Janil Puthucheary on ensuring fair assessment for O-Level English oral examination

The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) conducted a thorough investigation and concluded that the same prompt was displayed for all candidates who sat for the O-Level English Language oral examination on Jul 15. It will review the oral examination processes for students to read the oral prompt more carefully during the 10-minute preparation time and remains committed to ensuring that all candidates, including those who might have misread the prompt, are assessed fairly. Senior Minister of State for Education Janil Puthucheary, who gave this update in reply to MPs’ questions in parliament on Wednesday (Aug 5), said the 432 candidates who reported a discrepancy came from 200 different oral examiner teams. As a group, the candidates who reported discrepancies fared as well as other candidates who did not report any discrepancies, said Dr Janil. Schools are working with some candidates who experienced significant distress for special consideration to ensure fair assessment, he added.