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Short term implications:

Not enough time for people who have 'gung ho'-ed grades to pivot into having a good portfolio

It's going to be a hard adjustment, given SG's high emphasis on grades

Long term implications

Less emphasis on grades

Helps to make the poly track more viable

HUGE DISCLAIMER Highly specific consequence, may discourage JAE JC admissions because there are a lot more portfolio building opportunities in poly.

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system may be flawed in the first place due to Singapore’s relatively high income inequality — people from high socio-economic backgrounds can afford more portfolio building opportunities and may have higher social capital, while lower social-economic classes may not to have access to such opportunities

short term: more difficulties finding a basic criteria to judge students for holistic based admissions, due to lack of experience

long term: societal shift towards focusing on portfolio building from a younger and younger age in addition to grades

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SG characteristic: kiasu/ competitive society

When considering both ABA and grade for uni admissions, people tend to want to excel in both. E.g. ‘just in case’ their grades unexpectedly turn out bad, at least they still have a wonderful portfolio for back up. This can be seen currently for DSA. With the limited time that JC / high school students already have, is it realistic to excel in both? If we have a population of young students who put so much importance on both aspects, what are the implications— stress, less time for themselves, become a slave to the system, mental health issues..??

If accept half ABA half grades, the grades Cut off point may rise to the point that if u dont get straight As, its basically impossible to get into a good course. Crazily competitive and meritocratic.

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ABA could create issues with fairness and equity if face-to-face interviews are conducted. More personable individuals may leave greater impressions on their interviews, which may be considered as a form of manipulation as more humble individuals may downplay their achievements or socially inept individuals may seem less capable and ardent. More rigorous assessment of potential candidates can be attained by combining interviews with psychometric and digital personality tests to look for inaccuracies in their character or to gain a better insight into their learning style, aptitude and morals. Ultimately some individuals may be able to successfully adopt a fabricated persona to increase their likelihood of university admissions, but this slightly more rigorous method might be able to limit this occurrence. Advancements in AI might be able to identify incogruencies in character better than potentially biased/partisan assessors.

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yes. Profiecency at a specific subject or course might not determine your longevity in that field of learning, as not all hard skills learned will necessarily apply to your future vocation. On the other hand, Extra curricular activities demonstrates one's passion and resilience in learning.

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ABA would be felt differently by different stakeholders

Neighbourhood sports (for lower/medium ses) vs high class sports (for high ses) eg basketball vs golf

basketball more widely available and hence higher competition vs if its niche activities eg golf or like softball theres less competition

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Not evenly. Stakeholders such as polytechnic students as well as students from IB schools have more access to hands-on activities and experiences through their curriculum that they could add to their ABA portfolio — other stakeholders such as JC students, however, have to make time to build their portfolio outside of their busy curriculum. There have been cases where A-level students with a full score are unable to enter the course they wish to enter due to their lacking ABA portfolio.

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ABA may disproportionately benefit financially privileged university applicants, as these applicants’ backgrounds may give them the financial capacity and time to take on non-academic pursuits that are valuable for portfolios. The focus on ABA might create a self-fulfilling prophecy where more financially capable families are incentivised to invest in their children’s extracurricular activities, reinforcing the advantage that these children may already have.

Conversely, more economically disadvantaged applicants may have less ability to invest in non-academic activities due to limited financial capacity, time taken up by studying or helping with family finances.

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hog rider

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How would universities choose what proportion of admissions would come from ABA? How would universities decide between a student who has excellent grades but not a very stellar portfolio, or a student that has a very relevant portfolio but not very good grades? They could both have their own valid reasons as to why they pursued grades, portfolio, so how would comparing across these 2 categories work?

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In theory, it is a tool that allows for more objective selection of people to be admitted, as there is a larger area for consideration outside of academics, which will aid in determining applicants’ suitability for the course and its related careers.

However, in reality, there could be both short- and long-term implications. ABA admits applicants through a review of their non-academic achievements and experiences. The quantity of experiences and achievements that one can accumulate is influenced by many factors such as connections and socio-economic status. For example, if an applicant comes from a family that is considered to be wealthy, they could have specialised in a particular sport or art that require large amounts of funding. This means that applicants that do not have the means to do so are at a disadvantage.

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short-term

more students who have grades that fall short of admissions criteria but possess certain talents and skills (esp. people who specialise) have greater access to tertiary education

long-term

possibly see a shift in terms of which industries are seeing a growth -> our workforce become more diverse

might see less academically-rigorous economic output? theoretically? because universities themselves could also be shifting teaching styles towards supporting and furthering skill-based output rather than knowledge-based

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In Singapore’s highly competitive n kiasu society,

In the grades based system, there is the problem of students burning out by competing to extremes to get the best grades.

However if importance is placed on both grades and other commitments or experiences, now students would compete in Two areas, burning out twice as bad by trying to mug for good grades and taking on lots of commitments to look good on holistics.

