IP schools report lower cut-off points

Drop probably due to smaller PSLE cohort and lower overall T-scores

A smaller cohort in this year's Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), along with lower T-scores overall, could be the reason that most schools offering the Integrated Programme (IP) reported lower cut-off points yesterday.

Hwa Chong Institution's (HCI) cut-off, for instance, came down from 261 last year to 256, while Raffles Institution's dropped from 263 to 259 - confirming expectations from many parents that their children stood a better chance of getting into popular IP schools this time round.

Weeks before the Secondary 1 postings were released yesterday, there were already discussions about how this year's cohort size and lower T-scores overall would affect their children.

Most parents speculated that the smaller cohort size of 43,047, compared to 48,333 last year, meant less competition for the IP schools, which take in the top 10 per cent of performers.

Straits Times