, which influences which junior college or polytechnic they are admitted to and whether it can lead to a good degree and a respectable career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our children see an exam paper while we, as parents, see their entire lives flashing before our eyes. And then we wonder why everybody is anxious.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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