Overcoming exam fever

The night before the Chinese paper of his Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) in 2017, Ashton Ang had a fever, runny nose and sore throat.

He took the paper anyway - but in isolation, away from his schoolmates.

His father, financial planner Kelvin Ang, was worried about whether Ashton - now 15 and in Secondary 3 - would be able to take the paper and what the consequences would be if he did not.

Mr Ang, 43, had to obtain an MC and a doctor's note saying that the boy, though ill, was well enough to sit for the paper.

Mr Ryan Yeow, now 21 and an intern at a hedge fund, also fell ill during his PSLE in 2011.

The former Maris Stella Primary School pupil had chickenpox and took two of his four papers in a ward in Mount Alvernia hospital, watched by two invigilators.

"My mother freaked out," he said.

Taking a major exam is already stressful, but having to do so in a time of illness makes the experience even more trying for students and their families.

In China's Hubei province, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, the pressure of taking high-stakes exams during these distressing times is considerable, especially for those whose parents are front-line medical workers.

To lighten the burden of these children, the authorities have decided to award them extra points in their high school entrance exams.

In Singapore, many students soldier on with their exams even when they are ill.

Edith Cheow, 17, was down with a fever brought on by immense stress during her O-level exams last year.

Despite her anxiety, she took the English paper, saying her parents had given her strength by reassuring and comforting her.

She says: "I didn't want to let it go - to waste nine months of effort."

Her illness caused her to "lose focus during the exam" - her fever left her shivering and sneezing throughout. But she still managed to get an A2 for English.

For 17-year-old student M. Chong, fever and flu during her O-level exams last year affected her mental and emotional health.

"I would spend a couple of hours taking naps in the canteen and I remember I was so stressed before my geography paper, I would cry at night, which made my blocked nose even worse," she says.

During the paper itself, she recalls coughing and the congestion made it difficult for her to breathe.

Students who fall ill during major exams can apply to the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board for special consideration.

For GCE exams, candidates certified by the doctor to be unwell or unfit to sit the examinations can apply for special consideration after their papers and need not retake the exams.

But this is only if the candidate has already sat at least 50 per cent of the assessment weighting for the exam. If not, he will be given an "Absent" grade.

Mr Yeow applied for special consideration. It earned him an extra mark in his PSLE T-score, which went up from 249 to 250.

Ashton Ang's family submitted the medical documents to his school. Although they are unclear if it was a factor, he achieved an A for Chinese.

Ms Cassandra Heng, a 20-year-old university student, recalls the time her 19-year-old brother fell sick during his International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations. He declined to speak to The Sunday Times.

She says: "My parents and I were very worried. We didn't know if he had to retake his papers or if it meant he would get zero for that subject."

According to the IB's general regulations, schools can contact the IB board to put in place compensatory measures to support candidates who fall ill but still choose to sit the papers.

These include rescheduling an examination within 24 hours of the scheduled examination time, as well as implementing rest breaks or extending the duration of the paper.

Students who miss papers can still be awarded a mark on two conditions: "an acceptable reason" must be provided; and the candidate has to have submitted sufficient work amounting to 50 per cent of the total marks available in that subject, including an externally assessed component.

But Ms Heng says her brother's school "didn't really explain the consequences of missing papers due to sickness very well and we didn't know if the seriousness of the illness mattered".

Still, she adds, her brother - despite missing two papers - did all right. "It all kind of worked out."