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School ranking

School ranking in Singapore started as early as 1992, when the Ministry of Education started using the mean subject grade (MSG) as an indicator of academic performance. This indicator is the average of the grades of all subjects offered by a pupil.

"ST Schools 100" - a Straits Times supplement that ranks schools based on their yearly overall results - first began in 1992. This ranking is based on the information given by the Ministry of Education and based purely on academic results. As a result of this exercise, many schools have made English Literature (which is more difficult to score distinctions in) an optional subject for O-Level students in order to improve their positions in the annual ranking of schools.

In 1994, a new evaluation tool devised by the Ministry of Education was introduced. It was first introduced to 151 secondary schools in 1994, then to 14 junior colleges in 1995. Called Prism, in short for Performance Indicators for School Management, the tool allows a school to compare its actual performance with its expected performance. The expected performance, worked out by the Ministry of Education, is calculated using a national average to estimate a school's expected average. Since then, performance indicators for schools are released every year.

Performance indicators of schools over the years are available at the following URLs:

Ministry of Education. (1995, July 19). Press releases. Performance indicators for secondary schools 1995. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/1995/pr01895.htm

Ministry of Education. (1995, November 9). Press releases. Performance indicators of junior colleges 1995. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/1995/pr02995.htm

Ministry of Education. (1996, August 7). Press releases. Performance indicators of secondary schools 1996. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/1996/pr02596.htm

Ministry of Education. (1996, November 29). Press releases. Performance indicators of junior colleges 1996. Retrieved January 2, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/1996/st00496.htm

Ministry of Education. (1997, August 2). Press releases. Performance indicators for secondary schools 1997. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/1997/pr03097.htm

Ministry of Education. (1997, November 30). Press releases. Performance indicators for junior colleges 1997. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/1997/pr04897.htm

Ministry of Education. (1998, July 31). Press releases. Performance indicators for secondary schools 1998. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/1998/980814b.htm

Ministry of Education. (1998, August 17). Press releases. Performance indicators for junior colleges 1998. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/1998/982808a.htm

Ministry of Education. (1999, August 13). Press releases. Performance indicators for secondary schools 1999. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/1999/pr990825.htm

Ministry of Education. (1999, August 25). Press releases. Performance indicators for junior colleges 1999. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/1999/pr990901.htm

Ministry of Education. (2000, August 5). Press releases. Performance indicators and sustained achievement awards for secondary schools 2000. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.edu.sg/press/2000/pr05082000.htm

Ministry of Education. (2000, September 18). Press releases. Performance indicators for junior colleges 2000. Retrieved January 3, 2005, from www.moe.gov.sg/press/2000/pr18092000.htm



Author
Koh Lay Tin



References
"Myopic" to make students give up literature. (1997, May 30). The Straits Times, p. 53.

New evaluation tool for schools. (1995, March 28). The Straits Times,  p. 3.

Reward for schools which help students do better. (1995, July 9). The Straits Times, p. 1.

Schools making literature optional. (1995, May 24). The Straits Times, p. 3.

Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Press releases. Retrieved December 15, 2004, from  www1.moe.edu.sg/Press/index.htm 

The information in this article is valid as at 2000 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Politics and Government>>Education
Education--Singapore
Education>>School and their activities
Education>>Secondary education



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