This is why parents go to great lengths to conquer PSLE. But what do their children say?

Indeed, according to a survey of 1,000 parents of Primary Five and Six pupils, 99 per cent said good PSLE scores were important.

This is the first such nationwide survey — commissioned by CNA — since the change of scoring system in 2021 from the T-score to Achievement Levels (ALs).

In the survey, 85 per cent of parents also said their children were stressed out about the PSLE, while 64 per cent of parents themselves were stressed out.

Parents are in fact “more stressed” since the change of scoring system, observed science tutor Jayce Or, who started PSLE prep workshops for parents in 2017.

What is driving the obsession with grades, and what is it doing to Singapore’s children? The programme Regardless of Grades, which airs tonight (March 29), finds out how much has changed since the recent moves to reduce the overemphasis on academic results.

WHAT A GOOD SCORE MEANS

Under the current PSLE scoring system, which spans eight ALs, the total scores range from four to 32, which are “less finely differentiated” — as intended by the Ministry of Education (MOE) — than the previous range of more than 200 aggregate scores.

For example, the previous grade A, which was 75 to 90 marks, is now split into AL2 (85 to 89), AL3 (80 to 84) and AL4 (75 to 79), with AL1 for 90 marks and above.

But in the past, pupils could “drop two to four marks” and still get an A, said Or, the founder of enrichment centre Germinate Learning.