Subject-based Banding Canossa Convent Primary Subject-Based Banding was introduced for the 2008 P5 cohort 1

What is Subject-Based Banding (SBB) Pupils do subjects at the levels that best meet their abilities No EM1, EM2 or EM3 classes What does Subject-based Banding mean for your child? Every child will be encouraged to do the subjects at the level that best meet his abilities. If your child is doing well in all subjects, he will take these subjects at the standard level. If your child is good at some subjects but very weak in others, he will be able to take a mix of standard and foundation subjects. This will help stretch and develop your child further in his strong subjects. It will also allow your child to proceed at a pace he can manage for his weaker subjects. For those of you who are familiar with the previous method of streaming, what this means is that Subject-based Banding has replace the merged and EM3 streams from the 2008 Primary 5 cohort. This system is more flexible than the merged and EM3 streams – it allows pupils to take a mix of standard or foundation subjects, depending on the pupils’ abilities. No child would be worse off with Subject-based Banding.

Why Subject-based Banding? Pupils have different abilities Pupils have different abilities in different subjects To enable pupils to study their strong subjects to the highest level possible NOT INTENDED to provide a softer option To encourage greater interaction among pupils with different strengths and abilities We recognise that pupils have varying strengths in different subjects. Not everyone is good at every subject, or weak in every subject. To provide more flexibility for pupils to develop their strengths, Subject-based Banding is therefore introduced. Another aim of Subject-based Banding is to encourage greater interaction among pupils with different strengths and abilities. Pupils do not have to attend all lessons with the same classmates, but have the opportunity to interact with other pupils and learn from each other.

How does Subject-based Banding work? The Primary 4 examinations will continue to be school-based. The Primary 4 examinations will tell us your child’s academic ability in the various subjects and the school will recommend a subject combination based on the results. Instead of recommending a child to EM3, or merged stream, we will now recommend a combination that is most suited for your child. So for example, we may recommend that the child will do Foundation English, Foundation Science, Foundation Mathematics and Standard Mother Tongue. This remains our recommendation. You will make the final decision on what your child will take in Primary 5. The school will monitor your child’s performance in Primary 5, and decide at the end of the year what combination best suits your child. Parents who are familiar with the previous streaming exercise will notice that the process is exactly similar to the current one. 4

How does Subject-based Banding work? Passes all 4 subjects and obtains Band 1 in MT Now let’s look at how we will recommend the option for your child at the end of Primary 4. Besides the Primary 4 examination results, we will also take into consideration your child’s performance in a subject from past assessments such as (….), as well as comments and observations by your child’s teachers. What is the school likely to recommend for your child? If your child passes all 4 subjects at the end of Primary 4 and performs very well (Band 1; 85 marks) in Mother Tongue Language, he will be recommended to take 4 standard subjects and Higher Mother Tongue Language. (according to the text in the table). 5

How does Subject-based Banding work? If your child passes all 4 subjects at the end of Primary 4, he will be recommended to take 4 standard subjects. (according to the text in the table) 6

How does Subject-based Banding work? If your child passes 3 subjects at the end of Primary 4, he will also be recommended to take 4 standard subjects. (according to the text in the table) 7

How does Subject-based Banding work? If your child passes 2 subjects… (as per the 4 scenarios, pls read from slides). Our recommendations will be based on how well the child has fared in the subjects. We want to be able to give the child a combination he can cope with and do well in the next year. 8

How does Subject-based Banding work? Let’s move on to see what will happen at the end of Primary 5. your child will take a subject determined by the school at Primary 6, based on our professional judgement of what would be best for your child. If a pupil who takes 1 or more foundation subjects does very well in them, the school may decide that he can upgrade his strong subjects to the standard level in Primary 6. Otherwise, the pupil would continue with the same subject combination. If a pupil who takes 4 standard subjects shows difficulty coping, at the end of Primary 5, the school may decide that it would be better for him to take 1 or more subjects at foundation level in Primary 6. All other pupils will continue the same subject combination in Primary 6. At the end of P6, your child will sit for the PSLE. For your child’s cohort, all subjects are examinable except Foundation Science. Examinable Foundation Science will only be offered one year later as we need to review the Foundation Science syllabus to make it examinable, as it is not currently designed as an examinable subject. 9

Subjects at P5 English Offered at standard and foundation levels Mathematics Science Mother Tongue Offered at higher, standard and foundation levels

Some Guiding Principles The school will have the best interest of each child in mind The school will proceed on the basis of the `best fit’ for each child All pupils will be encouraged to stretch themselves for the more challenging subject combinations instead of taking a perceived easy way out if they are able to do so 11

Selection Criteria Progression to P5 will be based on the overall performance in 4 subjects: English, Maths, Science and Mother Tongue (where applicable) CA1 CA2 SA1 SA2 Total 15% 20% 50% 100%

