MATRIX MATH
BEST MATH TUITION SINGAPORE

From 2021, the PSLE will use a new scoring system that prioritises individual achievement and helps students build on their strengths and interests without changing the curriculum and assessment standards. We will unpack the fundamentals of the new changes and how they matter to students. Fundamental Changes to the PSLE Achievement Levels (AL) The core change stems from the move away from T-scores to wider scoring bands called Achievement Levels (ALs), with each PSLE subject scored based on eight ALs. Achievement Level (AL) Raw Mark Range 1 Above 90 2 85 – 89 3 80 – 84 4 75 – 79 5 65 – 74 6 45 – 64 7 20 – 44 8 Below 20 The PSLE score is weighted by the sum of the four core subjects: English Language Mother Tongue Language Mathematics Science The lower a student’s score, the better; as such, the highest achievable score is four, while the lowest is 32. However, the ALs should not indicate a student’s academic achievement; instead, they gauge their current understanding of the subjects they learn, which can inform their interests and help them decide what they should focus on in secondary school. Why are Scoring Bands Unevenly Distributed? Based on the MOE’s expectations, “below half of the PSLE cohort” will score 75 marks or higher for Standard subjects,” so the narrower distributions for upper AL bands aim to prevent too many students from sharing similar PSLE scores that affect their secondary school postings. With middle to lower ALs, the scores are expected to be “more widely distributed”, and any “finer differentiation” would be considered “less meaningful” towards their secondary placements. By doing so, students will have a “wider range of schools to choose from” based on their current “strengths and interests” and whether they are keen on specific school programmes or co-curricular activities. It moves away from the previous T-score system’s emphasis on student performance “relative to their peers” and more towards how well they understand their subjects. The goal is to promote lifelong learning and critical thinking, skills that will help them thrive in post-secondary education and their future careers. Posting Groups Per the MOE’s implementation of Subject-Based Banding (SBB), the Normal (Technical), Normal (Academic), and Express streams will be replaced entirely by the Posting Group system beginning “from the 2024 Secondary 1 cohort.” Based on a student’s overall PSLE score, they are posted to secondary school via three Posting Groups (Groups 1 to 3), primarily determining their admission to secondary school and “the initial subject levels” they can take in Secondary One. Students will then take subjects at three subject levels, depending on their Posting Group. These levels, ranked G1, G2, and G3, correspond to the “previous N(T), N(A), and Express standards, respectively.” Students of “different backgrounds, strengths, and interests” across different Posting Groups will then be grouped in mixed form classes, giving opportunities for peer learning across different levels. PSLE Score Posting Group Indicative Subject Level 4 – 20 3 G3 21 – 22 2 or 3 G2 or G3 23 – 24 2 G2 25 1 or 2 G1 or G2 26 – 30(AL7 or better in EL and MA) 1 G1 Under this system, students can now “adjust their subject levels at appropriate junctures” based on their current interests, understanding, and learning needs. This opens up new opportunities for learning “based on their various subjects and subject level combinations” in post-secondary settings. How the PSLE Scoring Benefits Students Celebrating Individual Achievements The MOE continuously distances itself from the sole focus on academic achievement and favours a more holistic and inclusive approach emphasising individual success. The new system will still recognise high-achieving students’ efforts while offering lower-band students the opportunity to work their way forward at an appropriate learning level. As students improve, they can choose to take subjects at a “more demanding level,” further strengthening their understanding while granting them more options for “post-secondary pathways” later on. It can be a powerful motivator as students see their progress, driving them towards a pathway that aligns with their interests and capabilities. Focus on Strengths The PSLE remains a “useful checkpoint” for determining a student’s skill level and where their true strengths lie. The new PSLE scoring system aims to develop their strengths and guide them towards a learning environment that suits their current level of understanding. Matching students to the appropriate learning level ensures they can do their best at their own pace and naturally improve their competencies, all while avoiding situations where they constantly struggle to understand the subject matter. Improve Confidence With the new emphasis on self-development at a comfortable pace, students can feel more confident in improving their literacy and numeracy skills and better understand the subject matter of whatever they learn. The easier it is to understand the subject matter, the better they get at solving various problems, which, in turn, further heightens their confidence as initially complex subjects are no longer an issue for them. That can go a long way toward cultivating their interests and picking relevant pathways that help drive their ongoing success. Manage Expectations With this holistic approach to education, the new scoring system allows parents and students to find ways to manage expectations positively, shifting away solely from academic excellence in favour of student excellence on their terms. Parents and students should frequently and openly communicate about prospective pathways, current challenges, and various other topics that can help nudge the student forward in the right direction. Build Your Child’s Success with Personalised PSLE Math Tuition At Matrix Math, comprehensive and practical support for students starts with a team of qualified tutors and personalised teaching methods. We provide carefully tailored tutoring that builds students’ confidence and competency using valuable revision materials and strengthens their core fundamentals. Contact us today to learn how we can empower our students with these critical skills.

