Established in 1999



 

Home

Public Others Government Business Arts Community
Entertainment Lifestyle Services People Travel Internet Stuff

 

 

     Community: Singapore Community Issues

       Community Issues

      SAT for university admission from 2003

     In recent days, there has been a debate on the introduction of SAT for university admission from 2003. The local media as well as the general community have sought to air their views on the matter.

     Our task is not to comment on the issue, but to put information collected from various sources here and let you form your own opinion.

 

     Excerpt of a letter to The Forum, The Straits Times of 11 Nov 2000

     "...I am well aware of the SAT, as my children successfully prepared for it for admission to universities in the US 10 years ago. As a past resident, and a continuing admirer of Singapore, I read with great dismay that students here will now be subjected to the test.

     "The SAT, unfortunately, is unregulated, self-serving and far from being scientifically designed. It is produced by a private, revenue-generating organisation that is not related to any university - notwithstanding its original name, Princeton Testing Services.

     "A book, None Of The Above: The Truth Behind The SATS, by David Owen and Marilyn Doerr provides ample and well-documented information on this organisation and the SAT. It attempts to correct the unfortunate prevailing, and undeserved, positive impression of the SAT based wholly on gross misinformation surrounding it and the Princeton Testing Services..."

     Edward WONG, California USA

 

     Excerpt of a letter to The Forum, The Straits Times of 25 Oct 2000

     "...However, the fact is the sudden introduction of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) - making a whopping 25 per cent of the entry score - will undoubtedly place great stress on the pioneering batches of students.

     "...It must also be noted that while SAT is widely used among the heterogeneous population of the United States, there have been criticisms within that country that it favours those who speak predominantly English. These are valid concerns. While the Ministry of Education is taking a bold and necessary step forward, it should ensure that progress is not at students' expense."

     NG Yong Kuan

 

 

     The Straits Times reported on 24 Oct 2000 that the Education Ministry had said on 23 Oct 2000 that it will use the American Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) for university admission from the year 2003. But it will also look into developing its own test in a few years' time.