MR TAN Sze-Tong questioned the rationale behind his daughter having to sit for open-book exams in Social Education, Music and Art in her Primary 1 year-end examinations, and suggested that the school replace them with continual assessment in his letter, 'Why so many exams in Primary 1?' (Oct 28).

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let's just analyse this reply by officialdom. Did it address the question of the writer who asks why so many exams in Primary One? NO.
What's MOE for if they always pass the buck to the schools for so many exams?- 'schools..choose to assess their pupils in other areas...Schools decide on the type and frequency of assessments.'
When the writer asks for reasons why so many exams the MOE tells you `there are many forms of assessment and these are also meant for various purposes.. developmental' instead of answering why so many exams. This tactically evades the question asked.
MOE says "Assessment is an integral part of a child's learning process" - no-one is disputing this but over-assessment taxes and stresses the pupils and this is the nub which the MOE reply seems to overlook.

Mr Tan, our education system is only exam oriented. Wong Siew Hoong is my RI classmate was also the principal of RI. He thinks that everyone can be groomed this way. I am afraid he is wrong. Hector Chee taught RI boys the open book style. Yes, RI boys and not at primary 1. Never let a child lose his childhood by forcing exams on them You will see lots of children seeking treatment at IMH Mr.Wong.

Is the MOE is inhabited by elites like RI, RJC RGS alumnis that they are they fromulate policies in ivory tower by coming out with beautiful brilliant thesis that bears no inkling of the realities on the ground?
Too many like French General Navarre who lost Dien Bien Phu to the Viet Minhs - you can't be too clever as the smart are blinded by huge egos and can make the most foolish fatal mistakes.

Our education system is very exam oriented...speaking from my own personal exp as parent with 2 teens, the only measure of a child worth in school is how well they score in their exam...others good deed by student is not put into exam and is forgotten.
Good student is base on good exam result...student who fail will hav a thougher time at school.
I think moe should get student and teachers feedback on what's the best way to teach and learn.

Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared. Come on man, how to test a Pri 1 boy? Being an exam smart education system, most students cannot think critically. It is parroting like a 4 year old belting out pop songs at a singing contest. Natural talent? am afraid not.

it is ironic that while at lower educational levels, holistic approaches are taken, when it comes time to awarding scholarships, academic results take centre stage. In behavioral psychology, this is a conflict.

For the A-levels , I feel that exams is still a fairer way of assessment than project work.

A student might score a B grade for Project Work if he is in JC2 in RJC in 2007. If the same student were in HCI, he would have obtained an A grade. Similarly, a student in JC2 in 2008 in Serangoon JC might score a B grade for Project Work. But, he would have scored an A grade if he were to be in Yishun JC.So, is this a fair assessment?

Temasek JC has learnt their lessons from the PW results in 2007. Hence, there was a great jump in A scorers from 2007 to 2008 in Temasek JC.

Though the results of Project Work are obviously not reliable to assess the students' ability, they are important, more important than those for Mother Tongue , in ensuring a place in the local universities.

To me, exam is still a better way than PW as a form of assessment.

As a former teacher, I have been quite interested in letters about education, and I have read many letters from this director of education, Mr Wong.

His letters are very typical of those written by the civil service in reply to the public. They don't really answer the question. Just look at this one.

A member of public, Mr Tan, wrote a letter to ask a simple question:'Why so many exams in Primary 1?' (Oct 28).

Instead of answering that question by saying something like 'Pri 1 has so many exams because....', Mr Wong, the director of education, goes off-topic by telling us 'why there are various modes of assessment'.

Excuse me, my dear director of education, Mr Wong. One can have many modes of assessment and still have fewer exams.

For instance, let's say that for pri 1, one school conducts 1 oral exam, 1 open-book exam, 1 closed-book exam, and 1 practical exam per month. Another school conducts 10 written exams per month. Obviously, in this case, the former has more modes of assessment than the latter, but the latter school has 'so many more' exams than the former.

I hope our dearest director of education, Mr Wong, can see the difference here, and answer Mr Tan's questions.

HelenaYeo,

I still remember that my English teachers used to reprimand us for not answering the question (NAQ).

Maybe this Mr Wong deserves some scolding and punishments from English teachers too!!!! Make him pull his ears and stand on the table???