
Why Understanding Beats Memorising in PSLE Science 2025?
If you're a parent of a Primary School student in Singapore, you've probably noticed that the PSLE Science exam isn't what it used to be. Since the MOE revised the Primary Science syllabus in 2025, the focus has shifted away from memorisation and towards application-based questions that test a student's ability to think, explain and apply scientific concepts in real-life situations. To truly excel in PSLE Science today, students need more than just a good memory. They need strong conceptual understanding, problem-solving skills and the ability to answer questions using precise and topic-specific vocabulary. Why Memorisation Alone No Longer Works in PSLE Science Under the updated syllabus, factual-recall questions carry less weight than higher-order thinking and application questions. A student who memorises definitions and notes might still pass, but achieving AL1 or AL2 requires demonstrating the ability to analyse, explain and apply knowledge to new and unfamiliar scenarios. For instance, a simple recall question might ask for the definition of photosynthesis. But an application question could present a graph of plant growth under different light conditions and ask students to explain the trend using scientific concepts. This shift in emphasis means students need to be equipped with both content mastery