A common trope among Singaporean students often leads them to question, “Have I ever found the perfect balance between academics and extracurriculars?”
Can there ever truly be a “stress-free” system in meritocratic Singapore? With the mindset of wanting to succeed, pressure and the tendency to compare with classmates and peers will be rife. Singaporean students are in the constant pursuit of academic excellence, wanting to do ourselves proud with the letter grades in our report books.
It has become a common sight in the newspaper headlines every other year. A “record-breaking” A-Level pass rate, a peak in the number of distinction-holders, beaming pre-university graduates looking forward to the next phase of their education.
It has become a growing concern that meeting the indicative grade point (IGP) cut-off for one’s desired course in one of the local autonomous universities is not enough, experiencing rejection after about a month-long wait. Is the A-Level examination system truly the best litmus test to ascertain one’s worth and aptitude for university admissions? With stakes rising across the board, stress levels have been increasing amongst pre-university students in Singapore. This writer at one point had felt that the month-long affair was the be-all and end-all of his twelve-year education journey, determining the trajectory of the rest of his life.
Subreddit r/sgexams was inundated with many surprised, perplexed and frustrated applicants during the local university admissions exercise in mid-2023. There was an atmosphere of lament and surrender, as the confused compared their scores to historical IGP trends. One highly-ranked applicant needing to apply for aptitude-based admissions into the College of Humanities and Sciences. Another high-achieving applicant– rejected by all four NUS courses that they applied for. Entry requirements mostly rose across the board, sending many into despair. The prolonged wait into the month of June doused oil onto the flames, as the status of “application processing” kept many on the edge of their seats.
Why is this happening? Should this phenomena continue, will it be harder to enter local universities, let alone NUS, with each passing cohort? Where do we hit the “ceiling” for how high the cut-off can get?
That is not all. The A-Level grading system has changed. To the uninitiated, the new maximum rank point you can get is now 70, down from 90. The fourth content-based subject (and mother tongue language subject, if applicable) will now only be taken into account to increase one’s overall grade. On a more positive note, Project Work is now a pass/fail subject (Goh, 2023).
The Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing announced that these changes were made so that “the time saved from preparing for examinations can be channelled towards deeper student engagement and learning through more varied experiences.”
Indeed, lowering the stakes related to the A-Levels could appear as a positive change, especially for the less academically-inclined. With less time needing to be dedicated to hitting the books, these students could have more breathing room to pursue their passions and interests.
The result could be that such passions and interests could become a differentiating factor for university admissions from here on.
Social inequality in the education system is often discussed in terms of the inequitable distribution of academic resources. This is usually visualised through more well-off households being financially capable to send their children for enrichment lessons or tuition classes on top of the regular education system.
Could we see the same circumstance occurring for extracurriculars? The footballer representing his junior college in the ‘A’ Division getting personalised one-to-one coaching from an ex-professional league coach. The violinist travelling to Austria to gain experience in playing classical music, And the list goes on. What if the changes to the A-Levels also widens the social inequality gap?
Singapore’s education system is constantly lauded as one of the world’s best. With our outstanding PISA test scores, yearly record-breaking IB achievements and lauded Olympiad medallists, our prowess shines on the international stage. From a domestic standpoint, the perennial commendation and reverence for those who academically stand out perpetuates an emphasis on achieving stellar grades and all-round excellence.
It is not a simple task to find a way to lower the stress levels that Singaporean pre-university students face. Think of it as a game of “Whack-a-Mole” that you play at the arcade. Nip one issue in the bud, and another pops up. Reduce the number of subjects in the big As, and students clamour to boost their extra-curricular portfolios to compensate. Keep things the way they are, and they complain about how stressful the education system is.
While academic stress appears to be established in Singapore, this writer sought to find out whether this was the case in other education systems. Speaking to international Tembusians who are here for university exchange programmes, they have generally felt that Singaporeans take their education very seriously, over other pursuits such as sports and recreation.
Maximilian Kantowsky, 21, from Germany, opined that while there is a sentiment to make it into the best educational track and universities in his home state of Bavaria, the study culture isn’t as “hard” as it is in Singapore.
“While there is still a societal-linked stress for students to get into university, younger people are starting to realise that “technical jobs” like handymen can pay well too,” said the business student from Munich.
He also feels that the German pre-university education system is more suited for him. In Germany, after completing primary school at age ten, students have the option to pick from three main educational tracks for secondary schooling, based on their results. The Realschule and Hauptschule can be said to be vocational schools and lead to apprenticeships. The “top” track, Gymnasium, leads to the Abitur, a university entrance examination that can be said to be the German equivalent to the Singaporean A-Levels. However, unlike the A-Levels, the results of the Abitur amount to 34% of the final grade computation for university entrance. The other 66% is derived from continual assessments over the final two years in Gymnasium.
