If you have a child taking the PSLE, these last weeks can feel like the longest of the whole primary school journey. Take heart that the written papers will end on 30 September!
Over the years, members of our KiasuParents community have supported one another by trading stories, as well as sharing hacks and survival tips. We combed our website and forum for the advice that’s still useful in this final stretch, and gathered the best of it here.
Note: the comments featured below have been lightly edited for language and clarity.
01 Voice of experience
Over the years, many parents have shared so much with us. Here are some voices that we found particularly compelling.
J
June Yong · mindset matters more
It’s less about how much revision you can squeeze in, but more about what kind of attitude we will have as we enter into this major exam.
We decided it was best not to overly pressurise the kids, but to let them grow at their own pace, and experience some degree of setback or failure.
I spent a few months having bedtime conversations with [my daughter]. Our conversations covered all the ‘what ifs’ in her mind: What if I don’t get the grades I want? What if I fail Chinese?
The PSLE has very little to do with your choice of career or future success. The PSLE says very little about you as a person. A single exam can only measure how much you’ve mastered at that point in time; it does not measure a person’s self-worth.
We had already chosen to contain [the PSLE] in a box labelled ‘Academics’ and not let it grow to outshadow the other areas of our lives, such as personal development, family life, friendships, and spiritual growth.
P
psle2011mum · do what's most important
I am not a qualified teacher, I am not a qualified writer; I am a qualified Mummy who stood in the gap for my children to help them as they needed me.
We spent a fair bit of time going through [my daughter's] answers and explaining to her why her answers merited less marks or none at all, and why the ‘correct’ answer merited more marks. Instead of providing the correct answer, she had to verbalise her thought processes, and I scaffolded with leading questions. The school has no time to do this. You can’t really 'shortcut' this process too much for most kids.
I knew we would have no time to revise them in the run up to PSLE, so I made sure that as we went through the papers, we did them thoroughly. Once the paper was done, we junked it. Our final revision was to revise our files of notes.
A
ashomech · focus on exam papers
The PSLE is not an impossible mountain to climb. With enough planning and preparation, it can be climbed with ease.
Timed practice and doing exam papers in simulated exam conditions (proper place to sit, no interruptions) really helps kids to face the real exam more confidently.
In September, get current-year papers and do them at timed conditions.
More importantly, REVISE corrected papers to understand why you made such mistakes and how to fix them.
S
00skyblue00 · relationships matter most
No improvement in results is worth sacrificing a parent's close relationship with their child.
For a good outcome in results to materialise, it requires the child, teachers, and family to work together hand in hand.
The PSLE is not daunting if we don’t let it be so. Whatever achievement your child eventually accomplishes is a bonus.
02 The final stretch
Practical notes from parents on how to spend the run-up to the written papers.
M
Do not attempt past-year papers if the child’s foundation is not stable. It is a waste of time and induces anxiety. A child needs outdoor activities and sufficient rest to process learned content.
maguro6 · thread
S
Help them make a plan to work on one subject each day… Involve them in the planning so they learn how to plan and schedule.
sharonkhoo · thread
D
Before bedtime, we watched the Chinese news together. If she didn’t understand what was going on, I would explain it to her. We would pick a news event to discuss if we had the time.
daisyt · article
b
I don’t expect [my daughter] to spend much time revising for English; it’s more important to me that she spends an hour or so on daily reading, for pleasure, and that she eventually gains enough interest and confidence to be inventive with the language, in her own way.
thebottomsupblog · article
P
So close to the PSLE, it's better to leave it to the professionals… Otherwise, the relationship will be strained between parent and child, because both of you are under stress to improve.
phtthp · thread
03 Keeping it in perspective
When the pressure builds, steadying words may provide some comfort.
M
Do not be too fixated over the schools your child can attend… get the results first then think about the schools… The PSLE is only the beginning, not the end. Jiayou!!
MissPPP · thread
C
The PSLE is just the starting point to a continuous load of exams and tests. It is important, but pales in comparison to, say, a university degree.
ChiefKiasu · thread
J
The PSLE is NOT a gauge of giftedness.
jtoh · thread
B
I always have faith that my child is capable, regardless of results. Academic success is not everything; good character and sound moral values, to me, are much more important.
BeContented · thread
L
As a mum that once upon a time had been through the same as what you are doing now, I would say ENJOY [your children] when you can now.
littlecloud · thread
M
The first PSLE I went through was the most stressful for me. After that, it got easier because I realised on hindsight what I was spending too much or too little time on, and calibrated the process.
manorway · thread
B
I asked myself: What’s really my priority for my child?… My TOP priority was building [my son’s] confidence in his own ability.
beanbear · thread
L
Let your kids know that you trust them in allocating their time between playing and studying, and respect their decision on what they want to do.
Liew Nga Wing · thread
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