Think Aussie high schoolers are stressed? Meet the 12-year-olds studying ten hours a day

Dateline travels to Singapore to find out why it’s education system tops the global leader board. We look at high-stakes testing, and ask if the culture of competition puts too much pressure on kids.

Source: Dateline

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It’s 8pm in Singapore and 12-year-old Xuan is at home sitting by his desk. He has an English paper and a Maths paper to finish before he goes to bed.

Xuan has already been to school, attended two extra tuition classes, and has been to an extra-curricular drama class.

“This is normal. Everyday,” Xuan explains.

The young student is preparing for the PSLE test - a national exam that takes place at the end of year six. It is like the NAPLAN test, but even more high stakes.

A student’s PSLE score will determine which secondary school they attend. High scores qualify for the top academic schools, while low scorers will go to schools geared toward vocational training.

“[I feel] anxious because if I mess up, then this will decide what marks I will get,” he said.

“Everyone wants to move onto a good school, to get a better job and it is worth it for the long run.”

So where does the pressure come from?

“I think it comes from our teachers, friends, family and it can get very stressful when everyone is looking at you thinking that you can score really well,” Xuan suggests.

Xuan’s routine is normal for a Singaporean kid and part of the culture, says Xuans mother Janice.

“It's our way of life. [Parents] have a full time job but, when we come back we still have to make sure that we look through the children's work and to help them to the best of our ability,” she said.

Education and good results are valued not just in Singaporean families but by the government. The country allocates about 20 percent of its GDP to its education budget and has done for years. Australia’s contribution is far less, hovering at around five percent of GDP.

The results are paying off for Singapore. In 2015, the country topped Programme for International Student Assessment’s (PISA) OECD rankings – a survey which evaluates the quality, equity and efficiency of international school systems.

In comparison, Australia is placed significantly lower, coming 25th in Maths, 16th in Reading and 14th in Science, well behind nations like Estonia, Poland, and New Zealand.

Janice admits the pressure of the high stakes testing at a young age can be intense.

“I think you have to suffer a little bit more you know and think of the gains at the end of the examination.”

Seventeen-year-old Charmaine suffered during and after the PSLE exams. Although she made it into the top academic stream, she struggled to keep up.

“I think it’s just the kind of environment that you're in it’s too much pressure,” she said.

"I kind of developed a fear of failure. Like a really, really intense one.”

Last year alone saw 56 per cent more young people in Singapore asking for mental health help, according to the country’s leading mental health NGO the Samaritans of Singapore. Charmaine herself has been diagnosed with depression.

“I think that even though we are a leader in education I think that we can do a lot better, and I think that relieving the pressure on children does not mean that we will necessarily lose that position in fact it might just further cement us in that number one spot.”

The strain young kids feel around the PSLE exam has been acknowledged by the government. Although the system is obviously yielding impressive results, it’s being phased out. A new system called “banding” will apparently allow kids to take different subjects at different levels of difficulty. It means there’ll be a greater mix of students of different abilities at the one school. It’s hoped the new system will ease stress on students and address the stigma around lower performing students and schools.

One of the developers of the country’s maths curriculum, Lu Mei, said the will allow more kids to strive.

“As we move along, school leaders are looking at other abilities as well,” he said.

“To a large extent, I think it would alleviate stress on the parents too.”

What is Singapore getting right?

Lu Mei says Singapore’s “secret sauce” to its educational success lies with the Ministry of Education’s efficiency .

The centralised system has been carefully structured, with only the top 30% of all graduates accepted into a teaching degree.

Teachers are well respected within the system and Singaporean culture – making it a desirable profession.

She says it’s this respect for education – and a focus on the future that sets Singapore apart.

“coding has been made compulsory for our primary school students. That is an example of how we try to prepare our students for the jobs that are to come in the future,” says Lu Mei.

As educators, we are not educating our children for today, not for tomorrow. We are educating them for the future economy in 20 years time.”