U can argue that with 70 rp system, students have more time for extracurriculars , but still many students will not find this sufficient time to prevent burnout from competition.

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O5 - ABA may cause a larger disparity between students of higher SES and lower SES. Students of higher SES may have more opportunities to pursue non academic activities.

In the long run, this defeats the whole point of a holistic admissions system. Instead, the wrong mindset of gaming the system through intensively going for these extracurricular activities. Further intensified by Singaporeans competitive culture.

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It might make the situation more unfair and people might have an unfair disadvantage if they know someone in the field they want to work in. For example, if one is interested in medicine, and their uncle is a doctor, it would be easier for them to get an internship, giving them a larger advantage compared to those with limited connections

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In the short run, there may be difficulty in adjusting to this new system given SG's past reliance on grades-based admissions. This could however encourage more students to apply for unis since the critieria has broadened.

In the long run, this may increase pressure felt by applicants. As different pre-u institutes have different academic rigor, this may result in students taking on too much.

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In theory, ‘holistic criteria’ should be more fair than just considering grades alone. Students of coming from higher SES will undoubtedly have better resources available to them including: enrichment classes, private coaching.

In practice, this also holds true and can be further explored.

The argument of all students having access to the internet also can be broken down when we consider the proficiency in which the internet is accessed is a skill to be gained. This skill can be better attained when surrounded with people of high proficiency, allowing us to tap into them and learn from them.

Those from lower SES, may find those around them aren’t as well versed as compared to their counterparts who may have connections to institutions which provide such knowledge and skills.

Furthermore, those of the higher SES may very well have parents who are better educated or hold degrees. This translates into better early development amongst children, and compounds as the student reaches his later years of education. All of which may not be the case for those of lower SES.

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i am a stakeholder

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stakeholders : the admission panel, students

influences : the way students are selected for ABA is also dependent on the panel’s experiences and life experiences not only just what is on the portfolio. However, for the portfolio it is also affected by the opportunities they’re exposed to or are able to take on.

ABA should benefit students that don’t get the perfect grades but are very suited for the course. however, these people might also be outshined by those who intentional build their portfolio (with the privilege to do so), whilst still having good grades.

Hence, the effects might not be felt fairly throughout and it has many nuances and factors that will affect the outcome of the ABA applications

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short term: lesser emphasis on grades, do js enough to meet criteria

long term: decreased productivity as everyone aims to js barely get by

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No, it would not be evenly felt.

Building a good portfolio can also be determined by SES, such as attaining opportunities for internships due to nepotism/greater ease of networking. Those who are without these privileges are unable to feel the full benefits of ABA if their well deserved spots are taken up despite being equally competent.

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Short term: Opens up more opportunities for Poly students and less academically-inclined students to be able to gain entry to university and further their talents - equalises playing field? Fairer chance for all?

Long term: Makes polytechnic a more viable academic path and less frowned upon with the opportunity of university being wider but would require a case-by-case assessment rather than comparing e.g. between a straight As JC student vs a Law module polytechnic student for a law degree

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Those who don’t perform well academically, and still get in would need extra support (eg. Bridging courses) —> students would have to spend a lot more time on academics in university + universities will have to invest more resources into a support system.

On the other hand, students who have been focussed on grades their whole life, would feel it’s unfair that their hard work would be wasted because of this system. It could lead to the creation of fake portfolios which do not truly reflect the students’ interests, as it is just for show.

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possibility of students with good grades applying for aba as a “safety net” option which may deprive students who truly require aba for admissions?

low income students are disproportionately affected as they have fewer connections and opportunities to develop their abilities in a range of areas

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Would the benefits of ABA be felt evenly by different stakeholders?

Key SG characteristic: Significant disparity in wealth distribution

The benefits of ABA would be felt evenly by students that were unable to invest time for their academics and extra-curricular activities due to other priorities. By allowing for personal experience to shape one’s portfolio, universities allow for students of diverse demographics to be accepted. The question of evenness may be more achieved compared to if ABA was eradicated completed as there are now different ways of assessing if a student is deserving of a spot in university.

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in theory ABA and holistic-based criteria for admissions may be an available option, but in reality in a society like singapore where many parents still put an overemphasis on pure academic performance ABA may not be as well utilised by parents still forcing a more traditional mindset

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short term: unfair to those rejected/accepted by previous system

long run: fairer but also not fair because there will be monetization by those programs to get you into specific courses and schools

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While ABA is a good opportunity for individuals beyond their academics, this would causer lesser emphasis on academics as individuals have the incentive to perform as well. It can also result in greater socio-economic divide as people of higher status and those who are more well to do would be able to use their connections and wealth to build a better portfolio.

