PSLE Terms Explained: Singapore School Glossary

PSLE terms explained in brief: the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) scores each subject in one of eight Achievement Levels (ALs), the ALs of four subjects add up to a PSLE score from 4 (best) to 32, and MOE uses that score to post a child to secondary school through one of three Posting Groups. This glossary defines those terms and 19 more, from Primary 1 registration and MOE Kindergarten to Edusave and compulsory education.

Each entry rests on a Ministry of Education (MOE) page, linked with the “Last Updated” date MOE shows, where it shows one. Pages were read on 3 October 2026 and rechecked on 17 October 2026. This is general information; MOE’s pages prevail. For term dates rather than vocabulary, see MOE school terms and holidays 2027.

Achievement Level (AL)

An Achievement Level (AL) is a scoring band in the PSLE scoring system: each PSLE subject is scored in one of eight ALs, from AL1 (90% or above) to AL8 (below 20%), and students who perform similarly share an AL (MOE’s PSLE scoring page).

Guide: PSLE 2026 results and S1 posting timeline.

PSLE Score

The PSLE score is the sum of a child’s Achievement Levels (ALs) in the four PSLE subjects (English Language, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue Language), from 4, the best possible total, to 32 (MOE’s PSLE scoring page).

Our free PSLE score calculator turns subject scores or ALs into a PSLE score and shows the row in MOE’s Posting Group table; it does not predict a school.

Foundation level subjects

Foundation level subjects are PSLE subjects taken at Foundation level rather than Standard level, and they are graded AL A to AL C (MOE’s PSLE scoring page).

MOE maps A to AL6, B to AL7 and C to AL8 for S1 posting.

Posting Group

A Posting Group is one of three groups (1, 2 and 3) through which a child is posted to a secondary school based on their PSLE score; MOE says it also guides the initial subject levels at the start of Secondary 1 (MOE’s posting groups page, last updated 1 October 2026).

On that page a PSLE score of 4–20 falls in Posting Group 3 and 26–30 (with AL7 or better in English Language and Mathematics) in Posting Group 1. Guide: PSLE 2026 results and S1 posting timeline.

G1, G2 and G3

G1, G2 and G3 are the General (G) subject levels that MOE gives as the indicative level for most subjects at the start of Secondary 1, by Posting Group (MOE’s posting groups page, last updated 1 October 2026).

Posting Group 3 students take all subjects at G3, the most academically demanding level. Those in Groups 2 and 1 take most subjects at G2 and G1, and can take English Language, Mathematics, Science or Mother Tongue Languages at more demanding levels if they did well in them at PSLE.

S1 Posting

S1 Posting is the process through which most students are posted to a secondary school after the PSLE results are released, using their PSLE results in their eligible Posting Group, their school choice order and vacancies (MOE’s S1 Posting page, last updated 14 October 2026, and how-posting-works page, last updated 1 October 2026).

MOE marks two 2026 dates “(tentative)”: PSLE results on Tuesday 24 or Wednesday 25 November, and posting results on Friday 18 December. The 7-calendar-day window for submitting 6 school choices starts on results day. Guide: PSLE 2026 results and S1 posting timeline.

Cut-off point (COP)

A cut-off point (COP) is the PSLE score of the last student posted to a school through each Posting Group (MOE’s PSLE score ranges page, last updated 1 October 2026).

MOE says SchoolFinder’s ranges, based on the previous year, are a reference only: actual COPs can shift (+/- 1 is typical, +/- 2 or 3 possible), and meeting a COP does not guarantee admission, as tie-breakers may apply. Guide: PSLE 2026 results and S1 posting timeline.

Higher Mother Tongue Language (HMTL)

Higher Mother Tongue Language (HMTL) is a higher-level Mother Tongue subject; MOE’s criterion for taking it in secondary school is a PSLE Mother Tongue score of AL1 or AL2, or an HMTL score of Distinction or Merit (MOE’s PSLE scoring page).

