The Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (or Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Level) is a GCE Ordinary Level examination held annually in Singapore and is jointly conducted by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) and the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES).[1] Students are graded in the bands ranging from A to F and each band has a respective grade point, a lower grade point indicates poor performance (e.g. A1 band equates to 1 grade point). The number at the end of each grade corresponds to the grade point that they receive (i.e. A1 = 1, A2 = 2, B3 = 3, B4 = 4, C5 = 5, C6 = 6, D7 = 7 E8 = 8, F9 = 9).[2] To pass an individual O-Level subject, a student must score at least C6 (6 grade points) or above. The highest grade a student can attain is A1 (1 grade point). [3]
The Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (GCE O-Level) examination was introduced in 1971. Despite the engagement of an identical examination board as partnering authority, the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examination has no relation to the British GCSE examinations, having de-linked since 2006 when the Ministry of Education (MOE) took over the management of its national examination. This is owing to the stark differences in the development of the respective education systems in the two countries.[4] Nevertheless, the qualification is recognised internationally as equivalent to the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), taken by international candidates including Singaporean students who take the exam as private candidates, as well as the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination taken by students in the United Kingdom.[5]
The national examination is taken by secondary school students at the end of their fourth year (for Express stream) or fifth year (for Normal Academic stream), and is open to private candidates. Recent studies show that approximately 30,000 candidates take the Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Level exams annually.[6]
In 2019, MOE announced that the last year of assessment for the Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-Levels will be in 2026. From 2027, all Secondary 4 (equivalent to Grade 10) students will sit for the new Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC), which combines the former O-Levels, NA-Levels and NT-Levels certificates into a single certificate. This is in alignment with the removal of streaming in secondary schools from 2024, which previously separated O-Level, NA-Level and NT-Level candidates into the Express Stream, Normal (Academic) Stream and Normal (Technical) Stream respectively, in efforts to improve social mobility within the country.[7]
- ^ "GENERAL INFORMATION". Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ https://www.seab.gov.sg/docs/default-source/national-examinations/gce-o-level/gce-o-level_result_slip_explanatory_notes.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ctn1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ hermes (11 September 2017). "Changes to Britain's GCSE and A-level exams won't affect Singapore students". The Straits Times. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ "Ten years of the GCSE". BBC News. 26 August 1998. Retrieved 27 December 2006.
- ^ "Release of the 2016 Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education (Ordinary Level) Examination" (PDF). Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "GCE O- and N-Level exams to be replaced by new national common exam in 2027". TODAY. Retrieved 10 January 2024.