One of the most significant lasting effects from home-based learning during the circuit breaker period was announced last month, when the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) released its list of topics across various subjects that will be cut from national examinations for graduating students.
The Ministry of Education said these Common Last Topics are typically taught towards the end of the academic year, and it made the decision to cut the topics based on the impact of the extended circuit breaker on curriculum time.
We appreciate that these sweeping changes may be causing no small amount of anxiety for graduating students and their parents, and are committed to providing the best support we can. To begin with, we have put together this simple FAQ article with information you need to know and some advice on how best to cope with the impact of the changes.
Your child will be affected by the removal of examination topics if he or she is in a graduating cohort and is taking a national examination such as the PSLE or the ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level examinations this year.
This means nearly all Primary 6, Secondary 4, and JC2 students will have to prepare for their exams taking into account the topics that have been removed. Children not taking a national examination this year are not affected.
The removal of the Common Last Topics only means that they will not appear as questions in national examinations so as to “ease the pressure off teachers and students in catching up with the curriculum”, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said. The topics will still be taught in classes as far as possible.
Your child’s school should have contacted you with the information by now, but the full list of topics that have been removed for every subject can also be found on SEAB’s website.
You should also note that there are no Common Last Topics for the language subjects such as English and the mother tongue subjects, which MOE considers “skill-based” subjects. Instead, SEAB will take into consideration the disruptions to curriculum time during marking and grading when students are assessed.
We have listed some of the topics for more widely read subjects in the tables below, and also provided links to the SEAB’s website for more details.
Because certain topics will no longer be tested, your child’s revision should focus on the rest of the topics instead.
This will mean knowing which questions to omit when doing revision papers, for example, so as not to waste time and energy preparing needlessly.
Different subjects require different strategies and approaches to tackle. Talk to your child’s teachers or tutors about how they are adjusting your child’s learning and revision process so you can also help supervise your child at home.
Find out which of the remaining topics your child might need more practice for, although you should avoid attempting to second-guess too much what the Common Last Topics will be replaced by in the examination papers.
Consultations and face-to-face lessons in school for students in graduating cohorts have also been allowed since 19 May 2020. Maximise the time your child has with his or her teacher by making sure they go in prepared with questions to ask, whether the questions are from a worksheet or revision paper, or simply to clarify about what your child needs to be focusing on in his or her revision.
Phua Kai Ying, Academic Director of The Learning Lab
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused widespread disruption to the education of students all around the world, most of all perhaps to those belonging to graduating cohorts.
Common Last Topics are just one among many changes and challenges that students have to face, and adapting quickly and effectively will be crucial ahead of the national examinations.
Find out more about our English, Maths and Science programmes.
At The Learning Lab, we are dedicated to helping you and your child navigate these unfamiliar waters together. Click here to find out how our Term 3 curriculum can equip your child with the confidence and knowledge to conquer the rest of the academic year.
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