It’s a long way to Tipperary,

It’s a long way to go.

- “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” by Jack Judge and Harry Williams

Is Singapore education going to embrace authentic assessment? A friend of mine recently seemed to suggest a “yes” to that question or was that perhaps a prayer in her heart? Education in Singapore is always associated with a school system that emphasizes high stakes examinations. There have been many initiatives by the Ministry of Education (MOE) of Singapore to change that and also because the leaders of the country have felt the need to produce students who are more in tune with the needs of the workforce of the 21st century. So the MOE has introduced project work and the “through train” approach for the top schools where students do not have to sit for the GCE O levels. Recently PERI has also recommended the removal of examinations from the Primary 1 and 2 levels. It is perhaps not surprising to hope or think that MOE would move away from high stakes examinations in favor of authentic assessment.

However, despite these changes, I have serious doubts about MOE’s desire to make such a fundamental change to the system. The high stakes examinations have been long been regarded as one of the bedrock of Singapore’s education system. It has always been the way Singapore has differentiated the “good” learners from the not-so-good” learners. It is perhaps the only way that the MOE knows how to differentiate learning ability. From these high stakes examinations the bell curve will be applied to the mass of Singaporeans and each will take their “rightful” place in society. It has always been regarded as the handmaiden of Singapore’s “meritocratic” system. It has always been hailed as the way for the less well-off to socially and economically catch up with the well-to-do. The examinations-heavy school system is seen as the only “impartial” way of determining the successful and the less successful. For these reasons alone, the MOE is not likely to abandon or make these examinations less important in the near future. They simply do not have the expertise to do so. I also suspect that the officials in the MOE responsible for the school curricula are of the old paradigm and cannot but see any other method of assessment as anything more than just mere fluff. Just look at the alternative to examinations that PERI has recommended as an example of their inability to change their paradigm. Instead of the written examinations, they recommended “bite-sized, topicals tests”! The same applies for the many running and teaching in the schools in Singapore today.

Secondly, high stakes written examinations are sustained by a bureaucratic mentality, not by an educational mind set. Schools, and indeed “educational” ministries, have also seen written examinations as an easy option to use to “assess learning”. It is less complex and seemingly impartial in that “right” and “wrong” answers becomes “clear”. It is easier to administer than authentic assessments. It is also administratively easier to rank students locally and internationally. A by-product of this is that it is also easier to rank teachers in schools!

The high stakes examination culture is also important to the MOE because it is these examinations that has given Singapore that international prestige it is getting with regards to education. The Government has declared its aim to make Singapore an educational hub for the region. The exploits of students from Singapore in international surveys, like TIMSS, has been used by our leaders as justification for the success of the system and also for publicity. In fact we are so proud of our examinations success, we have even started our own examination syndicate, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB), to sell our Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) to neighboring countries as the iPSLE. No prizes for guessing what kind of assessment is involved in the PSLE or iPSLE. We are proud that our system is being exported elsewhere.

So how do we now say we are going to change that system of assessment when we have been selling it to foreign shores? How will serious changes to our written examinations affect international perception of us. Imagine no more written examinations like the PSLE, GCE O and A levels. How will Singapore measure with the rest of the world? Will the rest of the world still continue to regard Singapre’s students highly still if it moves into an authentic assessment mode? I suspect the officials in MOE are afraid to think of that. Right now, MOE is enjoying the prestige due to the written examinations. That international prestige will come under closer and more serious scrutiny if they move into authentic assessment. It is something MOE cannot afford to let happen. The examinations have been MOE’s version of the Emperor’s new clothes. Nobody wants to admit that the so-called quality is only illusional (or delusional?). No one in MOE wants anyone to look closer. Authentic assessment is not coming to Singapore in a big way soon. While some attempts have been made to downplay the high stakes examinations role in Singapore schools, it is hard to admit that you have no clothes on when you have unconsciously been parading yourself naked to the world!