1. Done by: Ji Wei David Jovi Taige Ezekiel #easykill

2.  Education is the process of learning through one's life experiences or others teachings. It encompasses the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values and ideas. Education can occur within and beyond school.  Teaches the ability to apply information, not the ability to get information  Purpose:  Prepare students for the future, develop character values, have a good sense of self-awareness, a sound moral compass, and the necessary skills and knowledge to take on challenges of the future. EDUCATION

3. About MOE’s Ranking System (Version 1)  First started in the 1992  Ministry of Education (MOE) to release rankings of top 50 secondary schools and junior colleges  Reasons:  Wanted schools to pay more attention to academic outcomes  Low share of cohort made it into post-secondary in the 1980s (62%)  Wanted to spur schools to compete and help parents make more informed decisions  Result: o Post-secondary percentage increased to 88% in 1992 & 93% in 2000 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

4. About MOE’s Ranking System (Version 2)  After implementation, number of students who passed national exams increased.  But increased pressure on students, teachers & parents, which some parents found it unbearable and thought about migrating  In 2003, the Remaking Singapore Committee highlighted the "disproportionate attention" paid to examination results  Proposed to changing rankings to bandings  MOE accepted the proposal and replaced rankings with 21 bands  Only 9 bands released  MOE also released school’s achievements in terms of sports and character development (holistic development)  Result:  Schools start to chase achievements  Close down of “less important” CCA; students channeled to Uniform Groups  CCA become more stressful BACKGROUND INFORMATION

5. About MOE’s Ranking System (Version 3: Every School is a Good School)  Removed banding, replaced with scheme of awards  Want schools to focus on what they do best  Teacher to teach values and 21st century competencies  MOE wants schools and parents to focus on how schools can cater to students of all abilities, academic and otherwise  BUT:  Unofficial ranking can still be found online  Parents come together to collate results and rankings  Example: kiasuparents.com BACKGROUND INFORMATION

6.  Paper chase not over  Parents already trapped in the exam orientated mindset after 20 years of paper chase  Exam results still determine which secondary school, junior colleges and universities students go to  The remove of banding/ranking became an inconvenience for parents instead of relieving stress  Still a long way to go before we truly change our mindset and reduce academic focus  One big question is how ready society is to accept a broader definition of success, and to value talents beyond the academic. CORE ARGUMENT

7.  Increase the focus of holistic development, on character development and other skills  Put less focus on academic  Setup more specialised schools (Sports, arts, etc…)  BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY: PARENTS AND STUDENTS MUST LEARN AND BE WILLING TO CHANGE THEIR MINDSET AWAY FROM ACADEMIC, if not everything done will not work POSSIBLE CHANGES

8. FINALLY “IT TAKES SOMEONE BOLD TO PUT ASIDE THE STANDARD ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT AND CHANGE THE YARDSTICK OF SUCCESS” DR HON CHIEW WENG, PRINCIPAL OF HWA CHONG INSTITUTION.