Direct School Admission (DSA-Sec)

Direct School Admission (DSA-Sec) is a route into secondary school that sits apart from S1 Posting: a child admitted through DSA-Sec cannot submit S1 Posting choices (MOE’s DSA-Sec page, last updated 24 April 2026).

Families with a confirmed offer or wait-list place get instructions for submitting preferences from postman.gov.sg. MOE says to submit none if the child is unsure; the child can still apply through S1 Posting, if eligible. Guide: DSA-Sec school preferences guide.

DSA-Sec commitment

The DSA-Sec commitment is what a child takes on by accepting a DSA-Sec offer, confirmed or wait-listed: to study in that school and develop their talent in the chosen area, which MOE says they must honour (MOE’s commitment page, last updated 24 April 2026).

An admitted child cannot transfer after the PSLE results. The commitment lasts Secondary 1 to 4 for the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) course, or six years for the Integrated Programme. Guide: DSA-Sec school preferences guide.

Home-School Distance (HSD)

Home-School Distance (HSD) is the distance category, based on the address used for registration, that decides priority admission to a Primary 1 school, with citizenship, when applicants outnumber vacancies (MOE’s distance page, last updated 11 September 2026).

Priority runs from Singapore Citizens within 1km, between 1km and 2km and beyond 2km, then Permanent Residents in the same bands. A child admitted through distance priority must live at the registration address for at least 30 months from the start of the P1 Registration Exercise, or MOE will transfer the child to any school at its sole discretion. Guide: Primary 1 registration explained.

Balloting

Balloting is the computerised draw MOE runs centrally when applicants for a Primary 1 school outnumber its vacancies in any phase from 2A to 2C Supplementary, giving everyone who has to ballot an equal chance (MOE’s balloting page, last updated 11 September 2026).

S1 Posting uses balloting only as a last tie-breaker, when students competing for the last vacancy share the same PSLE score, citizenship status and choice order (MOE’s how-posting-works page, last updated 1 October 2026). Guide: Primary 1 registration explained.

Phase 2C

Phase 2C is the Primary 1 registration phase for a child not yet registered in a primary school, open to all children whether or not they have prior connections to the school (MOE’s phases page and changes page, both last updated 11 September 2026).

MOE reserves 40 places in each school for Phase 2C at the start; from the 2027 exercise, for children starting P1 in 2028, it becomes 60, except in smaller-intake schools (P1 intake under 180). Guide: P1 registration 2027: Phase 2C changes and two tracks.

Two-Track Scheme

The Two-Track Scheme, from the 2027 P1 Registration Exercise, divides a school’s Phase 2C places equally between children living within 2km and those living beyond 2km, with no home-school distance priority within each track (MOE’s changes page, last updated 11 September 2026).

MOE starts it in 12 schools where public housing is under 40% of dwelling units within 2km, and admits Singapore Citizens before Permanent Residents. Guide: P1 registration 2027: Phase 2C changes and two tracks.

MOE Kindergarten (MK)

MOE Kindergarten (MK) is MOE’s kindergarten, which aims to provide quality and affordable Kindergarten 1 (K1) and Kindergarten 2 (K2) education to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (MOE’s MK page).

Programmes are 4 hours, in a morning (8am to 12pm) or afternoon (1pm to 5pm) session, with KCare for families who need a full day. Guide: Preschool fees in Singapore: compare the full cost.

KCare

Kindergarten Care (KCare) is a care service available at all MOE Kindergartens (MKs) for parents who need a full-day service for a child enrolled in an MK (MOE’s KCare page, last updated 30 March 2026).

It runs Monday to Friday until 7pm, including school holidays, and closes on public holidays, Teachers’ Day, Children’s Day and up to 6 additional days a year. The 2026 maximum fee is S$425 a month, with a S$150 monthly basic subsidy for every Singapore Citizen child; MOE says maximum fees may vary in 2027. Guide: Kindergarten Care or childcare: how to compare. For the three 2027 days when schools, student care centres and KCare all close, see our MOE school terms and holidays 2027 calendar.