“The continual assessments in Germany have been beneficial for me. They have made my pre-university education less stressful. It encourages consistent learning, rather than a high-stakes final exam that is “far away at the end” in Singapore. You have to tag along with the syllabus over the final two years, which will keep you on track.”
Ethan Huang, 20, echoes this sentiment. The University of Arizona student said that in the United States, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) are two standardised final exams that don’t “determine university entrances”, but “supposedly increase your chances”.
“Recently, schools have been looking at them less and their significance is supposedly decreasing when it comes to university entrances,” the computer science student said.
“Where I am from, high schoolers were mainly stressed about whether they were participating in enough co-curricular activities for their college admissions. I mainly focused on my interests, which are swimming and diving,” said the New York City native.
“I don’t remember being that stressed (in school) before university. I personally don’t find school that stressful either and see it more as an opportunity to expand my knowledge. But of course, this varies from individual to individual.”
It is worth considering what pre-university education looks like in other countries as well. In Hong Kong, tutoring centres provide lessons on examinable subjects in school, as well as international tests such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). On top of that, there are enrichment classes for extra-curricular activities such as music, dance and martial arts (Tan, 2018, p. 52).
The social pressure associated with needing to attend lessons at such centres rests upon the mindset that “one exam will determine one’s life and death”, with the university entrance exams being seen as a tool for upward social mobility and a better life (Tan, 2018, p. 52). This emphasis on “perfectionism”, coupled with social and familial expectations of academic achievement, have been found to drastically amplify the stress levels experienced by students in Hong Kong and other East Asian societies with similar cultural values (Chyu & Chen, 2022, pp. 7-14).
In South Korea, the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a standardised entry test recognised by local universities, has drawn ire from students and educators alike. The test’s English component is notorious for being a key determinant in university entry (Hwang, 2003, p. 24).
In a study where 120 South Korean high school students and six teachers were interviewed, one teacher lamented about the structure of the CSAT.
“The CSAT creates a lot of pressure on teachers because the education of secondary school is focussed on helping students achieve the highest score possible while, the goals of the curriculum are generally ignored,” the teacher mentioned. The same study showed that 83.3% of the teachers and 93.3% of students experienced pressure and anxiety from the CSAT (Hwang, 2003, p. 69).
With a heavy emphasis on achieving the best score possible, this is not far from the mentality that is commonly held by students in Singapore.
Singaporeans have been moulded in an education system that they have grown accustomed to over the years. From an outsider’s point-of-view, it appears to be an idealistic and idyllic one, producing erudite scholars and professionals. As one who has been through the system, this writer feels that Singaporean students are pushed to strive for the utmost best in what they do– achieving stellar grades. By reducing the amount of examinable subjects, it may appear that the pressure associated with meeting academic goals is reduced. Less tuition classes, less scrambling to be at the top.
Right now, Singaporean students are already heavily involved in extracurricular activities such as performing volunteer work or sports. These changes to the A-Levels call into question whether these changes will precipitate more active involvement in these activities out of passion, or out of pragmatism.
The goalposts have now been simply shifted. Outshining others in terms of extra-curriculars will now take the place of the subjects that are no longer included in the final A-Level grade computation. And so, we’re back to square one.
Header image by Treehouse Editor-in-Chief, Tan Jun Yi
About the Author:
Judd is a second-year Political Science student who enjoys discussions on political developments and pop culture. When not indulging in his guilty pleasure of Taylor Swift (Folklore best album), you can often find him tucked away in his room strumming the guitar or trying to memorise all the capital cities of the world.
References:
Chyu, E. P. Y., & Chen, J. K. (2022). The Correlates of Academic Stress in Hong Kong. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(7), 4009. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19074009
Goh, C. (2023, March 1). A-Level scoring to change from 2026 to reduce emphasis on grades, give students room to pursue passions. TODAY. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/moe-change-level-score-2026-2116231
Hwang, H. (2003). The impact of high-stakes exams on teachers and students: A washback study of the university entrance exam at the secondary school level in South Korea (Order No. MQ88650). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (305243783). http://libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/dissertations-theses/impact-high-stakes-exams-on-teachers-students/docview/305243783/se-2
Tan, C. (2018). Comparing High-Performing Education Systems: Understanding Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong (1st ed.). 51-52. Routledge. https://doi-org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/10.4324/9781351238724
[user27392639462]. (2023, May 20). NUS Applications 2023 Megathread [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/SGExams/comments/11mh78j/comment/jkspz8x/