Singapore PSLE Results 2020: So What’s Next?

Taking PSLE exams is a significant milestone in the life of every Singaporean primary school student. And each year tens of thousands of students and their parents wait impatiently for the results to be revealed.

In 2020 the PSLE Results were released on 25 November. Candidates can receive their exam results in their respective primary schools, as for those who are unwell or quarantining, they will be able to view their exam results online via the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board's system.

According to the Ministry of Education, the total number of students who took the PSLE exam was 39,995. The vast majority of these candidates (98.4%) were deemed suitable to progress to the next level.

Also, 66.3% are eligible for the express course, 21.2% are eligible for the normal academic course and the remaining 11% are eligible for the normal technical course. The 1.6% of candidates who did not qualify for any of the courses can resit the PSLE exams next year.

Choosing a Secondary school? Know their rankings first here.

Unfortunately, as the results are released each year some students and their parents experience disappointment while others are rejoicing. Either way students and the parents are faced with a question, what’s next?

How parents should react to their child's PSLE results?

Children are emotional creatures and the pressure of exams can have a negative impact on their emotional state. So the last thing your child needs is their parents feeling angry with them for an unsatisfactory result.

Although it is natural to feel disappointed remember that your child’s well-being is the first priority so try to show restraint and do not react negatively if the result is bad. In the end, this will not help you change what has occurred.

What’s done is done, now both you and your child have to look forward into the future and weigh your options. Parental support means the world to the child at this tender age. Make sure that they feel understood and supported.

This way they will feel confident for the future and try harder next time. It is easy to get caught up in the moment and think that if your child has fallen short of expectations at the PSLE exams it is the end of the world, but, of course, it is not that at all.

Remember that even if a child doesn’t perform well at the PSLE exams it doesn’t mean that their future prospects will be damaged.

There have been many cases where the students who didn’t perform well at their PSLE exams have passed their A-levels successfully and subsequently were enrolled in prestigious universities (and some have even gotten scholarships!)

It is also important to listen to what your child has to say about the matter. Many parents tend to focus on their own feelings of disappointment if their child doesn’t perform well, but it is important to remember that your child was also anticipating these exam results and he or she may also have a strong reaction to them. So one of the most important things here is to ask the right questions.

Ask your child whether they were surprised by the exam results, ask them whether they think they were adequately prepared for the examinations, and finally ask them whether they are frustrated or disappointed by the results.

You have to keep your cool and allow your child to express their feelings and thoughts so that you can gain a deeper understanding of their attitude and pinpoint exactly what went wrong.

Also read: Reducing exam stress in Singapore, should grades define worth?

What exactly was to blame for your child's unsatisfactory exam results?

Was it the environment and lifestyle choices?

Was it their attitude towards the examinations?

Or maybe their nerves got the better of them. 

Uncovering the influential factors that were at play will help you make the right adjustments and avoid similar results in the future.

But it is important for your child to trust you otherwise they will not deliver accurate information. And they are unlikely to trust you if they feel that you are angry with them.

And last but not least this feeling of disappointment may cause your child’s self-confidence to plummet and it might make them more nervous about taking the exam in the future. To help them rebuild their confidence remind them of all of their successes in the past and make sure to tell them that this one exam doesn’t define who they are in the long run.

It is important that children understand that despite these setbacks they still have a chance of becoming successful in the future.

If you do everything right this may prove to be an important life lesson a child learns and they will become more resilient.

It is almost impossible for a normal human being to have an academic career without ever facing setbacks or failures; children must learn to get up and dust themselves off as quickly as possible and keep going towards their goal. Not giving up is one of the secrets to achieving success.

Have a break and allow things to settle.

After you have accepted the reality which cannot be undone allow yourself and your child to have a break. Exams have brought a lot of stress into their lives so it is important for them to unwind by indulging in their favorite activities and experience something positive to recharge their batteries.

There are a number of parenting websites that contain a list of post-PSLE activities your child can indulge in to take their mind off these stressful times in their lives.

This advice should be followed even by those parents whose children have done exceptionally well at the PSLE exams. Even successful candidates need to relax for a while to prepare themselves for the academic demands presented by secondary school education.

Reacting to your child passing their PSLE exams successfully.

If your child has passed the exams successfully they deserve praise so make sure they get a lot of it. In fact, parents should celebrate this success with their child by rewarding their effort in some way (for example taking them for a meal at their favorite restaurant or buying them a toy they have been asking for).

This will show the child that their hard work is not taken for granted and it gets rewarded (another important life lesson).

Important dates to remember.

Now that you know your child's PSLE results you can start planning for their future and picking the preferred secondary school. We have already mentioned the results were released on 25 November 2020.

As for the submission of school choices, the S1-IS opens for an online submission on the day of the release of PSLE exams at 11 a.m.

After you have received your PSLE results, preparing a personalized S1 option form and eligibility letter are the next steps in the discussing of secondary school choices with your child. The schools and courses that are accessible depend on their PSLE results. After you have completed the form you can submit it online here  or at your child’s primary school.

You will be able to submit your six school choices online by 3PM on Tuesday 1 December 2020.

If you miss the deadline then you will have to submit your choices through the primary school from 9 AM to 12 PM on 2 December 2020.

Then you will have to wait to receive your school posting results which will be released on Tuesday 22nd of December 2020. These results will be released via an SMS, through your child’s primary school, or online.

The posting process depends on your child's PSLE score and the order of their school choices as well as the vacancies at the schools you selected. Students who have the highest PSLE scores will be prioritized.

And if two students happen to have the same score then Singapore citizens will be prioritized. If both of these students are Singapore citizens then the tie is resolved with the help of a computerized ballot. In this case, each student has an equal chance for success.

And finally, you have to report to the secondary school which means that you have to check online when school opens in January and which textbooks and what kind of uniform to purchase.

We have a dedicated article here: All You Need To Know About Secondary 1 Posting

Even if you intend to appeal for a transfer your child still needs to report to the secondary school.

If you determined that the secondary school cannot accommodate your child’s health condition you can appeal for a transfer. Once the posting results have been released you can appeal for a transfer on the next day at your posted secondary school.

Steps on how to submit an appeal is listed here.

It is important to remember that appeals will only be considered if the student has a serious medical condition (for example chronic heart condition or problem with their kidneys) and if children have serious physical disabilities (that might require them to use a wheelchair).

You also need to support your appeal with relevant documents such as letters from doctors and medical reports.

If you don’t know how to file the appeal correctly that’s not a problem, just ask the staff in your child's posted secondary school to help you. The results of the appeal will be released at the beginning of January.