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So sporeans students have been memorizing answer is it? when tested on understanding they complained
A-level chemistry exam causes a stir
Students and teachers lament 'unusually hard' question, similar to one found on British website
By Liew Hanqing
SOME teachers and students were stumped by a question in the recent A-level chemistry exam, which they said was unusually difficult.
What is more, they later found that it was similar to a question on a British academic website.
The question, which was in Paper 2 of the H2 chemistry exam, accounted for 22 of the paper's 72 marks - or just less than a third.
The questions for the A-level exams are set by the Ministry of Education and Cambridge University.
Chemistry teachers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had received feedback from their students that this year's paper was difficult and the questions 'out of the ordinary'.
They added that a link to a website run by British chemistry teacher Rod Beavon later began circulating among students and teachers.
The multiple-part question - with answers - on the website was almost identical to the one the students faced.
However, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) said that the exam question was not the same as that on the website.
It was designed to test the understanding of concepts behind a chemical process, the synthesis of organic compounds, the board said.
'It is not uncommon to find similar preparation processes described in different sources, as the methodology...follows very standard procedures,' a spokesman said.
This is the second instance in as many months of an exam question seeming familiar to teachers and students.
In October, the English cloze passage in the Primary School Leaving Examination was based on an article from The Straits Times.
Pupils in at least three primary schools and one tuition centre had already gone through a similar passage in a pre-exam exercise.
The SEAB had, at that time, said the passage had been substantially re-written.
For this year's A-level chemistry exam, one teacher said the question, on distillation, was unexpected because past exams seldom touched on the topic.
'It's not a topic we spent a lot of time on in class, so many students were not familiar with it,' she said.
Another teacher said that while he thought it was acceptable to examine students on obscure topics, questions based on third-party resources should be modified.
'Those who come up with the questions should at least have some originality.
'Even if they use a reference for a question, the material shouldn't be exactly the same,' he said.
Students who took the exam echoed these sentiments.
Most of those The Straits Times contacted said they had seen the website from which the exam question appeared to have been taken.
The link to the website had been circulated after the exam on Facebook and Twitter.
Student Lo Aimei, 18, said: 'I've not come across an exam question like that before. It was very long and confusing.'
Not all candidates, however, were stumped by the question.
Students at National Junior College (NJC) were given a study booklet before the A-level exams that contained a question similar to what was set.
Teachers had also dedicated a lecture to the material in the booklet.
Ms Sheena Tan, 18, a former NJC student who took this year's A levels, said she was relieved to have had a chance to review material similar to what she was eventually examined on.
A-level chemistry exam causes a stir
Students and teachers lament 'unusually hard' question, similar to one found on British website
By Liew Hanqing
SOME teachers and students were stumped by a question in the recent A-level chemistry exam, which they said was unusually difficult.
What is more, they later found that it was similar to a question on a British academic website.
The question, which was in Paper 2 of the H2 chemistry exam, accounted for 22 of the paper's 72 marks - or just less than a third.
The questions for the A-level exams are set by the Ministry of Education and Cambridge University.
Chemistry teachers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had received feedback from their students that this year's paper was difficult and the questions 'out of the ordinary'.
They added that a link to a website run by British chemistry teacher Rod Beavon later began circulating among students and teachers.
The multiple-part question - with answers - on the website was almost identical to the one the students faced.
However, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) said that the exam question was not the same as that on the website.
It was designed to test the understanding of concepts behind a chemical process, the synthesis of organic compounds, the board said.
'It is not uncommon to find similar preparation processes described in different sources, as the methodology...follows very standard procedures,' a spokesman said.
This is the second instance in as many months of an exam question seeming familiar to teachers and students.
In October, the English cloze passage in the Primary School Leaving Examination was based on an article from The Straits Times.
Pupils in at least three primary schools and one tuition centre had already gone through a similar passage in a pre-exam exercise.
The SEAB had, at that time, said the passage had been substantially re-written.
For this year's A-level chemistry exam, one teacher said the question, on distillation, was unexpected because past exams seldom touched on the topic.
'It's not a topic we spent a lot of time on in class, so many students were not familiar with it,' she said.
Another teacher said that while he thought it was acceptable to examine students on obscure topics, questions based on third-party resources should be modified.
'Those who come up with the questions should at least have some originality.
'Even if they use a reference for a question, the material shouldn't be exactly the same,' he said.
Students who took the exam echoed these sentiments.
Most of those The Straits Times contacted said they had seen the website from which the exam question appeared to have been taken.
The link to the website had been circulated after the exam on Facebook and Twitter.
Student Lo Aimei, 18, said: 'I've not come across an exam question like that before. It was very long and confusing.'
Not all candidates, however, were stumped by the question.
Students at National Junior College (NJC) were given a study booklet before the A-level exams that contained a question similar to what was set.
Teachers had also dedicated a lecture to the material in the booklet.
Ms Sheena Tan, 18, a former NJC student who took this year's A levels, said she was relieved to have had a chance to review material similar to what she was eventually examined on.
