Do International Schools Really Care About Exam Scores?

🎯 What Every Singapore Parent Asks Me

"My child says the teacher didn't teach anything."

"There's no math exam next week?"

"Are they even preparing for the IB or IGCSE?"

These are real questions I hear constantly as a private math tutor in Singapore, working with international school students from UWCSEA, Dulwich, Canadian International, and more.

If you're a parent used to local MOE schools or traditional Chinese education, international schools can feel… confusing.

• No weekly tests
• No clear class ranking
• Kids come home saying, "We had to read it ourselves."

You're not wrong to feel concerned. But there's a deeper structure behind this — one that affects how you should approach tuition, academic tracking, and long-term development.

🧩 Why It Feels Like They're Not Teaching Exam Skills

As a Singapore tutor, I've seen this dozens of times:

• A student is told to read a science chapter before class.
• In class, the teacher runs a discussion instead of a lecture.
• The student gets lost — and tells their parents, "Teacher didn't teach."

This is called a flipped classroom — a model where content is reviewed at home, and class time is used for active learning.

"But my child needs explanations. Isn't that what tuition or teachers are for?"

Exactly. That's why many students end up needing private tuition, especially in math — because this model assumes independence, which not every child has yet.

And this isn't just math. It's across subjects — and it leaves parents asking…

❓ So... Do They Even Care About Scores?

Yes — but not in the way you think.

International schools do prepare students for exams like IB, IGCSE, and A-Levels. In fact, top-tier schools in Singapore regularly post excellent results.

But here's the catch:

• They don't teach to the test week-by-week.
• They measure skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and research.
• They expect students to manage long-term projects instead of last-minute cramming.

As a Singapore math tutor, I've had to redesign my tuition plans just to help students connect classroom inquiry with exam strategy — because the link isn't always clear to them.

🧱 What International Schools Actually Emphasize

📉 If Not Grades, Then How Do You Know They're Improving?

As a math tutor in Singapore, this is the most common anxiety I see from parents:

"If I don't see scores or test papers, how do I know my child is improving?"

Here's how international schools measure growth:

• 📁 Portfolios & Projects
• 📈 Rubrics & Criteria
• 🎤 Student-Led Conferences

These are powerful but foreign to most local families. That's why private tuition sometimes becomes the bridge — not just for knowledge, but for clarity.

🎓 Why Many Students Still Struggle – and Why Tuition Matters

Here's what I see as a tutor in Singapore international schools:

• Students don't know how to self-learn from slides — so the flipped model fails.
• Math lessons become too "open-ended," and exam techniques are lost.
• Group projects make it unclear who's really learning.

As a math tutor, I often provide structured tuition to help students:

• Understand IB/IGCSE math concepts
• Prepare for exams with past paper strategy
• Build back the confidence they lost in unstructured learning

👨‍👩‍👧 Is This Model Right for Every Family?

🧭 What Should Parents Do?

Here's my advice — both as a tutor and someone who works with many international school families:

• ✅ 1. Don't Panic at the Lack of Tests
• ✅ 2. Use Tuition to Build Clarity
• ✅ 3. Track Real Progress
• ✅ 4. Be Involved, But Not Overbearing

🧮 Final Thought

International schools in Singapore may not look "exam-oriented" on the surface — but they do care about results.

They just take a longer-term, more holistic path — and that requires a mindset shift.

As a Singapore private tutor, I help families bridge this gap — especially when students feel lost in the system's freedom.

So if you're wondering whether your child is learning "enough," the answer is likely yes — but not in the way you're used to. With the right support and understanding, they can succeed in both exams and life beyond school.