Half of Singapore’s students take part in the competition, which teachers here approve of because it encourages children to come up with their own situations, rather than regurgitate ones which they have already learnt.
The Straits Times—AN AUSTRALIAN competition used to assess students’ abilities in various subjects is fast gaining popularity among schools here.
Only 700 youngsters took part in the annual contest when it was introduced here in 1992. But by 1996, it was drawing 50,000.
This year, 250,000 students or half Singapore’s student population from more than 250 schools took the test, which is organized by the Educational Testing Centre of the University of New South Wales.
The competition is open to students from Primary 2 to Junior college, and is on four subjects: English, Mathematics, Science and computer skills. It costs $7 to take the test in each subject.
Also held in Malaysia and Brunei, it started in Australia in 1981.
Top schools, including The Chinese High and Raffles Girls Secondary, have used the test to challenge their students for more than five years, crushing talk that the tests are easy and used to boost confidence before big exams.
Many schools use the competition, which runs from April to July, to see how their students compare with others in Singapore, even though the material covered in the tests is not related to the local curriculum. They are able to do this as students are ranked against others here, although the scripts are marked in Australia.
About 20 teachers and principles interviewed by The Straits Times said they encourage students to sit for the test because the questions are well-structured and force them to think of solutions, not just regurgitate memorised ones.
St Hilda’s Primary’s head of English Andrew Soong said: “For example, poems are used as comprehension passages. A student has to understand and interpret them to answer the question correctly.”
‘THE QUESTION IS A FAR CRY FROM THE ONES IN THE TESTS AND EXAMS WE DO. I LIKE THE USE OF POETRY IN ENGLISH PAPER AND GRAPHICS USED IN THE MATHS PAPER.’
– Benjamin Lim, a Secondary 4 student from Chinese High
About 80 per cent of the English test consists of multiple-choice questions. The rest required a word or sentence to be filled in.
Many of the questions are also multidisciplinary and test a student’s general knowledge.
For instance, a science question on astronomy may include elements of geography and statistics, in the form of graph or table.
Chinese High physics teacher Steven Su said: “To answer a question correctly, a student would often have to understand the question and analyse a set of data.”
More than 85 per cent of the school’s 1,800 students entered the maths and science competitions this year.
Sixteen-year-old Benjamin Lim, a Secondary 4 student from Chinese High, said: “The question is a far cry from the ones in the tests and exams we do. I like the use of poetry in English paper and graphics used in the maths paper.”
Students should also receive feedback on their errors. But three out of five students interviewed do not find this useful as the questions are unrelated to Singapore’s curriculum.
A Secondary 4 student from Raffles Girls School, Sarah Chian, 16, who sat for the competition last year, said: “Since there is a time lapse of three months, by the time I received the feedback, I’d lost my answer booklet.”
Despite the competition’s popularity, at least one principle, Mr Ang Wee Hiong of Hwa Chong Junior College, said his school prefers to use its own form of assessment.
Asked about the value of the competition and whether it encourages participation, an Education Ministry spokesman would only say: “Schools see value in participating in the competitions because analytical components are infused in the tests, which complement what is learnt in our schools, and comprehensive feedback is given. They have the autonomy to decide whether or not to participate.”
By Jane Ng