Two years on after ending the series of subject based banding, Tiger girl is now halfway through her secondary school education. Time has really flew past and she is now entering upper secondary. Two more years and she will complete her secondary school years as the last batch of O-Levels students.

This week the Secondary 3 subject allocation has been announced. She didn’t really get the subjects of her choice. It was not that she didn’t meet the mark to take the subject but rather the school had insufficient students to make up a class for the subject that she chose. She is still taking triple science but one as a pure subject and the other as combine. Weird isn’t it? They weren’t able to offer her both Pure Biology and Pure Chemistry but gave her the combination of Pure Chemistry with Combined Physics/Biology. Apparently Physics is a compulsory subject in her school and not Chemistry. I do know from before that Chemistry and E-maths are compulsory for other schools. This is the first time I heard about compulsory Physics. I guess it is because of a lack of sufficient Chemistry/ Biology teachers in her school.

There is really a lack of Science teachers in her school I really feel. QUALITY science teachers to boost!! This year I was really shocked when her science grades took a real nose dive. I didn’t blame her for the bad grades as I was extremely skeptical of the current year’s science teacher’s teaching. Being a straight A student like her brothers there is no question about her ability to excel academically. Just as I expected that teacher really did a bad job with slip shot teaching, insufficient explanations and not completing the syllabus as scheduled. Many questions which came up during the examinations were not taught in class therefore it was impossible for her to score and the whole class failed badly during the mid years as a result of poor teaching by the science teacher. Seeing the E8 in her report book I told her that she really need to do something about it and don’t bother “trying” to follow what the science teacher is teaching in class as clearly he doesn’t even know his stuff as evident by the whole class failing badly for the midyear exams. Tiger girl did remediate her poor grades through intensive tutoring given by Monkey boy. During the end of the year exams her science grade returned to an A1. It was clear evidence that the teacher was the one hampering her stellar performance in school as with her elder brother’s coaching she was on track with her academic grades.

Being a tutor myself and having secondary school students to coach I do note that the standard of teaching in schools have drastically dropped these years. The basics are not thoroughly covered as before and the students do not get enough practice before moving on to new components. There has to be a lot of drilling done privately for them to really grasp the concepts that are suppose to be learnt. Unfortunately even those branded schools fall short giving adequate help to students to survive through their secondary school years. It is impossible for one to do without extra help these days to survive the system. Most of the good teachers have left and the ones left are mostly half baked. I really pray for the youngsters today. They are being shortchanged by a messed up environment.

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The academic year has just come to a close for Tiger girl. She has successfully completed Secondary 1 under SBB. It has been a rather interesting year for her being in this new integrated class. The school that Tiger girl is in had been chosen as one of the test centers for this new scheme and it has been a full SBB school for two years to date. Come 2024 all schools will be SBB and it will certainly be interesting to see how more students fare under this new banding system . I will be sharing her personal thoughts on this later on in this post together my personal opinions on this banding system.

The Good about SBB

It is all inclusive under this banding. The weaker systems (formerly classified as Normal Technical or Normal Academic) are now given equal chance to bond and mix with the Express students on a day to day basis. Having such a classroom creates a more level playing feel for the mixed ability students to gel and associate with each other. The weaker are allowed to advance while the more academically brilliant students are not held back as they study the key subjects – English, Math , Science and Mother Tongue (2nd language) at a higher level. The whole class is only together for non -core subjects like Geography, History, Art, Music etc.

The BAD about SBB

There are more disruptions in the class due to bad behavior from classmates. Less academically inclined students tend to be more rowdy and active in class which can cause major distractions to students who are trying hard to pay attention and study in class. Tiger girl had complained to me on more then one occasion that classes get disrupted as the teacher has to pause teaching to discipline misbehaving students in class. Having taught in the classroom before I personally know how exhausting it is dealing with behavioural issues what more from hot headed teenagers. Due to all these unwanted disruptions she doesn’t get the full benefit of the lesson.

