In about 1000 words, write a persuasive argumentative essay defending your position of AGREEING that the government should revamp the PSLE grading system of using the T-scores in order to argue for your particular stance on this issue. Other than providing supporting arguments for the position you take on this issue, you MUST anticipate objections and provide counterarguments to write the paper. Relevant information for you to gather would be: • Definition of T-score• Issues (moral, ethical, social and etc.) surrounding the PSLE grading system of using T-scores • Arguments for upholding the PSLE grading system of using T-scores• Arguments against upholding the PSLE grading system of using T-scores
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COR160
Essential Academic Writing Skills
Tutor-Marked Assignment 02
July 2016 Semester
Copyright © 2016 SIM University
COR160
Tutor-Marked Assignment
TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT 02
This tutor-marked assignment is worth 45% of the final mark for COR160 Essential Academic
Writing Skills.
The cut-off date for this assignment is 2355hrs on 14 October 2016.
__________________________________________________________________________
Submit your solution document in the form of a single MS Word file on or before the cut-off
date shown above.
Additional instructions:
1.
You will need to indicate clearly on the front page your name, student ID, course title
and assignment number. Note also the following:
Spacing (between the lines): 1.5 or double spacing
Font style: Arial or Times New Roman preferred
Font size: 12 preferred (min 11 and max 13)
2.
Summarise using your own words as much as possible. You must document all
information that you use from another source, or you will be penalized severely. You
must acknowledge these by using the APA documentation style. This includes both
in-text citations and end-of-text referencing.
3.
If you copy from the work of another student, regardless of the course or programme,
you will be severely penalized. You are not permitted to re-use material from past
assignments whether in part or in full. All of the above actions can result in your
failing the TMA.
*Remember that accurate and proper documentation of information from secondary sources
is essential because UniSIM takes a very serious view on plagiarism. All information from
secondary sources will be detected by the Turnitin software that your assignment will be put
through in Blackboard and anything that is not acknowledged and properly documented will
be taken as an instance of plagiarism and your assignment may be failed.
Scope
You will find chapters 12a (Critical Reading), 12b (Summary, Paraphrase, Quotation), 12c
(Synthesizing) and 12d (Synthesizing Sources) in your COR160 textbook useful. Refer also
to the relevant on-line study units.
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Learning outcomes
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Cite sources in writing using the proper citation and referencing style.
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Evaluate information critically from various sources to respond to a task.
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Synthesise information from various sources in writing in response to a given task.
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Develop a rhetorical structure of an essay.
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Apply persuasive argumentative writing strategies in response to a given task.
Question 1
The PSLE revamp is part of a larger shift away from academics towards broadening
opportunities for students to discover their interests and talents, and develop life skills, a
sense of curiosity and a love for learning. Experts say that while this is a necessary change, it
will take time for the country to embrace it and move away from its preoccupation with
marks.
Pupils in Primary 1 this year will be the first cohort to take the Primary School Leaving
Examination (PSLE) and receive a new set of results.
In 2021, the national examination will do away with the aggregate score – often criticised for
being the cause of excessive stress among pupils and parents. With the change, children will
no longer be graded relative to one another.
In its place will be wider scoring bands such as A, B, C and D – similar to the scoring system
used in the O- and A-level examinations.
But this is only the most obvious change to what has been a steady overhaul of a pressurecooker system which has had a strong focus on marks instead of a child’s holistic
development.
Already, in the early stages of primary education, exams have become a thing of the past.
Pupils are increasingly being encouraged to express themselves. Applied learning is in, along
with the development of character and life skills.
At Primary Four or Five, pupils take part in a three-day cohort camp and learn to prepare
simple meals, adapt to the outdoors, and build resilience and camaraderie.
In the coming years, primary school leavers will have more choice to go to secondary schools
offering niche programmes in robotics, environmental issues, the arts and music, for instance,
where they can develop their interests beyond the three “R”s – reading, writing and
arithmetic.
As Acting Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng explained in Parliament earlier this
month when he announced the changes: “Let’s help our children make good use of their time
to branch out to explore other interests and passions and to pursue what they want to do in
life.
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“Let’s help them make good choices about their educational and career pathways based on
their aptitudes and aspirations.
“Let’s help them to be ready for the future.”
–
Adapted from article “Evolving the S’pore education system: Going beyond grades by
AMELIA TENG, CALVIN YANG, The Straits Times, INSIGHT, B2 & B3,
17/04/2016.
There has been much debate in the Singapore Parliament and public sphere with regard to the
revamp in the PSLE grading. The two articles provided below reflect some of the debate
regarding this issue.
Should the government revamp the PSLE grading system of using T-scores?
