Revised Semester 2 Academic Calendar and Assessment Matters

Due to the disruption of the academic calendar and schedule by COVID-19, here are the updated details on the Semester 2 Academic Calendar, Assessment Weightings and the Removal of Common Last Topics from PSLE 2020.

(Also in PG Letter Part 2: Academic Matters dated 8 May 2020)

I           Revised Semester 2 Academic Calendar (For P1 – P6)

The revised Semester 2 Academic Calendar is as follows:

5 May – 1 Jun                      May Holidays                        4 weeks

2 Jun – 19 Jul                      Term 3                                        7 weeks

20 Jul – 26 Jul                     Mid-term Break                   1 week

27 Jul – 6 Sep                      Term 3 continues                 6 weeks

7 Sep – 13 Sep                     September Holidays         1 week

14 Sep – 20 Nov                 Term 4                                       10 weeks

II          Revised Assessment Weightings (For P1 – P6)

The revised Assessment Weightings are as follows (Updates in Red):

III        Removal of Common Last Topics from PSLE (For P6)

From MOE Press Release dated 21 April

•       In light of the impact that the extended CB period has on curriculum time and to further allay students' concerns and anxiety about catching up with the curriculum, the Common Last Topics (CLT) will be removed from the national examinations this year. The CLT is a set of topics from a syllabus identified by MOE that would be taught last by all schools towards the end of the academic year. Examples of CLT to be removed include "Interactions within the Environment" for PSLE Science …... The CLT provides MOE and SEAB with the flexibility of reducing the scope covered in national examinations should an unforeseen situation occur that does not allow schools to complete their teaching for the graduating cohorts. The CLT will still be taught, but not be examinable.

•       For skill-based subjects such as English Language and MTL, it will not be meaningful and practical to identify CLTs. In such instances, SEAB will take the disruption to curriculum time into consideration during marking and grading to ensure that all students are fairly assessed.

For subject-specific CLT, please refer to the Science / Foundation Science and Math / Foundation Math PDFs at the following Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board website:

• https://www.seab.gov.sg/home/examinations/psle/psle-formats-examined-in-2020