Even in a class of all G3 students there can be a range of ability it can be difficult for the teacher to get everyone to follow on with the lesson what more when you have a mixture of G1-G3 students within the class. As a result I personally feel that it is quite impossible for the teacher to deliver a lesson which is really tailored to Tiger girl’s academic level. Being a G3 student in a mixed ability class she found many lessons boring and very dull and would often “switch” off in class as there wasn’t really much added value to her for listening attentively. Fortunately for her she is independent in her studies and is able to self study to maintain her grades. She managed to get a Edusave Scholarship this year for her Academic performance which shows that she is ranking within the top 10% of her school’s level and course in terms of academic performance, and had demonstrated good conduct. I’m hoping that she will be able to receive Edusave Scholarship for the next few years too that she is in this school just like Monkey boy and Doggie boy did when they were in secondary school.

Socialising in school

Tiger girl also mentioned to me that she mixes better with other G3 students and seldom mixes with the G2/G1 students as they do not really communicate along the same bandwidth. She has made a few new friends since entering this secondary school and still keeps in contacts with the primary school friends she had in her previous school.
I feel that it has been quite idealistic for the designers of this SBB system to think that everyone when forced together in a melting pot will be able to associate well and get click with one another. There are still cliques and groups forming in the class to date. The vast differences in personality, intellectual ability and interest make it hard for everyone to get along with each other.

My gripe about this setting is that she is not in an environment that will push her to excel as it does not stretch her potential at all. Her current classmates will be following her up to Secondary four as there is no need to swap in and out of classes as there is NO better class with every class being a mixed class in the level. It could be a real torture for the student if he/she is place in a class where classmate as not conducive to learning.

Lucky for Tiger girl she other resources out of school to aid her learning and she can still be able to be improve on her potential. She is also not too bothered about school and steers clear of any chaotic or problematic student around her.

Final thoughts

I guess there is no “perfect” solution and that as a parent one can only do the best with the resources we have to create the most “ideal” environment for our child to promote their learning in and out of school.

What are you thoughts on SBB?

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Recently MOE announced that most schools from 2024 will be subject based banding schools. There has been many coverage on various media platforms about the technical differences this makes in the current AL system. Therefore I will not be covering it here on this blog but in fact address this from the perspective of a parent whose child has been exposed to SBB in 2023.

It has been a term since Tiger girl entered Secondary school and she is quite well adjusted to the changes in the breath of subjects that she has to address in school. Moving from 4 to 8 subject hasn’t been too difficult for her and she is enjoying herself in her chosen Secondary school. She hasn’t found much different being in a class of mix ability for non- core subjects. Based on her sharing with me the only grouse she has is that there are “still” too many boys in class then girls so it can get rather noisy and rowdy at times.

If you are wondering how your child maybe affected by SBB here is some insight into what you may be facing.

How will SBB benefit my child if they qualify for Group 3?
(Formerly known as Express Stream/ Scoring between AL 4-20)

There is NO benefit for your child. Let me repeat- NO BENEFIT!! Your child is already doing subjects at the highest level possible within the 3 groupings so there is no where else to promote your child to unless he/she switches over to IP in Secondary 3 if he does well enough. However for most students they would be remaining in the ” O” level track and this would mean no change to the subject level which they enter the school at.

Who will benefit from SBB then?

If you child had entered the school and was eligible for Group 1(Formerly known as Normal Technical (NT) stream with a PSLE AL score of 26-30 they maybe able to take between 1-3 subjects at a higher level depending on their ability. For example if the student is doing well in English he may be able to take it at Group 2 level ( Formerly know as Normal Academic (NA) level) while taking the other subjects at the Group 1 level. This is the same as for students who are eligible for Group 2 (Who have scored a PSLE AL score of 21-25) to take on Group 3 subjects.