Edusave

The Edusave Account is an account MOE opens automatically for every Singapore Citizen, receiving annual contributions from primary school to the end of secondary school, or from age 7 to 16 outside MOE-funded schools (MOE’s Edusave overview, last updated 3 August 2026).

MOE gives this year’s contributions as S$230 for primary and S$290 for secondary students, and says parents cannot contribute.

MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS)

The MOE Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) is MOE’s means-tested help with education-related costs for Singaporean students in Government and Government-Aided Schools and Specialised Schools; a Special Education FAS covers MOE-funded SPED schools (MOE’s press release of 16 October 2025).

The release set revised criteria from Academic Year (AY) 2026 of “GHI ≤ $4,000 or PCI ≤ $1,000”, up from “GHI ≤ $3,000 or PCI ≤ $750”. MOE’s financial assistance page, last updated 12 October 2026, gives the same limits in its calculator’s message text, and says MOE Kindergartens have their own schemes.

Gross Household Income (GHI) and Per Capita Income (PCI)

Gross Household Income (GHI) is the total gross income of all family members in the same household as the student, and Per Capita Income (PCI) is monthly GHI divided by the number of family members in that household (MOE’s press release of 16 October 2025).

Illustration only, not an eligibility check: a household of six with monthly GHI of S$5,700 has a PCI of S$950 (S$5,700 ÷ 6), so its GHI is above the FAS limit of S$4,000 but its PCI is within S$1,000. MOE decides eligibility.

Learning Support Programme (LSP)

The Learning Support Programme (LSP) is a programme in mainstream primary schools for Primary 1 and 2 students with weak language and literacy skills (MOE’s page on special educational needs support, last updated 16 January 2026).

MOE lists it with Learning Support for Mathematics (Primary 1 to 4) and school-based dyslexia remediation (Primary 3 and 4), and says to contact the school or its Special Educational Needs (SEN) officer.

Compulsory education

Compulsory education (CE) is education in national primary schools (Government and government-aided primary schools, and Government and community-funded special education schools offering primary level education) for Singapore Citizens residing in Singapore, under the Compulsory Education Act 2000 (MOE’s overview, last updated 14 May 2026).

A Singapore Citizen child above 6 and under 15, born after 1 January 1996 and living in Singapore, must attend a national primary school regularly unless exempted. A parent whose child does not, without an exemption or a prescribed reason, may be guilty of an offence, liable on conviction to a fine of up to S$5,000, up to 12 months’ imprisonment, or both. Guide: Primary 1 registration explained.

Deferment

Deferment is a parent’s application to delay a child’s entry into Primary 1 by one year, because the child is not ready for formal schooling due to exceptional circumstances (MOE’s deferment page, last updated 23 June 2026).

MOE says applications need its approval, are made online between January and May one year before the child is due to start, and need a Comprehensive Needs Assessment report if the child has diagnosed medical conditions or other circumstances. Our free K1 and Primary 1 year finder turns a date of birth into the K1 and P1 years and marks what MOE has published and what is our inference; it does not run MOE’s birth-date checkers or know when the next exercise opens.

Which school terms change most often?

• P1 registration entries: MOE’s framework changes start with the 2027 exercise, for children starting P1 in 2028; the pages read give no 2027 dates. Recheck MOE’s phases page.
• KCare, Edusave and FAS: KCare’s fee and subsidy are 2026 figures, Edusave amounts are “this year” figures, and MOE says KCare fees may vary in 2027. Recheck MOE’s financial assistance page for FAS limits.
• COP and S1 Posting: COPs move with each cohort, and the 2026 results and posting dates are tentative. Recheck MOE’s S1 Posting page before PSLE results.

Which school terms are not defined here?

• Other terms in MOE’s key S1 Posting terms list (collapsed on MOE’s S1 Posting page): affiliation priority, Integrated Programme, PSLE score range, S1 Portal, Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools and tie-breakers.
• Full Subject-Based Banding: mentioned on the pages read, not defined here.