It is never too early to start mathematics lessons, especially when children slowly understand it through everyday interactions with parents, relatives, and their environment well before they enter preschool. Simple math activities like counting are fundamental to helping a young mind interpret and understand the world around them before they start to grasp the other fundamentals like adding, subtracting, and so forth. Starting your children’s math development early does not need to involve basic calculations but requires a focus on slowly building up the fundamentals, such as counting, sharing, and so on. Whether through daily activities or playtime, helping your child develop early math skills will go a long way to support their overall development and learning process once they grow up. Why is Developing Math Skills in Early Childhood So Important? It should come as no surprise that various studies have found connections between an early start in mathematics and school success, regardless of what other elements may be at play (including early IQ). Early math skills play a significant part in a child’s development since they are constantly in situations where they can learn about various concepts that will be essential to them later in life. More than that, early math skills are not limited to numbers; they also involve reasoning and deduction, pattern recognition, spatial relationships, and many other skills vital to a child’s gradual development. Take the simple activity of playing with building blocks. The activity itself lends a lot to early math skills: children will see different blocks (counting) of varying colours, shapes and sizes (measurements). As they interact with these blocks, they will learn which blocks can balance on top of other blocks (reasoning) and how different block combinations can form new or familiar shapes (spatial awareness). However, children cannot interpret these interactions in a meaningful way that makes sense to them on their own. Parental supervision and participation are vital components of developing early math skills in children; nurturing your children is essential to helping them learn while also building their self-esteem and confidence and even giving them a sense of security and warmth. As a result, it can have a robust and positive effect towards your child’s brain development, with far-reaching benefits that extend to their later years in school and beyond. Even the simple act of talking to your child, even if they have not started speaking yet, can have tremendous implications in promoting language and literacy, which can benefit early math skills as they slowly understand what you are teaching them. For example, counting their favourite fruits can lead to simple addition and subtraction when they learn about sharing. That is a good starting point as they continue learning about math. How to Start Developing Early Math Skills Again, simple efforts are always a good starting point to help your child develop early math skills, even if you have anxieties about your command of mathematics. Relax; the importance here is to start with the basics, like counting, and gradually work your way up to the best of your abilities. Here are a few tips to help get you and your child started. Start with Counting Counting is the foundation of early math skills, and instilling the knowledge of counting can come from simple things like songs, picture books, and fun activities. You can even teach them about counting from the activities they engage in, such as counting the number of cats outside the window (or in your home if you have pets) or counting the number of steps to take to go up and down your house. Repetition is Key When you think about it, many children’s songs involve a good deal of repetition on top of providing an introduction to essential themes that help with their learning. Take “Baby Shark”, for instance: the song helps your child learn to count each of Baby Shark’s family members while giving them a fun, repeatable activity that helps to reinforce their learning and allow them to remember math concepts. Over time, they can rely on familiarity to help them solve various things independently. Storytelling Time Stories are also an engaging way to provide frequent (and sometimes repeated) lessons in early math skills. You can always choose to read aloud to your child, finding situations in the story that you can use to promote their participation and help them learn. For example, if you read about the three little pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, you can ask them, “How many pigs are there?” Picturebooks are also handy for showing your child pictures related to the story, affording a graphical approach to help them count, understand sizes and measurements, and so forth. Learn Through Play Playtime offers plenty of teachable moments to help with your child’s early math skill development. Making learning fun can significantly improve your child’s learning ability, making the entire learning process feel less like a chore and more like an enjoyable game to play. Plus, given how learning through play outcomes has had plenty of positives for children’s development, not just with early math skills, doing more fun learning activities together can be beneficial in the long term. Going out to the zoo to count the animals or even having fun in the park to help them understand the concepts of sizes are just a few examples of what you can do to make learning much more exciting for your child. Teachable Moments Speaking of teachable moments, there will be times when your child stumbles in their learning. In times like these, reprimanding them may be detrimental to their learning process as it can make them anxious or scared about the subject, especially if you react in a way that diminishes their interest. Children make mistakes, so try to make it a valuable lesson your child can learn without being too harsh on them; it can help boost their motivation and get them back on the right track. Provide Encouragement It is also worth celebrating small moments of