General Consideration

WITH the refinements introduced to the NES,36 streaming according to ability gradually gained public acceptance. While casual observation of examination results readily suggests that education attainment has improved substantially since the implementation of the NES,37 it is useful to evaluate the improvements in terms of the objectives spelt out in the Goh Report.

Effectiveness of the Bilingual Policy

While examination results alone may not adequately measure literacy levels, in the absence of standardized tests of literacy, performance in standardized achievement tests such as the national examinations (PSLE, N, O, and A level examinations), they are the best indicators of proficiency levels in the two languages and, of course, the other school subjects.

Prior to the implementation of the NES, more than 60 per cent of the pupils who sat the PSLE and the O level examination failed in one or both languages. Only 19 per cent of each cohort passed in both languages at O level. Under the NES, performances in the two languages at both the PSLE and O level examination have improved tremendously. For example, in 1984 which was the first year for the Extended course pupils to sit the PSLE, the overall percentage passes at the PSLE in English and the second language were 85.5 and 98.7 per cent respectively. In 1985, while the percentage pass in the second language remained high at 98.7 per cent, the percentage pass in English increased further to 90.2 per cent. That the percentage passes for both English and the second language increased to a level above 90 per cent is truly remarkable when compared to the pre-NES position.

The improvements in the examination results for English and the second language were repeated at the O level examination. The percentage passes in the second language over the last three or four years have consistently been above 90 per cent. Performances in English improved dramatically in 1984, the first year in which pupils streamed into the Express course sat the O level examination, rising from 41.2 to 52.4 per cent. The percentage pass in English improved further to 64.8 per cent in 1985.