Alamak! How come ZERO out of 25 for your science test?!

The tale of two education systems - an exploration into why the same triggering event produces two different student outcomes.

“It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become."

- Dr. Seuss.

A couple of weeks back, ThingOne came home and lamented that his science teacher docked 3 marks off his otherwise good effort on a science test. The reason: He “forgot” to write his name. I remembered thinking that that was quite harsh since the test was out of 15.

So, I am sure you can figure out why he got zero for this second test. The teacher, Mr J., said that he didn’t know whose paper it was, and there was no point giving marks to no one. At least that’s what I imagined he said.

I must admit my first reaction was, “Wah lau eh! How can? Maybe I write to Mr J., and fight for you.” This zero will surely impact his year-end grade.

In the end, I tamed the tiger mom in me and let the zero take its place in his progress report. He felt the consequence of his ill-disciplined habit, acknowledged his failure, and thought of a way to claw back some marks i.e. asks to do some other work to get extra credits. Is ThingOne an exceptionally motivated child? I don’t think so. He is a regular kid. But in this case, he was given some space to reflect, some room to work out his failure and a thick-skin to ask for more marks.

If in Singapore, how might this episode unfold?

Because the CA/ SA tests are so high-stakes, I will feel compelled to “do my duty for my son, and fight for the 25 marks”. The teacher will decide if he/she should buckle at my pressure (I suspect, depending on his/her stature and experience). AND my son will stand by the side, watching the drama as though he has nothing to do with it.

The question is – how is it that the same triggering event can have such completely different outcomes?

Don’t get me wrong – I am a strong supporter of Singapore education and I am very “how lian” when I announce that Singapore is top on the *PISA table. But now that we have that, should we not look into the real-life learning that can happen in school?

I often bemoan about its sparse academic content, but there is something in the US education system that draws out wider learning. My children have flourished in their short time here, and as I share our journey in my future blogs, it will be interesting to see if any of their experiences can be translated and augment our already excellent Singapore education.

There isn’t a fairy tale ending where I say, “He never forgot to write his name again and lived happily ever.” Get real lah. Of course, he forgets from time to time because he is still a teenager living in his distracted world. But that learning episode will be etched his mind and will form part of his cumulative learning process. That sounds like what education should be.

*PISA stands for Program for International Student Assessment. Learn more here.