Previously the students who were in Normal Academic were allowed to take between 1-2 subjects at Express levels if they scored more then 75 marks (Grade 1) in the particular subject. I did have students who managed to move from NA Science to Express Science after the 1st semester in Sec 1. However do note that her results did dip a bit come WA3 as there is a slight gap between the NA Science and Express Science syllabus. Certain components of topics were listed as *optional for NA students so she wasn’t taught them in class and had to revisit the textbook and learn all the ” missing parts” that were taught in the 1st semester of Sec 1 to catch up.

Come next year when she does her Sec 4 exams if she scores a grade of B3 for Express Science it will be counted as additional bonus point to the final score in her N-Level marks. IE: a O Level score of B3 = Grade 1 for N-Levels. The marks for the paper that she took at Express level will be release together with all other candidates which took O-Level papers. Therefore she would have 2 different certificates – one stating the subjects she took at N-Levels and another stating the subjects taken at O-Levels. With the combination of these 2 marks she will see if she qualifies for Poly Foundation year (refer to my earlier post on it ) stay back for Secondary 5/ or enter ITE under DPP.

This year I’m handling a student how has shifted from NT Science to NA Science. His results are still okay as we managed to play catch up during the December holidays after it was confirmed that he had manage to be promoted from NT stream to NA stream. If anyone is curious the science syllabus for Sec 1 NT science is totally different than Sec 1 NA. Therefore I have to do catch up on the whole Sec 1 NA syllabus while simultaneously prepare him for the Sec 2 NA tests/ exams.

*Do note that lateral transfer from NT to NA stream is one way and they will NOT downgrade you back to NT if you are not able to cope well in the NA stream. It is the same if you progress from NA to Express stream. If you do not perform well at the higher level you may be retained in the same level if you do not meet the minimum standard for end of year promotion.
The only transfer allowed to a lower level is from IP to the O-Level stream if the student is not able to reach the minimum promotion standard by Sec 3. For such cases the student may

What is needed for level progression in Secondary School?

To be promoted from one level to another here is a common set of criteria which is applied in all secondary schools

• Promotion at Secondary 1 and 2 ( Express)
  Pass in EL and a pass percentage in the average of all subjects
  
• Promotion at Secondary 1, 2 and 3 (Normal Academic)
  Grade 5 of better in (a) EL and 2 other subjects of (b) 4 subjects.
  
• Promotion at Secondary 1, 2 and 3 (Normal Technical)
  Grade D or better in 2 subjects, one of which should be EL or Mathematics.
  
• Promotion at Secondary 3 (Express)
  Grade 6 or better in EL and 2 other subjects.

What are your thoughts on SBB? Do share in the comments below.

Posts in the Series so far :
1) Surviving the Secondary Years (Introduction Post)

2) From 4 to 8 subjects

3)How to Study Effectively in Secondary School
4) What Next after the N- Levels?

5) What Next after the O-Levels?

6) Subject Based Banding (SBB) and Me

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Thinking of your pathway after completing your O-Levels? Here in Singapore there are two popular choices- Junior College or Polyethnic.

There are both pros and cons to which path you and your child choose depending on what interest your child has. Back in 2020 when Monkey Boy graduated from his secondary school. He had the choice of choosing to enter the Polytechnic , Junior college or even the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme with his straight As.

(For those who are not very familiar with the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) it is one which leads directly into university and is seen as a better pathway for academically brilliant kids as more universities overseas recognise this qualification as compared to A-Levels. )

After much consideration he chose to go to Polytechnic instead to pursue his interest in Computer studies. This was his reasoning back then for choosing to go to Polytechnic.

No to International Baccalaureate Diploma
– Having to study the core subjects below which are very theoretically based on top of Computer Science

• Theory of knowledge, in which students reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know.
• The extended essay, which is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper.
• Creativity, activity, service, in which students complete a project related to those three concepts.

Monkey boy felt that the curriculum was very dry and he didn’t want to have to subject himself to just regurgitating theory and doing countless tests and exams in a classroom setting.

