Education Current system supports both children and parents well

We thank Ms Ling Seow Jing for her views on the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) (Why parents can't help but feel stressed about the PSLE, Nov 3), and both Ms Ling and Ms Ng Yee Cheng (Smaller class sizes can make a difference to teachers' workload, Oct 23) for their perspectives on class sizes.

- William Lim Divisional Director, Planning Ministry of Education

As parents ourselves, we understand the stress many parents feel about the PSLE. We share their desire to see all children do well and secure places in their preferred schools with their PSLE results. We would like to highlight some aspects of the current education system and the support available.

The Achievement Level system introduced in 2021 was designed to move away from a fine differentiation of grades by assessing students in broader bands based on their own performance, not peer comparison. The PSLE serves as a learning checkpoint rather than a race for marks.