Relief for students as adjustments made to selected GCE-Level exams coursework deadlines and exams

If you are taking the ‘N’, ‘O’, or ‘A’ Levels this year and are worried about implications from the circuit breaker period that will affect your performance for GCE-Level coursework, fret not.

The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) will make adjustments to ensure that students are “fairly assessed” with their coursework, given that students are doing full home-based learning right now.

In a press release on Friday (Apr 17), SEAB said it recognised that “most of the coursework cannot be done at home due to the need for face-to-face teacher supervision or the use of school facilities and equipment”. These include the use of studios for music, food laboratories for food and nutrition, studios for design and technology, as well as sports equipment and facilities for exercise and sports science.

National submission deadline will be extended by two weeks where possible by SEAB. It will also consider adjusting the task requirements where appropriate, such as reducing the number of assessment tasks.

SEAB will also accept evidence of learning from the schools and apply special consideration in grading the candidates in these coursework subjects.

In total, coursework submission deadlines for 12 GCE-level subjects will be extended by two weeks.

However, 10 GCE-Level subjects and their coursework submission deadlines cannot be extended as the submission deadlines are very close to school preliminary exams or year-end national exams.

There will be no changes to the remaining 12 GCE A-Level subjects as the coursework components can be carried out independently through research and independent study.

In the event that full home-based learning is extended and that coursework national submission deadlines cannot be further extended without overlapping with school preliminary examinations, students should submit the coursework they have so far completed. SEAB said it has established processes to ensure that the students will still be fairly assessed.

On the other hand, three GCE A-Level H3 subjects that are taught by the local Autonomous Universities will take place only after the end of the full home-based learning period.

SEAB added that all national exams, including the mid-year GCE O-Level and A-Level Mother Tongue Language examinations in June will still carry on.

“If any changes are required, given the fluidity of the current COVID-19 situation, we will certainly provide timely updates,” said SEAB.