As a critical milestone in a child’s academic journey in Singapore, the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is an event that many parents and students prepare for diligently. One of the four key subjects in this examination is English, the comprehension section of which, Paper 2, demands significant attention due to its weightage and complexity. In this discussion, we’ll explore the marking scheme of the PSLE English Comprehension Paper 2 as set forth by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB), and how parents can effectively guide their children towards understanding and mastering it.
According to the MOE SEAB, the PSLE English Paper 2 consists of three sections – grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension. The comprehension section, which is the main focus here, has the highest weightage among these three, and it’s usually subdivided into two parts: the MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) comprehension and the Open-ended comprehension. In both parts, the comprehension questions are designed to test the students’ ability to understand, interpret, and infer information from given passages.
The MCQ comprehension typically consists of about 5 questions based on a short passage, each carrying 2 marks. The questions usually test a variety of comprehension skills, including understanding of vocabulary, literal comprehension (where the answer can be directly found in the passage), and inferential comprehension (where the answer must be inferred from clues in the passage). For the MCQs, accuracy is crucial; students must select the most appropriate answer from the options provided.
The Open-ended comprehension is more challenging. Here, students are required to read a longer passage and answer approximately 10 questions that could be worth between 1 to 3 marks each, depending on the complexity of the question. For the open-ended questions, it’s not just about providing the correct answer, but also about expressing it in proper, grammatically accurate English. Quality of language is factored into the marking scheme, and spelling and grammatical errors may result in loss of marks.
However, it is crucial to note that the MOE SEAB does not release an exact marking scheme to the public. While the information provided above gives a general understanding of how the PSLE English Comprehension Paper 2 is marked, the specific marking criteria may vary slightly from year to year, depending on the complexity of the passages and questions.
As parents, it is essential to communicate to your children the importance of understanding the marking scheme. The journey from Primary 1 to Primary 6 is one of progressive learning, and your child’s skills in English comprehension should ideally develop along this path. You should continually support your child in honing their English skills, emphasizing the importance of understanding the passage well and answering the questions accurately and in a grammatically correct manner. Mock exams can be helpful in this regard, allowing your child to apply their skills in a simulated exam environment and familiarize themselves with the demands of the PSLE English Comprehension Paper 2.
| Paper | Component | Item Type | No. of Items | Marks | Weighting | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Writing) | Situational Writing | OE (Open-ended) | 1 | 15 | 27.5% | 1 h 10 min |
| Continuous Writing | OE (Open-ended) | 1 | 40 | |||
| 2 (Language Use and Comprehension) | Booklet A: Grammar | MCQ (Multiple-choice) | 10 | 10 | 47.5% | 1 h 50 min |
| Vocabulary | MCQ (Multiple-choice) | 5 | 5 | |||
| Vocabulary Cloze | MCQ (Multiple-choice) | 5 | 5 | |||
| Visual Text Comprehension | MCQ (Multiple-choice) | 8 | 8 | |||
| Booklet B: Grammar Cloze | OE (Open-ended) | 10 | 10 | |||
| Editing for Spelling and Grammar | OE (Open-ended) | 12 | 12 | |||
| Comprehension Cloze | OE (Open-ended) | 15 | 15 | |||
| Synthesis / Transformation | OE (Open-ended) | 10 | 10 | |||
| Comprehension OE | OE (Open-ended) | 20 | 20 | |||
| 3 (Listening Comprehension) | Listening Comprehension | MCQ (Multiple-choice) | 20 | 20 | 10% | About 35 min |
| 4 (Oral Communication) | Reading Aloud | OE (Open-ended) | 1 passage | 10 | 15% | About 10 min (5 min preparation time; about 5 min examination time) |
| Stimulus-based Conversation | OE (Open-ended) | 1 visual stimulus | 20 |
Legend: MCQ: Multiple-choice questions OE: Open-ended questions Total Marks: 200 Total Weighting: 100%