PSLE in Singapore
13 October 2026 · Tutor Circle
The PSLE is the Primary School Leaving Examination. Each of four subjects receives an Achievement Level from AL1 to AL8, and the PSLE Score is those four levels added together. The score runs from 4 to 32. A lower score is the stronger result. Secondary 1 posting uses that score, through three Posting Groups.
- Subjects
- English, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue
- Achievement Levels
- AL1 is 90 and above. AL8 is below 20. Eight bands in each subject
- PSLE Score
- The four ALs added. 4 is best. 32 is the other end
- Foundation
- A maps to AL6, B to AL7, C to AL8, for posting
- Posting Groups
- 4–20 is Group 3. 26–30 is Group 1 only with AL7 or better in English and Mathematics
- Tie-break
- Citizenship, then choice order, then balloting, when the score is the same for the last place
How the PSLE Score is built
The exam board is the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board. The scoring rules parents use for posting are published by the Ministry of Education. [1] [5]
A student sits English, Mathematics, Science and a Mother Tongue language. Each subject comes back as an Achievement Level. Add the four numbers. That total is the PSLE Score. AL1 plus AL1 plus AL1 plus AL1 is a PSLE Score of 4. Four AL8s would be 32.
Parents who sat the old T-score still expect a higher number to be better. Under Achievement Levels it is the other way round. A score of 8 is stronger than a score of 16. SchoolFinder lists ranges in that same direction: the first number is the strongest student posted, and the second number is the cut-off. [3]
Achievement Level mark ranges
The bands are fixed mark ranges. A student on 90 and a student on 98 are both AL1 in that subject. The extra marks do not create a finer PSLE Score. MOE designed the upper bands to be narrower, and the middle and lower bands to be wider, so small mark gaps in the middle of the range do not split students who have a similar level of achievement. [1]
| Achievement Level | Mark range | Width of the band |
|---|---|---|
| AL1 | 90 and above | 11 marks, 90 to 100 |
| AL2 | 85–89 | 5 marks |
| AL3 | 80–84 | 5 marks |
| AL4 | 75–79 | 5 marks |
| AL5 | 65–74 | 10 marks |
| AL6 | 45–64 | 20 marks |
| AL7 | 20–44 | 25 marks |
| AL8 | Below 20 | 20 marks, 0 to 19 |
How wide each Achievement Level is, in marks
Moving from 84 to 85 changes AL3 to AL2. Moving from 50 to 60 stays inside AL6. That is why a tutor and a parent should know which boundary the child is near, not only the raw mark.
Foundation subjects
A student who takes a subject at Foundation level receives A, B or C on that paper. For the PSLE Score used in posting, those grades map onto the Standard scale. [1]
| Foundation grade | Foundation mark | Enters the PSLE Score as |
|---|---|---|
| A | 75–100 | AL6 |
| B | 30–74 | AL7 |
| C | Below 30 | AL8 |
The mapped grade is what you add. A student with Foundation A in one subject adds 6 for that subject, not 1. The other three subjects are added in the same way, Standard or mapped.
Posting Groups
The PSLE Score places the student in a Posting Group. The group is used to admit the student to a secondary school and to guide the subject level they start at Secondary 1. Full Subject-Based Banding then lets the school move subject levels later. Posting Group 3 is not the same phrase as AL3. One is a posting band. The other is a subject grade. [2]
PSLE Score bands used for Secondary 1 posting
- 4–20. Posting Group 3, most subjects at G3
- 21–22. Posting Group 2 or 3
- 23–24. Posting Group 2, most subjects at G2
- 25. Posting Group 1 or 2
- 26–30. Posting Group 1 if English and Mathematics are AL7 or better
At the start of Secondary 1, students posted through Group 3 typically take subjects at G3. Group 2 students typically start most subjects at G2, and Group 1 at G1. A student who did well in a particular PSLE subject can be offered that subject at a more demanding level. [2]
School choices and cut-off points
Families list secondary schools in order. Posting considers the student with the stronger PSLE Score first, for the schools on that student’s list. If two students with the same score are competing for the last place, MOE uses tie-breakers in this order: citizenship, then the choice order of schools, then computerised balloting. [4] Putting a realistic school first is a strategy. Putting it sixth, behind five schools that did not take anyone near your score last year, spends the choice-order tie-break on schools that may never reach your child.
SchoolFinder shows last year’s first and last student posted. The last student’s score is the cut-off point for that exercise. It will move if this year’s results or this year’s choices move. [3] The ranges we have tabulated from the latest SchoolFinder release are on the secondary school rankings page.
A school that is not in the posting exercise
The School of the Arts does not take part in Secondary 1 posting. Entry there is by Direct School Admission and audition. A PSLE Score does not file that application. See the music school guide if that is the plan.
How families prepare
- Know the four ALs, not a single “overall percentage”. The boundary that matters is the one the child is about to cross.
