PSLE Cut-Off Points Explained: How to Read Score Ranges and Use Them for S1 Posting

Every November, the question in Primary 6 households is the same: which schools can we realistically list? The answer starts with the PSLE cut-off points, which MOE publishes for every secondary school on SchoolFinder as a PSLE score range for each Posting Group. This site compiles them into a single full list of PSLE cut-off points, sorted from most to least competitive. This guide explains what the numbers mean before you use them.

What the range is

Since 2021 the PSLE has used Achievement Levels: each of the four subjects scores AL1 (best) to AL8, and the PSLE score is the sum, from 4 to 32. For each secondary school, MOE publishes the lowest and highest PSLE scores of students posted there in the most recent Secondary 1 posting exercise, separately for each Posting Group:

• Posting Group 3 (PSLE 4–20): the former Express stream and the Integrated Programme.
• Posting Group 2 (21–22): the former Normal (Academic) stream.
• Posting Group 1 (23–30): the former Normal (Technical) stream.

The higher number in each range is the cut-off point: the score of the last student posted. A school showing 8–14 for Posting Group 3 admitted students scoring between 8 and 14, so a score of 15 would not have been posted there last year, however it was ranked among the choices.

Affiliated and non-affiliated

Schools with an affiliated primary school admit affiliated pupils on a separate, more generous range, and SchoolFinder shows two columns. Affiliation gives priority only if the student lists the affiliated school as a choice and meets its affiliated range. Everyone else uses the non-affiliated column, which is the one shown in this site's main list; the affiliated range appears on each school's profile.

What 30* means

A range ending in 30* carries MOE's note that the school still had vacancies after posting. Its last posted student scored better than 30, but because it could have admitted an eligible student with 30, the cut-off is published as 30. Such schools admit across the whole eligible range for that group.

How much the numbers move

Cut-off points typically shift by one or two points a year, driven by cohort results and how families rank their choices. A school that became popular can tighten by three points; one that opened a new programme can loosen. Treat last year's range as a guide, and never rely on a score exactly at the cut-off, because tie-breaking by citizenship and choice order applies when several students share the final score.

Turning ranges into six choices

1. Find your child's Posting Group from the PSLE score.
2. From the full list, shortlist schools whose last range includes the score with a margin of at least one point, and note any affiliation.
3. Order the six choices by genuine preference: fit, travel time, programmes and CCAs. The posting algorithm looks at each student's choices in order, so listing an ambitious school first costs nothing if a later choice is safe.
4. Include at least one school whose range sits comfortably below the score. Being unposted means being assigned to a school with vacancies, which is rarely a family's first choice.
5. Visit the open houses in the months before posting; the cut-off tells you where entry is competitive, not where your child will thrive.

What the cut-off is not

MOE does not publish O-Level, A-Level or PSLE results by school, and it discourages ranking schools. A low cut-off point shows that many high-scoring students chose the school, which reflects reputation, location, affiliation and programmes such as the Integrated Programme. It is useful for judging whether a choice is realistic. It says nothing about how well a school will teach your particular child.