Singapore - A Singapore school has aced the International Baccalaureate (IB), a global standard of educational testing, with almost half of the world`s perfect scores coming from the school, its principal said on Tuesday.
The IB, started 40 years ago in Geneva, provides educational programs to half a million students in 125 countries, with a test standard equivalent to `A` levels or the SAT.
Singapore`s Anglo Chinese School (Independent) said it had nine students out of the 20 who scored perfect grades, among the 5,500 globally who sat for last November`s exams.
"What is incredible is that this school did achieve such results with its first cohort," said Judith Guy, regional director of International Baccalaureate Asia Pacific.
"The IB can be a real challenge for students because they have to be all rounders rather than playing to their strengths," Guy said.
The school, to which Singapore`s prime minister sent a son, said half of the 375 students who sat for the exams scored 40 points and above out of a maximum 45, making them eligible for entry into U.S. Ivy League universities or Britain`s Oxford.
The majority of students in Singapore - an ex-British colony - still study U.K.-style `A` levels as a basis for entry into universities.
Education in Asian countries such as South Korea, China, Japan and Singapore, is highly competitive as students vie for places in exclusive universities that are seen as a way up the economic ladder.
Source: in.reuters.com (9 Januari 2008)
