EDUCATION

1. EDUCATION Tay Jia Shin. Foo Tze Han. Chen Caijie. Fang Ziying.

2. Standardised Tests and Testing Are they obsolete in our Brave New World?

3. Background • Standardised tests have long since been used as a tool for measuring the capability of a student. Its continued use over the years is on the basis that these tests provide an objective benchmark across the nation, or even internationally.

4. Standardised Tests and Testing • Modern Day Examples: • Primary School Leaving Examinations [PSLE] • GCE O’ Levels Examinations • GCE A’ Levels Examinations • Scholastic Aptitude Test [SAT]

5. Demands of Education in the B.N.W.

6. Flexibility • Teachers require a repertoire of instructional strategies as they work with a variety of students engaged in studying a number of subjects

7. Cultural Awareness • Because of globalization and the international movement, there is a need for students to interact with people of different cultures

8. Usage of ICT • As technology improves, its presence in the education is also magnified. These technologies provide opportunities for the future to improve efficiency.

9. Advantages • Benchmarking • Standardise basic set of knowledge and skills

10. Benchmarking • Benchmarking sets a certain standard and criteria for the quality of education. It ensures the quality of students’ education.

11. Standardize Knowledge • Students would be equipped with similar set of skills and knowledge. • This would allow convenience for future employees and employers in the workforce

12. Disadvantages • Mismatch of test content among schools • Resources over merit • Geographic, learning limitations where they do not promote student learning • Racial, cultural and social biasness

13. Racial, cultural and social biasness • These cultural differences exist especially in larger countries such as the United States of America are barriers to the benchmarking. This is because some content tested might be more relevant to one cultural group. In another aspect, a standardized test might not be possible because there are differences in the value of intelligence and ability among different cultural groups. Although test-makers review items for obvious biases, there are still subjective and sensitive issues within.

14. Geographic, Learning Limitations • Geographic limitations might pose the problem of honesty in large countries where there is a time zone difference and the tests cannot be conducted simultaneously. This creates the chance for students to cheat in the test resulting in inaccuracy of the results. • Learning limitations is when teachers focus excessively on emphasized test topics. This is not facilitative for a broad-based curriculum education.

15. Geographical, Learning Limitations • Other limitations include test-taking ability of the student. Some students are not favorable towards sitting behind a table for hours. Again, the test would not be able to access the student accurately

16. Resources over Merit • Students of higher social classes are able to attend test preparation courses where they are given an advantage over their peers. Therefore standardized tests might not test for merit of a student but rather the resources available to him

17. Mismatch of Test Content • Standardised tests are intended for broad use and therefore might not be relevant to the content taught in a particular school’s curriculum.

18. Suggested Improvements • Performance based assessment where students’ ability is not measured by a single test. • Online test • Supplement the test with other forms of assessment

19. Does our Education System Breed Elitism?

20. Singapore’s Education System • Based on a system of educational meritocracy • Streaming in primary schools at Primary 4 was introduced in the 1979 along with the concomitant emergence of bilingualism as the decisive feature of education

21. Meritocracy • A system of government or administration wherein appointments are made and responsibilities are assigned to individuals based upon their ‘merits’, namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or examinations.

22. Meritocracy

23. Elitism • Elitism is the belief or attitude that some individuals, who form an elite — a select group of people with intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most weight; whose views and/or actions are most likely to be constructive to society as a whole; or whose extraordinary skills, abilities or wisdom render them especially fit to govern.

24. Elitism

25. Social Darwinism • Constituent ideas of meritocracy are paradoxical • Meritocracy VS Talent Allocation, Competition • Impossible for all to be equal from the start • Individuals are rewarded based on ‘merits’ and not race, religion, language or background, however background and other aspects undeniably affects distribution of ‘merits’

26. Social Darwinism • Socio-economic background affects one’s opportunities [private tuition etc.] and consequently, indirectly creating differences • Ambiguity towards definition of ‘merits’

27. Meritocracy  Elitism • Merit was assessed in one-off fashion, rather than continuously • membership of the elite came with “lifetime tenure”. “With the scholarship, come the job, with the job comes the career, with the career comes the superscale pay.” • Those adjudged to have merit became a social class without room for others. This new social elite sought only to reproduce themselves, building further barriers to entry. • Old boys club, power elite relations & connections ensure doors are shut to others who are just as able.

28. Meritocracy  Elitism • Lack of social obligation.  • The elite were not particularly concerned about helping those less well off. • If called to serve they have to be compensated due to their overdeveloped sense of entitlement. • As elitism take root fewer people are willing to serve unless they are over-compensated due to their overdeveloped sense of entitlement. • Singapore, meritocracy has been the main ideological resource for justifying authoritarian government and its pro-capitalist orientations.

29. Meritocracy  Elitism • Through competitive scholarships, stringent selection criteria for party candidacy, and high ministerial salaries, the ruling People's Action Party has been able to co-opt talent to form a elitist group. • As Singapore becomes more embedded in the processes of globalization, new forms of national crisis, alternative worldviews and a widening income gap will force its ideology of meritocracy to unravel.

31. Bilingualism in a Multicultural Society Are the problems only unique to Singapore?

32. Bilingualism • Bilingualism is defined as • (of a person) able to use two languages for communication, or (of a thing) using or involving two languages • Not limited to the English language and Mandarin

33. Problems faced(Singapore) • Ineffective • Students tend to prefer a single language more than another, neglecting and not applying the less favoured in daily life • Negligence of local English (Singlish) • Government’s leniency in Singlish makes several Singaporeans unable to speak proper English. Though there are campaigns held to speak correct English, the government is not strict to ban Singlish.

34. Problems Faced(Singapore) • Disharmony between English and Chinese educated groups • Cultural gaps between generations that speak different languages • Previous Singapore generations spoke Hokkien and other languages but not English and not everyone spoke their Mother tongues. With the introduction of bilingualism, these generations will not be able to communicate well with newer generations.

35. Problems Faced(Singapore) • Loss of Asian values with the dominance of English • Despite introducing bilingualism into the country, there are still people who are more educated English wise and others more Chinese wise. These two groups may clash since they have different cultures and education. • Western Liberal Mindset VS Chinese Confucian Ideologies, a clash of two ideologies may invalidate bilingualism to opinionated people

36. Problems(Canada) • Ineffective Bilingualism • Less than one fifth of Canadians know both official languages: French and English • Structural problems in teaching • Lack of teaching materials • Lack of qualified teachers • High dropout rates in secondary school language programs

37. Merci.