MOE & SEAB to stop listing top-scoring students in all national exams

The Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) will stop listing the top-scoring students in all national examinations. 

They'll stop the current practice for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and the O- and N-Level examinations. 

MOE began providing a list of top students in 1999 but has never indicated the top scorers for the A-Level examination. 

So on Thursday - when the PSLE results are out - the focus will be on the performance of the whole cohort. 

MOE wants to recognise the students for their holistic development and all-round excellence. 

It hopes that the change will balance the over-emphasis on academic results. 

But this does not mean schools won't celebrate academic achievement. 

Students who've done well will still receive recognition, such as through the Edusave Awards and scholarships. 

The change comes in the midst of a debate on whether the PSLE, the first major examination for students, is proving to be too much of a pressure cooker for parents and students.