PSLE 2021 and the next steps in your child’s education

The PSLE examination has ended recently, with some of the papers garnering attention online as some parents felt it was rather difficult and had turned to social media platforms to express their concerns.

Exam papers have always had questions of different levels of difficulty – both easy and harder ones – to cater to a wide range of students and ensure that the majority are at least able to enter a secondary school. With that said, there are some ways prospective students can better equip themselves to face the more challenging questions.

Next Steps for prospective P6 students

Prospective students, especially the Upper Primary cohort, may start to feel anxious with them being next in line to take the major national exam. Here are some ways they can better prepare themselves:

Start early
Many students who only begin focusing on their studies in the middle of Primary 6 are often unable to follow in class leading to anxiety as they find themselves behind their peers. Hence, it is good to build up their foundation early so it is easier to catch up. One way to do so is to always come prepared for lessons and tuition, revise work regularly and ask questions when in doubt.

Practice as much as possible
For students struggling with basics, try doing simpler questions first to strengthen the foundation. Once the student is more confident and showing improvement, try top school papers to gain exposure to more difficult questions. Remember to review corrections.

Set goals and reward yourself. Focus on your own pace.
Helping students set goals for themselves allows them to take ownership of their learning and track their progress. Parents and teachers play a crucial role in keeping the child motivated. Give them rewards even for small steps of progress.

Adopt a healthy routine
A good sleep schedule and healthy diet can lead to higher attentiveness and increased memory power during lessons in school. This will allow them to retain concepts learnt better. Take breaks when needed.

Next steps for P6 students

As mentioned by educators and counselors, PSLE is not the end of the road. There are multiple education pathways students can take that best suits their needs and brings out their fullest potential, as shown below.

PSLE 2021 and the next steps in your child’s education

Source: National Youth Sports Institute

Hence students should have a good talk with their parents on their secondary school choices and discuss their passion and dreams. Parents can also reassure and encourage their children by reminding them that grades do not define them and there are multiple pathways to succeed.

Conclusion

Parents play an important role in their child’s education from an early age, leading up to the PSLE and beyond. However, parents need not be alone in that journey.

Here at Conceptual Thinkers, we offer primary and secondary Mathematic and English tuition in small groups with techniques to make tough problem sums easier, using our own materials and questions from top school exam papers.

Contact us to take a diagnostic test to find out where your child is and how our dedicated tutors can provide the guidance needed.

Sources:

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parenting-education/psle-parents-in-uproar-over-tough-maths-paper-say-it-was-unexpected-in

https://sg.theasianparent.com/stressed-about-psle-exams