PSLE AL score calculator
Four marks in. Every Achievement Level, your total PSLE score from 4 to 32, and the Secondary 1 posting group it falls in. Free, no sign-up, and nothing leaves your browser.
The 8 Achievement Level bands
| AL | Marks | Width of the band |
|---|---|---|
| AL1 | 90–100 | 11 marks |
| AL2 | 85–89 | 5 marks |
| AL3 | 80–84 | 5 marks |
| AL4 | 75–79 | 5 marks |
| AL5 | 65–74 | 10 marks |
| AL6 | 45–64 | 20 marks |
| AL7 | 20–44 | 25 marks |
| AL8 | Below 20 | 20 marks |
The bands are not evenly sized, and that changes where effort pays. 84 to 85 is one mark and a whole AL. 46 to 64 is eighteen marks and no change at all.
What the PSLE score gets you at Secondary 1
Under Full Subject-Based Banding, the PSLE score sets the posting group, and the posting group sets the level most subjects start at in Secondary 1. These are MOE's published ranges.
- 4 is the best possible PSLE 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, counting as 6, 7 and 8.
- Cut-off points change every year and differ by school and posting group. Check MOE's SchoolFinder for the relevant year.
- Tie-breakers apply where scores are equal: citizenship, then choice order, then ballot.
- There is no bell curve. Fixed mark ranges since 2021, so the cohort cannot move your child's AL.
One number cannot tell you which mark is being lost
If you have just typed in four marks and one is lower than you expected, the useful next question is not how much tuition, but what kind of mark is going missing. These four look identical on a PSLE score and need completely different responses.
A content gap
Whole topics missing. Consistent failure on one topic, 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 check separates them.
How the daily-paper programme separates them · All 23 P6 Maths topics
Questions parents ask 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. Good only means anything measured against the cut-off for the secondary schools your child actually wants, and those cut-off points move every year. A PSLE score of 12 may comfortably clear one school and miss another.
How is the PSLE score calculated?
Each of the four subjects, English, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue, is graded into an Achievement Level from 1 to 8 based on the raw mark out of 100. The four Achievement Levels are added together. That total, between 4 and 32, is the PSLE score, and it is the only number used for Secondary 1 posting.
How many marks do I need for AL1 in PSLE Maths?
90 marks and above, out of 100. The same band applies to every subject: AL1 is 90 to 100, AL2 is 85 to 89, AL3 is 80 to 84 and AL4 is 75 to 79. There is no bell curve, so 90 marks in Maths is AL1 no matter how the rest of the cohort did.
Is the PSLE graded on a bell curve?
No. Since 2021 the Achievement Level bands have been 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.
What PSLE score do I need for Posting Group 3?
MOE publishes the ranges: a PSLE score of 4 to 20 is posted to Posting Group 3, 21 and 22 to Posting Group 2 or 3, 23 and 24 to Posting Group 2, 25 to Posting Group 1 or 2, and 26 to 30 to Posting Group 1 provided the child has AL7 or better in both English Language and Mathematics. The posting group sets the level, G1, G2 or G3, at which most subjects start in Secondary 1.
How are Foundation subjects scored?
Foundation subjects are graded A, B and C rather than AL1 to AL8. For the PSLE score they count as 6, 7 and 8 respectively, so a Foundation A is treated as AL6 when the four subjects are added up.
What happened to the T-score and the PSLE aggregate?
The T-score aggregate was replaced by Achievement Levels from the 2021 PSLE cohort onwards. There is no longer an aggregate out of 300, and a child is no longer ranked against the cohort. The PSLE score from 4 to 32 is what schools use now.
Which secondary schools can my child get into with this score?
No calculator can answer that, including this one. Cut-off points differ by school and by posting group and are re-set every year by the scores of the children who applied. Use MOE's SchoolFinder for the previous year's ranges and treat them as a guide, not a guarantee. Where two children have the same score, citizenship is the first tie-breaker, then the order of school choices, then a computerised ballot.
Is one mark ever worth more than ten?
Yes, and this is the part most parents miss. The bands are not evenly sized. Going from 84 to 85 is one mark and a whole Achievement Level. Going from 46 to 64 is eighteen marks and no change at all. If your child sits at 83 in a subject, two marks there are worth more than twenty marks in a subject where they are already at 62.
Does this PSLE 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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Online P6 Maths crash courses in the Singapore school holidays, one past paper a day, marked before class. Trusted by Raffles Girls' Primary parents: both my current students came from RGPS, and both went from failing to AL2.
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