Singapore continued its strong performance in the 2016 International Baccalaureate (IB) exam, with Singaporean students accounting for 60% of those worldwide taking home the perfect score of 45. The average score of Singapore’s students was also 38.27 – substantially higher than the global IB average of 29.21.
The stunning statistics have been reported by CNA, Straits Times and Today Online.
And yet is our focus on the high achievement simply another symptom of the Singapore syndrome: hyper-competitiveness over grades, to the detriment of students? We’ve previously written on the adverse effects, including suicide, and the need to remind students who receive poor PSLE results that it’s not the end of the world for them.
Given that MOE stopped announcing the top PSLE scorers in 2012, should we also avoid focusing on Singapore’s IB performance, to avoid placing too much pressure on students to achieve these results?
While we in Singapore really measure ourselves too much by the almighty ‘A’ (the grade), it’s also important to recognise real achievements.
For instance, we celebrated when Joseph Schooling clinched Olympic gold, and when young Singaporean girls delivered impressive performances overseas in singing, indoor sky-diving and robotics, we naturally felt a sense of pride.
Likewise, IB accomplishments gained out of personal passion, rather than crushing academic pressure, is worth celebrating. Practically speaking, Singapore as a small country could certainly do with what prestige it can gain on the world stage.
Sadly in Singapore, while the original spirit of the IB qualification is more humanist than the grade-driven ‘A’ levels (for example incorporating a community service project, and dispensing with the competitive bell curve), it is still being prepared for with the familiar high-octane, high-score rat-race that’s given rise to some students now attending IB tuition, despite the diploma course not requiring it. This kiasu attitude then paves the way for more expectations and stress on students regardless of ability or interest, thus turning the IB into yet another paper chase.
Experts put it down to the broader culture where parents view the IB as an educational qualification their child should excel in, like any other. Thus, those who can afford the annual IB course fee (a cost-prohibitive $6,600-20,000) go on to invest in IB tuition too, driving up the performance standard across the board.
Private IB tutors for their part are happy to provide the service, which then prompts even more parents to apply for IB tuition for fear that their child might lose out.
Ultimately changing competition into something healthy would require valuing education for what it is: a practical achievement that is also less important than a student’s actual development into a functioning adult member of society.
P.S. The O-level results will be coming out at 2pm today, making it a good time to see if we will play a punishing ranking game, or recognise our individual youths and celebrate their healthy development.
By Vincent Tan
