I decided to Google myself, and look what I found- a submission I made to The Straits Times’ Forum actually got a bit of attention! I remembered that what made it through wasn’t exactly what I sent, so I dug through my GMail to find what I had originally written.
This is what I sent:
I refer to Tuesday’s Parliament Shorts (Most top-scoring students live in HDB flats) and I must say that it is rather misleading- at first glance, one might be inclined to think that students who live in HDB flats are outperforming those who live in private housing. However, after taking a closer look at the statistics, it is clear that this is not the case.
The statistics given in the short are as follows:
About 82% of Singaporeans live in public housing.
More than 60% of top 10% scorers in the PSLE live in HDB flats.
More than 50% of Secondary 1 students enrolled in Intergrated Programme (IP) schools live in HDB flats.
Let’s turn the charts upside down and look at it more critically. While only 18% of Singaporeans live in private housing, they account for almost 40% of top 10% PSLE scores and more than 40% of IP school enrollment. Let’s not deny the obvious, which is that Singaporeans who can afford to live in private housing do end up in better schools. I would not be too hasty in attempting to explain this phenomenon. Perhaps they are brought up with a stronger thirst for success than the average Singaporean living in a HDB flat, or perhaps they can afford costly private tuition. It is most likely due to a mix of a wide range of reasons. Regardless, the numbers cannot and do not lie- being able to afford private housing gives students a statistical edge over the average Singaporean HDB dweller.
This is what it looks like after the folk at ST had a go. “I would not hazard to know the reasons” and “one reality is immutable” indeed! Cute.
MR VISAKAN VEERASAMY: ‘At first glance, Tuesday’s Parliament snapshot, ‘Most top-scoring students live in HDB flats’, gives the impression that students who live in Housing Board flats outperform those who live in private housing. But is that so?
The statistics given in the snapshot are as follows: About 82 per cent of Singaporeans live in public housing. More than 60 per cent of the top 10 per cent of PSLE scorers live in HDB flats. More than 50 per cent of Secondary 1 students enrolled in Integrated Programme (IP) schools live in HDB flats. But the same statistics also mean that while only 18 per cent of Singaporeans live in private housing, they account for almost 40 per cent of the top PSLE scorers and more than 40 per cent of IP school enrolment.
Let us not deny the obvious, which is that Singaporeans who can afford to live in private housing end up in better schools. Perhaps these students are more primed to succeed or can afford costly private tuition. I would not hazard to know the reasons. But one reality is immutable, going by the statistics: Being able to afford private housing gives students a statistical edge over the average HDB dweller.’
I was glad to find that there was some degree of engagement on this topic on the internet, although I’m still a little bit disheartened that by-and-large it’s generally not questioned as to why Parliament would release misleading statistics in the first place. Or did they? Was the misleading element introduced by The Straits Times, or simply perpetuated along the way? We have intelligent writers in SPH for sure, with lovely vocabulary. I wish they wouldn’t be afraid to be a little more critical, or that they would be given the opportunity to do so.
Here’s some of the attention I got for writing this!
Singapore education: a level playing field?
HDB Kids Don’t Perform as well in PSLE | Salary.sg – Your Salary …
The Singapore Enquirer: The grassroots TV and news blog …
Pingback: More Straits Times Wizardry! « visaisahero.