By Kang Yixi (15S03N) and Joyce Er (15A01A)

Whether it be due to morbid curiosity or vain hopes of obtaining some consolation, you have finally made the fateful click that has led you to this controversial article chock-full of apocryphal claims. Unfortunately, the rumour mill hasn’t been spinning so rapidly this year, for many of the teachers have not completed their marking endeavours and are thus reluctant to make hasty generalisations about the performances of their students. Nevertheless, we present to you the assertions, anecdotes and speculations we have managed to amass — it should go without saying that you should take some of these rumours with a generous pinch of salt.

Mathematics:

• The average score for the HP students was a fail grade
• The scores for one S03 class (Chemistry RA): 7As and 5Bs
• An answer key for the paper emerged an hour after the paper, from a tuition agency
• APGP was deadly
• In fact the whole paper was deadly, and involved the use of a GC which no one thought about

General Paper:

• Predictably, the level’s performance was quite poor
• As one teacher told his class, the highest score he awarded was 35/50, with the average scores ranging from 21 to 25
• Outdated examples were a problem, as many students wrote about the Maria Hertogh Riots for the question on multiculturalism even though more recent examples abound
• The comprehension question on Major League Baseball’s decision to introduce paternity leave was generally poorly done

Economics:

• One tutor reported there being a “very wide range” of scores; another said that on average, 12.5% failed and 4% got As
• For one S03 class, marks range from 18-24 for the case study questions
• Generally, people scored better for the case study questions than for the essays
• Some people cited imposing a minimum price (the very policy mentioned in the question) as an ‘alternative policy’; another student suggested planting pineapples near to the rice fields to produce pineapple rice
• The case study question on market structure received every possible answer, and the correct answer is MPC
• The average score for the HP students was a fail grade

Chemistry:

• As chemistry students streamed out of their examination halls following their papers, our reporters witnessed everything from sad head-shaking to wild hair-clutching. It seems many had trouble even completing their papers, and many students left substantial portions of the script unattempted (particularly the energy cycles)
• Apparently, some Chemistry RA geniuses supplied the correct MCQ answers even before they were officially released
• Some Chemistry RA people didn’t finish the paper, though, so don’t lose heart!
• A tutor mentioned that each Chemistry RA class has about 8 A grades; student sources have claimed that a RA class has 8 As and 4Bs, and that the remaining students have Cs
• The average score for a Biology RA class (Sections A and B) is estimated by a tutor to be 60%
• A tutor claimed that one should be able to get onto the Dean’s List if one simply achieves an A grade

Biology:

• Not all Biology RA people finished the paper
• Essay diagrams are said to be relatively unimportant in terms of mark weightage
• Several people have scored full marks for the MCQ section; generally, people seem to have done quite well for it

Physics:

• According to a teacher, 4% failed, but an impressive 20% got an A
• Generally, the physics papers were not as brutal as the rest

History:

• Some positive news: the average score was a B
• IHist was tackled better than SEAHist on average, as per normal
• More positive news: not everyone takes history
• Highest score for SEA History for HP was 18

Geography:

• One class’s average was a worrying 7-8/25

The largely pessimistic nature of the aforementioned conjectures and claims will probably lead you to fervently hope for them to be proven false. Regardless, come next week or the week after, it is inevitable that some will receive a substantial ego boost while many others will be left painfully demoralised and heartbroken. It is, however, important for us to bear in mind the fact that our CTs only make up a paltry 15% of our overall grades for the year, and that it is the dreaded Promos that will make or break us. Still, it rarely hurts to perform well in an examination, and Raffles Press thus wishes all readers the best of luck for your results.