GEYLANG METHODIST SEC SCH 4E SS Prelim 2019 LORMS

1 SEC 4E/5NA SOCIAL STUDIES PRELIM EXAMINATION 2019 ~MARKING SCHEME~ Section A (Source-based Case Study) 1(a) Study Source A. What does the source tell you about social mobility in Singapore? Explain your answer. [5] L1 Description/lifting of source (or superficial interpretation) / misinterpretation / not answering question directly E.g. The source tells me that there is social mobility in Singapore. E.g. The source tells me that Singapore ranks highly in terms of social mobility. E.g. The source tells me that the social gap has shrunk considerably over the years. 1 L2 Valid inference(s) without support Award 3 marks for 2 inferences E.g. The source tells me that social mobility has improved over the years in Singapore. E.g. The source tells me that one’s social mobility can be affected by the education level of one’s parent(s). 2-3 L3 Valid inference(s) with support Award 5 marks for 2 inferences or a well-developed inference E.g. The source tells me that social mobility has improved over the years in Singapore and that one’s social mobility can be affected by the education level of one’s parent(s). This is clear from “In the 1950s, someone born to parents with only upper secondary education stood a less than 20 per cent chance of completing tertiary education. Now, such a person has about a 60 per cent chance of making the grade” and “Across all age groups, those with more qualified parents are likely to end up better educated than their peers”. This shows that social mobility across all levels and age groups has improved significantly. 4-5 1(b) Study Sources B and C. Do you think both politicians in Source B would agree with the cartoonist in Source C? Explain your answer. [7] L1 Answers based on provenance or general statements without explanation or support from source E.g. They would agree with the cartoonist because the cartoonist is reflecting what is happening in Singapore. E.g. They would not agree with the cartoonist bec ause they are politicians and therefore hold different views from the cartoonist. 1 L2 Answers based only on NMP or Minister Award 2 marks for answers based on NMP or Minister but based on single source only Award 3 marks for answers based on both Sources B and C 2-3

2 E.g. (Only) the NMP would agree with the cartoonist because the cartoonist depicted the failure of our system of meritocracy. Two babies are standing at the same starting line in life but one is clearly more advantaged than the other. One has the luxury of a good pram and is taken care off not only by its parents, but also by a domestic helper, a driver and even a tuition teacher. The other baby is with a single parent who needs to take care of its sibling and an elderly person. [2 marks] This is similar to the NMP’s concern about how one’s family situation could affect one’s development. He offered several examples on how children from the low- income families were at a dis advantage and explaine d how some of their performance in school could be affected by personal circumstances that did not allow them to study at home. [3 marks] E.g. (Only) the Minister would not agree with the cartoonist because the cartoonist depicted the failure of the system of meritocracy. Two babies are standing ar the same starting line in life but one is clearly more advantaged than the other. One has the luxury of a good pram and is taken care off not only by its parents, but also by a domestic helper, a driver and even a tuition teacher. The other baby is with a single parent who needs to take care of its sibling and an elderly person. [2 marks] The Minister would not agree with this view as he stood by our system of meritocracy. He said “Meritocracy remains the right approach for Singapore and its education system”. He did not believe that tuition or redistributing resources was the cause of the failure of meritocracy , which the cartoon ist seemed to suggest . [3 marks] L3 Answers based on both NMP and Minister but on single source E.g. The NMP would agree with the cartoonist because the cartoonist depicted the failure of the system of meritocracy. Two babies are standing at the same starting line in life but one is clearly more advantaged than the other. One has the luxury of a good pram and is taken care off not only by its parents, but also by a domestic helper, a driver and even a tuition teacher. The other baby with a single parent who needs to take care of its sibling and an elderly person. The Minister would not agree with the cartoonist because the cartoonist depicted the failure of our system of meritocracy. Two babies are standing art the same starting line in life but one is clearly more advantaged than the other. One has the luxury of a good pram and is taken care off not only by its parents, but also by a domestic helper, a driver and even a tuition teacher. The other baby is with a single parent who needs to take care of its sibling and an elderly person. 4 L4 Answers based on both NMP and Minister and with both similarity and difference in views of NMP and Minister Award 6 marks for well-developed answers (i.e. both similarity and difference are included in asnwers) I think both the NMP and Minister would agree with the cartoonist as he depicted the failure of meritocracy in Singapore. Two babies are standing at the same starting line in life but one clearly is more advantaged than the other. One has the luxury of a good pram and is taken care off not only by its parents, but also by a domestic helper, a driver and even a tuition teacher. The other baby is with a single parent who needs to take care of its sibling and an elderly person. This is similar to NMP’s concern about how one’s family situation can affect one’s development. He offered several examples on how children from low-income families were at a disadvantage and explained how some of their performances in school could be affected by personal circumstances that do not allow them to study at home. The Minister also acknowledged that meritocracy “may have given rise to unfairness in the system”. However, I do not think both the NMP and Minister would agree with the cartoonist. The Minister cannot agree with this view as he stands by our system of meritocracy. 5-6

3 He said “Meritocracy remains the right approach for Singapore and its education system”. He did not believe tuition or redistributing resources that the cartoon seems to suggest as the cause of the failure of meritocracy. L5 L4 + Suggestion of politicians and cartoonist’s attitude towards meritocracy L4+ I do not think that both the NMP and Minister could agree with the cartoonist as the cartoonist is clearly here making a criticism of our system of meritocracy. The NMP similarly seems to be making criticism of the system, that there are clearly people who have fallen through the cracks as he offered “several examples on how children from low-income families were at a disadvantage ”. The Minister, on the other hand, seems to be defending the system. As a member of the Cabinet, it is natural/expected that he defended the system and stressed that meritocracy is still the “right approach” for Singapore. 7 1(c) Study Source D. Are you surprised by what the Minister said? Explain your answer. [6] L1 Surprised or not surprised based on provenance E.g. No, I am not surprised by what he said because he is a Minister and he was at a ceremony giving out schola