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ABA allows for people who have other strengths that are related to the course to be able to enter university despite not meeting the academic criteria

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achievements may be in name but the ability to achieve them may differ significantly-> for example there are many awards that can be attained and many on a different scale with different numbers of competitors, placing first in competition A may not be of equal standards to placing first im competition B. It is difficult to properly measure achievements as it is not as tangible and standardised as everyone taking the same test

Additionally, in a world where "leadership" is widely sought out for -> many schools attempt to give their students leadership opportunities by creating more- workload is significantly watered down, impact of one's actions are likeiwse watered down. most importantly-> almost everyone has a "leadership position" and it is difficult to tell those who contribute more apart as ABA mostly looks at titles and experiences in a quatifiable manner instead of a qualitative manner

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Dhanvin 24-E4

ABA to some extent benefits those with a natural aptitude for a specific area. Not everyone will be able to refine their aptitude, some may have the means to display their aptitude, especially if they have the financial support. Others may not be able to refine it and as such, they can't get in even thoug h they would excel there.

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ABA emphasizes looking beyond assumptions and labels. In an admissions context, this could mean valuing concrete demonstrations of skills and efforts, even if they fall outside traditional academic metrics like test scores.Rather than only looking at academic output, ABA would encourage assessing what a student can do across different domains, especially when given the right supports.Rather than only looking at academic output, ABA would encourage assessing what a student can do across different domains, especially when given the right supports.

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The benefits of ABA will not be evenly felt by different people because people from better socio-economic classes would generally have greater opportunities to a wider range of activities to boost their portfolio to increase their likelihood of being admitted into a university by ABA

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May also result in students mindlessly just filling up their portfolio and not truly learning or enjoying the activity for their ABA. ABA may also result in students overly focus on their portfolio instead of their academic results.

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not evenly felt

SG is an expensive city — wealthier Sgeans inherently have an advantage in accessing resources or gaining opportunities that allow them to develop their ABA portfolio and discover dormant strengths/strengthen non-academic talents, vs lower-income individuals who are placed at an even greater disadvantage due to SG’s high costs placed on such talent development opportunities

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Difficult to weigh the value of two completely different talents especially when they are both unrelated to the course -> compared to using scores of the same exams taken where criteria would be the same for students (easier to compare numerical values)

However it gives opportunities to students who may not do as well in a traditional school setting -> how well ppl do in exams is not the same as how well they will do in a workplace (book smart vs street smart)

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In theory, the ABA is supposed to help emphasise the talents, skills and passions of the student. However, in reality, those who have more resources can build better portfolios by spending more time and money, especially those of higher SES.

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SG is continuously developing into a more ‘kiasu’ society where those who are more privileged are able to afford the ever-growing tuition industries for their children, widening the rich advantage over the poor in uni admissions. Thus, having ABA will most likely allow for other talents and contributions apart from academics to be recognize. Although these factors may be less quantifiable compared to academics. Having a fair amount of slots in uni (eg. NTU 50%) allows for a fairer gauge of suitability for university.

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ABA could result in a widening disparity between students of different socioeconomic classes, as students from richer backgrounds have more resources available to them to build up their portfolio. For example, richer student can afford overseas exchanges and immersion programmes that other poorer students who have to miss out on, which then strengthens the richer students’ portfolio giving them a greater chance of being admitted via ABA. Even without ABA, richer students can afford tuition and enrichment classes which could improve their academic performance and give them a greater chance of being admitted based on grades alone. Hence, ABA is ineffective is solving the problem of differing socioeconomic classes and the unfair opportunities that wealthier students get over poorer students.

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No. It is impossible for all stakeholders to benefit evenly. It is undeniable to that wealthier households will be able to enroll their children into more prestigious institutions and afford more extra curricular activities and tuition, that may help boost their portfolio. This can put them at a higher standing, thus, increasing their chances of getting in.

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short term: increases chances of those less academically inclined to get into a uni

long term: may undermine the system of meritocracy in singapore 🇸🇬

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There is no such thing as a perfect test, and ABA can only be shaped to fit a select criteria of the interviewers which intends to use it. ABA can be more focused on academic prowess or Extra-curricular experience and cannot really be tuned to focus on both. Therefore, to achieve sustainable fairness a balance between both should be achieved and interviewers should look out for how candidates balance both in the context of their lives

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short-term implications

those who didn't do well in their exams but have other talents will have a better chance of being accepted

long-term implications

human resources can be better harnessed - fewer talented people will fall through the cracks

society may move away from hyper-fixation on grades, since other talents can also lead to success - less pressure academically and wider acceptance of less traditional careers

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More time would be needed to filter through candidates to access whether the candidate is suitable for the university course, which takes up valuable resources, as more people would now be elliglble for the course, and their unique experiences cannot be quantified easily, thus it would take a lot of human work to access these candidates, and should the universities be tempted to use AI to help filter these candidates, inherent biases would be a problem as well as the AI may favour people of a certain race or gender. It thus would not be rolled out impartially without significant human effort.

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not evenly felt as it can be difficult to attain opportunities like internships or job shadowing.