Holy Innocents' High School 4E5N SS Prelim 2019 Lorms

1 Holy Innocents’ High School Social Studies Secondary 4 Express / 5 Normal (Academic) 2272/01, 2273/01 PRELIM EXAM 2019 ANSWERS Section A: Source-Based Case Study 1. Living in a Diverse Society (a) Study Source A. What is the cartoonist’s attitude towards the relationship between SES and a child’s educational opportunities? Explain your answer, using details of the source. [5] Level Answer Mark L1 Describing source without answering the question directly. E.g. This source shows two students climbing up steps, one with help of the stacked money bills, one without. [1] L2 Because of event/general context. E.g. The cartoonist created this to highlight the problem of unequal educational opportunities based on SES. [2] L3 Because of the message the cartoonist wanted to deliver, without supporting evidence, or weak message, supported. E.g. The cartoonist thinks that the SES of a child’s family determines the educational opportunities the child will have access to. Children from a less advantaged background will not be likely to succeed compared to those of a more privileged background. E.g. The cartoonist thinks that children from high SES can afford more to pave their way towards their future, just like how Student B has money to build steps for him to climb higher, while those of a low SES background have nothing else to aid them to succeed, just like how Student A has to struggle without any help to climb the steps. [3] L4 Because of the message the cartoonist wanted to deliver, with supporting evidence. Higher mark will be awarded to the answer which clearly states what the cartoonist’s attitude is (i.e. how he feels towards SES and educational opportunities). E.g. The cartoonist adopts a skeptical/pessimistic attitude towards the education system. He feels that the SES of a child’s family determines the educational opportunities the child will have access to (M). From the source, we can see that Student B has the help of the money bills to help him ascend the steps comfortably. This represents the ability of families with more financial resources to push their child towards success. On the other hand, we see Student A, who represents someone with no or little financial resources, struggling to climb up the steps. (E) [4] Hence, the cartoonist feels that children from a less advantaged background will not be likely to succeed compared to those of a more privileged background [E] [5]. [4-5] (b) Study Sources B and C. Do the authors of these two sources agree? Explain your answer. [7] Level Answer Mark L1 Similarity/difference based on provenance/source type. [1]

2 E.g. Source B does not agree with Source C because Source B is a report of a study while Source C is a response by an MOE personnel. L2 Difference or Similarity provided, without supporting evidence/ matching idea. Award 2 marks for difference or similarity. Award 3 marks for difference and similarity. E.g. The authors of both sources agree as both say that the proportions of high SES students in top schools and low SES students in “disadvantaged schools” are increasing. OR E.g. The authors of both sources disagree as Source B states that the low SES students in “disadvantaged schools” have little resources provided for their learning while Source C mentions that this is not true and that the low SES students in “disadvantaged schools” are not worse off. (Students should answer the question directly, i.e. the authors of both sources agree/disagree, in order to score L2) [2-3] L3 Difference or similarity provided, with matching idea and supporting evidence. Award 5 marks for more elaborated answer with explanation of sources (bolded portions). E.g. The authors of both sources agree in terms of acknowledging that the proportions of high SES students in top schools and low SES students in “disadvantaged schools” are increasing. Source B mentions that “there is evidence to suggest that there is a “disproportionate percentage of high SES students who tend to be enrolled in ‘more prestigious secondary schools’, and the reverse is also true”. This means that the advantages that come with being from a high SES background does increase the educational opportunities for a child and vice versa. Similarly, Source C mentions that “nevertheless, MOE has been monitoring the trend and is concerned about the slow creeping up of the disproportionate distribution.”. This also shows that the trend is real. OR E.g. The authors of both sources disagree in terms of saying that the low SES students in “disadvantaged schools” have little resources provided for their learning. Source B mentions that “students from better socio-economic backgrounds tended to perform better at the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa)” and that “disadvantaged students attending disadvantaged schools are… doubly disadvantaged as they strive for achievement”. This means that low SES students have their educational opportunities compromised because of the little resources provided by their SES and it is compromised furthermore because of being in ‘disadvantaged schools’. On the other hand, Source C mentions that “all our schools are well -resourced by international standards. Therefore, our lower - SES students in what OECD termed as ‘disadvantaged schools’ are actually not worse-off in terms of resources provided to them”. This means that even if SES has led to less resources for the lower SES students, schools are still able to provide them with enough resources compared to top schools. (accept other possible matching ideas that are specific and appropriate) [4-5] L4 Both aspects of L3. [6] L5 Difference in purpose e.g. The authors of these two sources disagree due to their different purposes. Source B is trying to educate (W) the general public (A) about the findings of the OECD report, that Singapore’s education system has seen students from lower SES being put at a disadvantage (M). Source B states that “disadvantaged students attending disadvantaged schools are… doubly disadvantaged as they strive for achievement”. (E) This is to shed light on the issue as the journalist would likely want [7]

3 to spark conversation among readers and attract more so that they would be better informed and circulate the article (I). The author of B is criticising Singapore’s education system for disadvantaging students from lower SES. In source B, it states that “....”. This reflects how students from lower SES are not able to enter better schools due to their limited resources, and in turn go to disadvantaged schools that are not able to support them in their learning, providing them a disadvantaged education. Hence, this may pressurise the Singapore government to think about how they can better support students from Lower SES to provide them with better educational opportunities. On the other hand, Source C is try ing to reassure (W) Singaporeans (A) that MOE does enough to ensure no school or child is disadvantaged due to their SES (M). Source C states that “all our schools are well -resourced by international standards. Therefore, lower -SES students…are actually no t worse -off in terms of resources provided to them.” (E) Hence the director of MOE’s planning division would like Singaporeans to support MOE’s efforts and be assured that the educational system in Singapore is fair. (I) (c) Study Source D. How surprised are you by this source? Explain your answer. [7] Level Answer Mark L1 Surprised/not surprised, based on undeveloped provenance. E.g. I am surprised by this source as it is written by a parent. [1m] This means that they would feel the stresses of competing and constantly be trying to keep up with sending their children for tuition.