Leaving Examination or PSLE) in the last five years were analyze to identify items
that assess competencies beyond procedural knowledge. In the second part, these
items were used in an intact class of 38 pupils in a typical primary school in
Singapore. While this was a study on just one class, there was a conscious effort to
select a class that could be found in any schools in Singapore. The pupils were
observed as they solved these problems individually or in pairs over a period of three
months.
The PSLE Mathematics is a two-and-a-quarter hour paper-and-pencil test that
comprises fifty items of which fifteen are selected-response type items. The remaining
thirty-five items were constructed-response type items of which fifteen required
pupils to communicate their solution methods. These fifteen items make up 55% of
the total score. Released items from 2000 to 2004 were selected for analysis. A total
of 196 of the 250 items were released. About 80% of all the items were released each
year. The examination is in the English Language which is also the language of
instruction, although not necessarily the home language.
The released items were classified as procedural items or challenging items.
Procedural items assess knowledge, basic skills, routine procedures and familiar word
problem solving. Challenging items require competencies that are beyond routine
procedures.
Figures 1 includes some examples of items classified as procedural items. The
first item assesses knowledge. The second one assesses basic computation skills. The
third one assesses a routine procedure to find area. Although the last item involves
several steps in the solution, this type of word problem is familiar to the pupils. Such
word problems are typically solved in a linear manner by identifying suitable
operations and carrying out those operations.