No to Junior College
He felt that what he would be learning in Junior College may not be relevant to what he wants to know as there are only two possible selections – Arts or Science stream. He would have to continue learning Chinese and have to wear a uniform to school. The workload is very heavy in JC and being in another regimental institute would be too stifling for him. To be in such a regimented environment for another 2 years will certainly hamper his creativity and growth.

I let him decide on his own and made it clear that he had to be responsible for his own decision at that point of time.

My Opinion

I felt that Polytechnic would be the best option for him as firstly he would be graduating with a Diploma and have some industrial experience with the internship that they have in Year 3. There will be more time for him to continue with a more rounded education as he will still have time to pursue his interests in music besides just solely focusing on academics. I also heard how rigid it is in junior college whereby what you are learning may be so dated that it can’t be really applied in the real world if you do decide to come out and work straight after A-Levels. The bottom line was that Monkey boy didn’t have interest to go for a very academic route where he had to study ” irrelevant” subjects to him. I personally feel that he would be better equip to enter the workforce in time to come if he had more practical experience and chance to pursue his passion in computing directly.

It has been 3 years since he made this decision and he is now doing really well in his chosen course in Polytechnic topping the whole cohort in his course and making it to the dean’s list two years in a row. He certainly does not regret the decision not to go to JC or do IB as he is flourishing in Poly. In fact the trend nowadays is to go to Poly rather then JC for most of my friends kids.

Which pathway would you choose ?

Posts in the Series so far :
1) Surviving the Secondary Years (Introduction Post)

2) From 4 to 8 subjects

3)How to Study Effectively in Secondary School
4) What Next after the N- Levels?

5) What Next after the O-Levels?

6) Subject Based Banding (SBB) and Me

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What should one choose after the N-Level results have been released? Which course should one choose to ensure a smooth journey into polytechnic? I am sure these are some questions that parents and students may be seeking answers to now that the results are out. There are more decisions that one has to make compared to when your child is in the Express or the Intergrated Programme (Directly to GCE A-Levels).

Here is a simple chart which I have made for your easy understanding.

What should I do if my child’s marks are more then 19 points?

If your child’s score is greater then 19 points there is still a place for you in ITE. He would be eligible for the selection of 2 -year NITEC courses at ITE.

Base Entry Requirement
– Completion of GCE “O” or ” N” Levels
(Eligible for courses like NITEC Beauty and Wellness, NITEC in Asian Culinary Arts)

Entry Requirements for other NITEC Courses
– GCE ‘N’ level passes in Mathematics and 2 other subjects for courses: Grade A-D or Grade 1-5

(Do check the individual courses for their various entry requirements at the ITE website ).

Upon successfully completing the course he can apply for one of the following:
-1st year of a relevant diploma course at a polytechnic for graduates with a GPA of 3.5 and above 

-(2 years with 6 months internship inclusive )Technical Diploma course at ITE for graduates with a GPA of 3.0 and above 

– (2 year) Higher Nitec Course at ITE  for graduates with a GPA of 2.3 and above 

-(2 yrs 6 months )Work- Study Diploma course at ITE for graduates with a GPA of 2.0 and above 

For those who apply for ITE Nitec Courses after the release of their N-Level results in December would be able to get the results to their applications by the end of December.

Therefore there is still a way to progress up the academic ladder even if your child did not do fairly well for his N-Level results. It may take more years but he will still get into polytechnic and have the opportunity to enter University next.

Posts in the Series so far :
1) Surviving the Secondary Years (Introduction Post)

2) From 4 to 8 subjects

3)How to Study Effectively in Secondary School
4) What Next after the N- Levels?

5) What Next after the O-Levels?

6) Subject Based Banding (SBB) and Me

© 2008-2018 Dominique's Desk | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Dominique's Desk subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact admin@dominiquegoh.com to let us know. Thanks.