In about 1000 words, write a persuasive argumentative essay defending your position in
order to argue for your particular stance on this issue. Other than providing supporting
arguments for the position you take on this issue, you MUST anticipate objections and
provide counterarguments to write the paper. Relevant information for you to gather would
be:
•
•
•
•
Definition of T-score
Issues (moral, ethical, social and etc.) surrounding the PSLE grading system of
using T-scores
Arguments for upholding the PSLE grading system of using T-scores
Arguments against upholding the PSLE grading system of using T-scores
(100 marks)
Guidance Notes
1. Your reasoning must be good.
2. Strengthen your argument with relevant examples and illustrations.
3. You may include any additional but relevant information to the ideas that have
already been given in the scenario and articles.
4. You should use at least 7 research sources to help you write your essay. The
given articles are considered as a separate research source each and can count
towards the 7 research sources.
5. You are to use credible and reliable sources to help you write this essay. Marks
will be deducted for non-credible and unreliable content.
6. Remember to use accurate grammar, correct sentence structures and a tone
appropriate to academic writing. Marks will be deducted for poor English.
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Article 1:
Singapore budget 2016
PSLE T-score to make way for scoring bands in 2021
Collective paradigm shift needed to prepare children for the future, says Ng Chee Meng
Section:
TOP STORIES
By:
LEE U-WEN
Publication:
The Business Times 09/04/2016
Page:
2
No. of words: 680
leeuwen@sph.com.sg @LeeUwenBT
Singapore
IT is time for Singapore’s education system to undergo a “paradigm shift” away from an
overemphasis on academic grades, Acting Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng told
Parliament on Friday.
The biggest change is to the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), which will have a
new scoring system starting with the Primary Six cohort in 2021.
T-scores will be replaced by wider scoring bands, similar to what is used for the O-Level and
A-Level exams. Full details of the changes will be released in the next two to three months.
Speaking during the debate on his ministry’s spending plans for the new financial year, Mr
Ng noted that academic excellence remains a hallmark of the education system and that there
was recognition for the high standards achieved over the years.
“However, the focus of our education system should go beyond test scores. Currently, despite
our efforts to move towards a holistic education, there is still a narrow emphasis on
academics and paper qualifications. This is deeply ingrained in our culture, translated into the
expectations of our children, parents, and teachers. Eventually, this is perhaps even
manifested in employer mindsets in workplaces.”
Stressing the need to dial back on the excessive focus on academic grades, he spent a large
chunk of his speech outlining the thinking behind the changes to the PSLE scoring system.
The way that the T-score is calculated may have created “unhealthy competition” among
students.
The scoring is also done too precisely, which differentiates students more finely than
necessary, and Mr Ng said that there was a need to move away from such fine distinctions for
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students at such a young age.
The T-score, also known as the transformed score, is used to standardise raw scores and rank
students relative to others.
While he admitted that some broad level of differentiation was still needed to guide students
to academic programmes that best suit their interests and strengths, the scoring would be
“blunted” to a large extent. The new scoring system will be “more reflective of a student’s
learning and level of mastery”, said Mr Ng.
Once a student shows a level of understanding and ability that meets the professionally-set
standard, they will receive the grade, regardless of how their peers perform. This, Mr Ng
added, is more meaningful than assessing a student’s performance relative to his peers.
The minister also addressed concerns about the Secondary One posting system as a result of
the PSLE changes, and he gave the assurance that it would still be a “fair and transparent
system based on academic merit”.
With the move to broader PSLE scoring bands, students can pick a suitable school from a
wider range of schools with a similar academic profile. They can consider factors such as the
school’s unique programmes, co-curricular activities, and partnerships with the community
and industry.
The Education Ministry will take a few years to work through all the changes carefully, as
well as give enough time and support for parents and students to understand and adjust.
In his speech, Mr Ng also said that there was scope for greater flexibility in how different
forms of merit and achievement in the overall Secondary One posting system are recognised.
Thus, the Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme, introduced in 2004 to promote holistic
education, will be reviewed to see how best to bring it back to its original intent. Noting that
there was “some unevenness” in how different schools pick their DSA students, Mr Ng said
that the review would look at having more options in more secondary schools for those with
specific aptitudes and talents.
The ministry also wants to sharpen the focus of the DSA to better recognise talents and
achievements in specific domains, rather than general academic ability that can be
demonstrated through the PSLE.
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Article 2:
Tweaks to PSLE alone won’t relieve pressure on children
Section:
EDUCATION
By:
JANE NG
Publication:
The Straits Times 02/05/2016
Page:
B9
No. of words: 1223
Parents need to change mindsets, and shift focus from just marks to character and values.
