The level of BM in SK is higher compared to SJKC. Everyone knows that. However, did you know that the level of English in SK is also higher than that in SJKC? For this post, we won't go into reasons why it is that way. I suppose if you have to learn 3 languages, then you can't be expected to be good in all three. Anyway, lets take a look at the UPSR English Paper for 2011.
The paper 1 does not have any significant difference so I won't post that here. The difference lies in the Paper 2. Both SK and SJKC English Paper 2 have 3 Sections. Let's start with Section A. As you can see from the Year 2011 English UPSR paper 2 below, the SK paper requires the student to make 5 sentences from a given picture. 10 words are given as an overall guide.
The SJKC English paper on the other hand requires the students to make 10 sentences with 20 guide words provided (2 for each sentence). Both are given 10 marks with 15 minutes as suggested time to complete.
That means the sentence making for SK carries 2 marks each while SJKC gets 1 mark per sentence.
Section A English UPSR Paper 2 Year 2011 for SK
Section A English UPSR Paper 2 Year 2011 for SJKC
Now let's look at Section B. Section B is 25 marks and suggested time is 25 minutes for both. This section tests the students on their ability to transfer given information. Here is the SK English Paper Section B for Year 2011. Information is provided. Students are then required to transfer the information into a given table by completing the blank parts of the table in Part A (10 marks). In the second part of the question ie Part B which carries 5 marks, students are required to write a short passage on why they chose an activity based on the given information.
Section B English UPSR Paper 2 Year 2011 for SK
Section B English UPSR Paper 2 Year 2011 for SK (cont)
Now here is the SJKC English Paper 2 Section B. Students are given information. They are then required to transfer the information onto a passage by filling in the blanks. 5 blanks and 15 marks equals 3 marks for each blank. Some answers require just one word. 3 marks for a single word. Quite a heavy penalty if you get it wrong. Marks will be deducted for grammatical and spelling errors.
Section B English UPSR Paper 2 Year 2011 for SJKC
Lastly, lets have a look at Section C. Section C is the same for both. Write a story based to given pictures. 15 marks. Time Suggested is 35 minutes.
Section C English UPSR Paper 2 Year 2011 for SK
Section C English UPSR Paper 2 Year 2011 for SJKC
Section C English UPSR Paper 2 Year 2011 for SJKC (Cont)
So if you've always wondered what is the difference between SJKC and SK English papers for UPSR, I hope the above detailed analysis gives you a better idea.
This is based on past year UPSR papers. As a parent, I do not know what lies ahead. There may be changes to this format. There will be more HOTS (High Order Thinking Skill) questions. According to my son, during his recent English term exams, there was no English Paper 2. Everything was in one single paper. I have not seen his paper yet so I can't confirm. He is one of those in the first batch doing the KSSR syllabus with School Based Assessments contributing 40% to the overall UPSR grade. At this point of writing, I do not know how the 2016 UPSR will be like and what subjects will be included. Will History be included for example?