- Use the school’s own papers. They show the standard the child is being trained to.
- SEAB publishes the timetable for the year. Do not plan a September holiday from an old blog’s exam dates. Check the current timetable.
- English, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue are the four levers. A perfect science score cannot repair an AL that has slipped in English, because the score is a sum.
- One-to-one tuition helps when a subject is stuck. It does not change the banding rules.
Free practice material is on the test-paper page. A tutor match for the exam is on the PSLE tuition page. Subject pages: English, Maths, Science and Chinese. English Paper 1 includes situational writing. The method, and a practice split of the 70 minutes, is on the situational writing page.
If the evening load is the problem as much as the subject, the argument about volume is on the homework page. Sleep and a targeted lesson beat an extra worksheet the child cannot start.
Questions parents ask
What is the PSLE?
The Primary School Leaving Examination is the national exam at the end of primary school in Singapore. Students are examined in English, Mathematics, Science and a Mother Tongue language. The result is a PSLE Score from 4 to 32. The score is the sum of four Achievement Levels. A lower score is the stronger result. The score is used for Secondary 1 posting.
What is a good PSLE score?
4 is the best possible PSLE Score, from AL1 in all four subjects. 32 is the other end of the scale. Scores are not a T-score, and a higher number is not better. For posting, scores from 4 to 20 are Posting Group 3. Scores of 21 and 22 can be Group 2 or 3. Scores of 23 and 24 are Group 2. A score of 25 can be Group 1 or 2. Scores from 26 to 30 are Group 1 when English and Mathematics are both AL7 or better. Which secondary school is realistic depends on that year’s SchoolFinder ranges, not on a fixed “good” number.
What are Achievement Levels?
Each PSLE subject is graded in eight Achievement Levels. AL1 is a mark of 90 or above. AL2 is 85 to 89, AL3 is 80 to 84, AL4 is 75 to 79, AL5 is 65 to 74, AL6 is 45 to 64, AL7 is 20 to 44, and AL8 is below 20. Students are placed by their own mark against these bands. The bands are not a rank against the rest of the cohort.
How do Foundation subjects affect the PSLE Score?
Foundation subjects are graded A, B and C. For Secondary 1 posting, Foundation A maps to Standard AL6, Foundation B to AL7, and Foundation C to AL8. That mapped grade is what enters the PSLE Score.
How are students posted to secondary school if they have the same score?
The student with the better PSLE Score is posted first, and choice order matters because the student is considered for the schools in the order the family listed. When two students with the same score are competing for the last place, the tie-breakers are citizenship, then choice order of schools, then computerised balloting.
When should a child start PSLE tuition?
Start when a subject is already unsteady, not only in Primary 6. Primary 5 is the common year families ask for English, Mathematics, Science or Mother Tongue, because the AL bands reward moving a mark across a boundary. Tutor Circle matches one-to-one PSLE tutors. Parents pay the tutor. A tutor does not replace the school’s own papers.
Sources
Scoring and posting rules are from MOE. Examination dates and syllabuses are from SEAB for the year of the exam. Tutor Circle does not set the PSLE Score.
- Ministry of Education, “PSLE scoring system.” Each subject uses eight Achievement Levels. The PSLE Score is the sum of the four subjects and ranges from 4 to 32, with 4 the best. The page publishes the mark range for each AL, and the Foundation-to-Standard mapping of A, B and C to AL6, AL7 and AL8. Accessed 13 October 2026. https://www.moe.gov.sg/psle-fsbb/psle/psle-scoring-system
- Ministry of Education, “What are Posting Groups,” updated 26 February 2026. Scores 4–20 are Posting Group 3, 21 and 22 can be Group 2 or 3, 23 and 24 are Group 2, 25 can be Group 1 or 2, and 26–30 are Group 1 when English Language and Mathematics are both AL7 or better. Accessed 13 October 2026. https://www.moe.gov.sg/secondary/s1-posting/how-to-choose/what-are-posting-groups
- Ministry of Education, PSLE Score Calculator and posting resources. SchoolFinder ranges are the scores of the first and last student posted to a school in the previous exercise. The second number is that year’s cut-off. It is not a guarantee for the next cohort. Accessed 13 October 2026. https://www.moe.gov.sg/psle-fsbb/resources/score-calculator
- Ministry of Education, Annex A on the PSLE scoring and Secondary 1 posting systems. When students with the same PSLE Score vie for the last place, tie-breakers are used in this order: citizenship, choice order of schools, then computerised balloting. Accessed 13 October 2026. https://www.moe.gov.sg/media/files/news/press/2021/26fbfa50-b75d-449d-9ff8-3b8b75972592.pdf
- Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board. SEAB conducts the PSLE and publishes the examination timetable and syllabuses for the year. Use that year’s timetable for paper dates rather than a recycled month from an old guide. Accessed 13 October 2026. https://www.seab.gov.sg/