For the past two months, we have been watching a re-run of the first season of Junior
MasterChef, and it came to a close a few weeks ago.
Jubilation erupted after 12-year-old Alexander Weiss emerged as the winner, but my 10-yearold son made a remark that caught me off-guard.
“Wow, Alexander joined the competition in his PSLE year. Doesn’t he need to study?” he
asked.
While I did not expect his comment, I was not surprised that he was aware of the looming
exam – three of his closest friends have older siblings who sat the Primary School Leaving
Examination in the last two years, and I know they compare notes.
I braced myself for the onslaught of questions that would follow when I said: “Alexander
doesn’t have to sit the PSLE. There’s no PSLE in America.”
As expected, he railed: “What? No PSLE? So unfair! Why?”
I tried to explain that different countries have different education systems, and ours favoured
an exam at Primary 6 to sort pupils, so they can learn at a pace suitable for them.
It was perhaps too simplistic an explanation but he left it at that, and, after some grumbling,
moved on to think about the dishes he was inspired to cook for the family.
We put aside the discussion after that, and he paid only cursory attention when I told him
days later that there would be changes to PSLE that would affect his sister, who is in Primary
1 this year.
The PSLE T-score will be replaced by wider scoring bands in 2021, but the bigger issue is
how pupils will be sorted, based on those grades. With little information available at present,
it is premature to speculate about the outcomes of the changes.
But many people, including my husband, wonder whether the new system, meant to reduce
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the nation’s obsession with results, will end up creating more stress.
Will the focus on non-academic achievements result in additional pressure for the children?
Will this mean that those who can afford to hone their non-academic skills will have an edge?
Will there be a fair way to allocate school places to children who attain the same letter
grades?
And in reality, will it be any different from the current system?
These are some issues the Education Ministry will have to grapple with as it works out the
nuts and bolts of the new system.
But these are among the other questions on my mind:
Who are the people obsessed with results?
And what will it take to persuade them otherwise, since mindsets would have to change for
the changes to be effective?
It could be a chicken and egg situation.
Parents who load their children with tuition, assessment books and past-year exam papers say
they have no choice since they want to give their child an edge in the current system. And the
stress begins even before the child enters primary school.
On the other hand, schools say they are catering to parents’ demands. I once asked my son’s
pre-school principal why he was given so many worksheets to do in a day, and why
playground time was cancelled if worksheets were not completed. She said it was because
parents wanted it. And so the vicious circle persists.
When I wrote about pulling him out of that pre-school, like-minded parents shared their
stories.
One said she pulled her child out of remedial classes because she did not think the additional
hours were necessary since her child was not failing in the subject. “We say we are happy
when our child scores a B or C, and we mean it,” she added.
It takes a brave parent to go against the tide and make that decision.
Parents I spoke to also suggested that effort could also be made to level the academic playing
field, perceived or otherwise.
This would go some way in assuring parents that the same academic resources are available
to their child, no matter which school he is in. After all, the children eventually sit the same
national exam.
This could come in the form of a centralised portal where resources, for instance revision
notes or exam papers of top schools, could be made available to all schools.
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This is even as steps have been taken to help schools distinguish themselves from one another
in non-academic areas, to make “every school a good school”.
But apart from parents and educators, mindsets of employers and interview panels for
scholarships will also have to change, otherwise the move to reduce academic obsession
would be a meaningless exercise.
Even before more details are released on PSLE grading and school allocation, several things
are clear.
The change is to reduce the obsession with academic results, not to lower academic standards
or remove the rigour from our education system.
It ultimately aims to encourage parents to choose secondary schools based on their child’s
interest and strengths. And that, to me, as a parent, is a move in the right direction.
The best schools in Singapore that many are aiming to get into may not be the best match for
the child, even if he qualifies for them. But at the moment, not many may consider this.
While I cannot control how school allocation is done, I can do my part by telling my children
there is more to life than academic results – character and values are what will see them
through life.
Eventually, when they leave school and start work, it is their attitude that will go a long way
in helping them succeed. Not their PSLE, O-level or A-level results.
So, no matter which secondary school they end up in, it is up to them to make the best of it,
and up to me to help them make the best of it.
Of course, most parents, including myself, want to have our cake and eat it too. I want the
children to enjoy their childhood, I also want them to do as well as they can for exams. But it
is also up to me to help them strike that delicate balance.
If I manage to do that, then joining a competition like Junior MasterChef in the PSLE year
may not be such a far-fetched notion, after all.
And if the upcoming changes allow our children to enjoy learning, find their strengths and
discover their passions, that would just be cherry on the cake.
—– END OF COR160 TMA02 —–
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