PSLE AL score calculator
Enter four marks. See each Achievement Level and the total PSLE score. Free, no sign-up, and nothing leaves your browser.
The Achievement Level bands
Each subject is graded into one of eight Achievement Levels. The PSLE score is the sum of the four, so a lower number is better.
| AL | Marks | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| AL1 | 90–100 | The top band |
| AL2 | 85–89 | Five marks covers this entire band, small slips are expensive here |
| AL3 | 80–84 | |
| AL4 | 75–79 | |
| AL5 | 65–74 | The band widens, ten marks |
| AL6 | 45–64 | Twenty marks in one band |
| AL7 | 20–44 | |
| AL8 | Below 20 |
How to read the number
- 4 is the best possible score, AL1 in all four subjects. 32 is the weakest.
- Lower is better, which catches out every parent the first time.
- Foundation subjects are graded A, B and C, which count as 6, 7 and 8 for posting.
- Cut-off points change every year and differ by school and by course. There is no fixed score that guarantees a place anywhere, and anyone telling you otherwise is guessing. Check MOE's published cut-off list for the relevant year.
- Tie-breakers apply where scores are equal, citizenship first, then choice order, then ballot.
Where the marks usually are
If you have just typed in four numbers and one of them is lower than you expected, the useful next question is not "how much tuition" but "what kind of mark is being lost".
A content gap
Whole topics missing. Visible as consistent failure on one topic and fine elsewhere. Fixes with teaching.
A reading problem
Accuracy falls on longer questions specifically. Fixes with technique, not more content.
Pacing
The last quarter of the paper is much worse than the first. The fastest of the four to fix.
Confidence
Marks earned by guessing look identical to marks earned by knowing. Only a confidence check separates them.
Those four need completely different responses, and a score cannot tell them apart. How this programme separates them.
Questions about the PSLE score
What is a good PSLE score?
4 to 8 is very strong, 9 to 14 is solid, 15 to 20 is mid-range. But "good" only means anything against the cut-off for the schools your child actually wants, and those move every year. A score of 12 may comfortably clear one school's Express cut-off and miss another's.
How is the PSLE score calculated?
Each of the four subjects is graded into an Achievement Level from 1 to 8 based on the raw mark. The four ALs are added together. That total, between 4 and 32, is the PSLE score, and it is the only number used for posting.
Is there any bell curve?
No. Since 2021 the AL bands are fixed mark ranges, so a child's result does not depend on how the rest of the cohort performed. 90 marks is AL1 whether one child or a thousand scored it.
Does this calculator store anything?
No. It runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is saved, and there is no sign-up.
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