Subject Combinations Criteria Combination HMT Std EL Std Ma Std Sc For strong to very strong pupils with strength in MTL Fd MT A very small minority-For those who have shown a consistent pattern of struggling with MT despite best effort Std MT The majority of the cohort Strong to very strong pupils Fd Math A very small minority-For those who have shown a consistent pattern of struggling with Math despite best effort Fd Sc A minority - For those who show a high capacity in EL even though they struggle with the other subjects Fd EL Fd Ma Weak Pupils Weak pupils with strength in 1 specific subject 13

Allocation of course Criteria Combination Pass 4 subjects + Band 1 MT 4S+HMT Pass 3 or 4 subjects 4S Pass 2 subjects but all scoring 35 & above Pass 2 subjects but MT/Maths scoring <29 3S + BMT/FMa Pass EL/MT only EL/MT + 3F Fail all 4F

Selection Criteria Pass mark – 50 marks Importance of EL Importance of Mathematics

At the End of P4… School makes recommendation for a subject combination Parents have the option to accept the school’s recommendation or proceed with their own choice

At the end of P5… School will choose Criteria Decision Pass 1 subject Continue with P5 subject combination to P6 Fail all subjects 4 foundation subjects at P6 Pass HMT and get Band 2 for MT Continue with HMT at P6

Upgrading The school will allow upgrades at the end of P5 based on the following: Criteria Decision Band 1 for any one foundation subjects (85% and better) Upgrade to standard level at P6 for the subject Band 1 for 3 or more foundation subjects (85% and better) Upgrade to 4 standard subjects but has to repeat P5

Important Dates Date Events 4 – 20 Aug CA2 Examinations 17 - 18 Sep Oral Examinations 3 Oct,13 Oct, 23-24 Oct, 29-30 Oct SA2 Examinations November Exercise of Options 19

Help! How Shall I Choose? Understand the abilities and needs of your child Understand the scoring system for PSLE Understand the future pathways for your child (e.g. to qualify for polytechnic education, a pass in Mathematics at `O’ levels is needed)

How will PSLE scores be calculated? The PSLE scoring system remains unchanged The raw mark for each subject is converted to a transformed score (T-score) The T-score reflects the pupils’ standing relative to other pupils on a common scale The Aggregate Score is the sum of the T-score in all subjects Each subject carries equal weighting How will PSLE scores be calculated? There will be no change to the current method for computing the PSLE score. The PSLE score determines which secondary school and which secondary school course your child can go to. The current method for computing the PSLE score gives a fair comparison across all subject combinations, including standard and foundation subjects. What happens is that the raw mark for each subject is converted to a transformed score (also known as the T-score). This T-score reflects the pupils’ standing relative to other pupils on a common scale. The Aggregate Score is the sum of the T score in all subjects. Each subject carries equal weighting. 21

How will PSLE scores be calculated? The PSLE score takes into account the content and demand of each subject number of subjects taken For each subject, the subject score depends on the content and demand of the subject. Standard subjects have more content and more difficult questions than foundation subjects, so this is taken into account when calculating the score. Most pupils take 4 PSLE subjects, while some pupils may take 3 PSLE subjects to help them focus on the fundamentals. The scoring system will also take the number of subjects into consideration. How would Subject-based Banding affect a child’s chances for the different secondary school courses - Express, Normal (Academic), Normal (Technical). If a pupil takes all standard subjects, the chances are exactly the same as in the previous system. Depending on how well the pupil does at the PSLE, he will be posted to a course suitable for him i.e. Special / Express, Normal (Academic), Normal (Technical). If a pupil takes only 3 examinable foundation subjects because he is generally weaker in most of his subjects, he is likely to go to Normal (Technical) course unless he does exceptionally well, in which case he may qualify for Normal (Academic) course. This is the same as the current system. If a pupil takes 1 or 2 standard subjects as is now possible with Subject-based Banding, compared to someone who takes only foundation subjects, his chances of qualifying for Normal (Academic) course will be higher if he does well in his PSLE. Offering the weaker subjects at the foundation level would not disadvantage pupils, as doing so would allow them to focus on building up strong fundamentals in these subjects and prepare better for secondary school. 22

We CARE for each of our pupils We will proceed in the best interest of every child We will review cases at the margins carefully and ensure that we always give our pupils a more challenging combination so they can stretch We will work with parents to ensure you understand the rationale of our recommendations

Let’s Work Together Work together with us. Check first with teacher; don’t assume the worst Insist on independence Align values Support our school rules Child is to be punctual and to attend lessons unless there is a medical reason. if away, pls call the office Don’t come to school when sick

Q & A 25