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I aced the PSLE: It mattered, but not in the way I’d expected
Preparing for milestone exams helped me develop focus, resilience and a love for learning.
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The writer said he learnt more from falling short at later milestones – his O-level and university exams – than he did from acing the PSLE.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
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280. My aggregate or T-score was nothing more than a small, grainy figure on a computer-generated printout that was not even a certificate. Yet that slip of paper in my hands felt like a gold medal, for after a year of hard slog, I had emerged as my school’s top PSLE pupil.
The 12-year-old me had been conditioned to believe that grades were an all-important marker of personal success, and that coming out ahead in school would automatically translate into advantage in career and life.
