IN HIS letter on Tuesday,'MOE asks more of homeschool pupils', Mr Martin Rushton asked about benchmarks for homeschooling students.

He mentioned that, based on media reports, two homeschoolers had failed the PSLE but had scores that would have qualified them for secondary school. We would like to clarify that seven homeschoolers failed to meet the benchmark this year, and will need to resit the PSLE, as they had been granted exemption on the basis of meeting the benchmark. Of the seven, two pupils did not qualify for secondary school based on their scores.

Students who are exempted from studying in our national schools are exempted on the basis that they are adequately prepared to take the PSLE. The PSLE benchmarks for designated schools (madrasahs and San Yu Adventist School) and homeschooling students were developed while taking into account the profile of the students who wish to be exempted from Compulsory Education, and were set after public consultation. The benchmarks for San Yu Adventist and homeschoolers were pegged at the 33rd percentile PSLE aggregate score of all merged stream pupils who took the PSLE in that same year. The benchmarks and the need to meet these benchmarks from this year have been communicated to the homeschoolers since 2003.

We thank Mr Rushton for his feedback and encourage him to approach MOE directly for further information or clarification.

Tan Teck Ann
Head, Compulsory Education
Ministry of Education

This article was first published in The Straits Times on December 4, 2008.