Each PSLE subject is graded in one of eight Achievement Levels, from AL1, the best, to AL8. The grade depends only on your child's own percentage score, not on how other children did. The ALs of English, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue add up to the PSLE Score, which runs from 4, the best, to 32. A score of 20 or better places a child in Posting Group 3, where every subject starts at G3 in Secondary 1. There is no pass mark for any subject. MOE has said plainly that 65%, the line between AL5 and AL6, is not one.
- AL190 to 100
- AL285 to 89
- AL380 to 84
- AL475 to 79
- AL565 to 74
- AL645 to 64
- AL720 to 44
- AL80 to 19
Source: MOE. The bands are percentages of the subject's combined score across its papers, not raw marks on one paper. MOE does not publish a rounding rule.
The bands are deliberately uneven. MOE expects slightly under half of each cohort to score 75% or more in a Standard subject, so the top bands are narrow to avoid too many children landing on the same total. Lower down, scores are spread more widely, and MOE judges that splitting them finely would mean little. The practical effect is that the same 5 marks matter very differently depending on where a child sits. From 84% to 89% is two whole ALs, AL3 to AL1. From 45% to 50% changes nothing, because both are AL6.
- AL A75 to 100Counts as AL6
- AL B30 to 74Counts as AL7
- AL C0 to 29Counts as AL8
MOE says a child with AL A in a Foundation subject has shown they can cope with that subject at G2 in secondary school.
Children exempted from Mother Tongue, or taking a language in its place, receive a Mother Tongue AL between 6 and 8, set by comparison with peers who had similar English, Maths and Science results.
What each AL means for that subject
A subject's AL does more than feed the total. Under Full Subject-Based Banding it can also decide the level a child takes that subject at in Secondary 1.
| Subject result | Child in Posting Group 3 | Child in Posting Group 2 | Child in Posting Group 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL1 to AL5 | G3, like every subject | Can take it at G3 | Can take it at G2 or G3 |
| AL6, or Foundation A | G3, like every subject | G2 | Can take it at G2 |
| AL7, AL8, Foundation B or C | G3, or G2 by arrangement for a Foundation subject | G2 | G1 |
This is why an AL5 matters even for a child whose total is above 20. In 2025, MOE said about 65% of children eligible for Posting Groups 1 and 2 could take at least one subject at a more demanding level. Humanities subjects work differently: they can move up from Secondary 2, based on how the child does in Secondary 1, not on the PSLE.
What each total means
A few totals are worth knowing by heart. Four AL4s make 16. Four AL5s make 20, the last score that is Posting Group 3 only. Four AL6s make 24, and so does a child with Foundation A in every subject. Where a family can choose between two Posting Groups, the choice applies to all six school choices. If no choices are submitted, the child is placed in the more demanding group.
Three children, three totals
Worked examples (fictional children, real rules)
- English AL2, Maths AL1, Science AL2, Chinese AL3Score 8: Posting Group 3All subjects at G3 from Secondary 1. In 2025 a score of 8 met the IP cut-off at the six IP schools whose last admitted score was 8 or 9, but not at those whose cut-off was 6 or 7.
- English AL4, Maths AL5, Science AL5, Malay AL4Score 18: Posting Group 3All subjects at G3. In 2025 this met the Posting Group 3 cut-off at many neighbourhood schools, for example Bartley Secondary (16 to 21).
- English AL5, Maths AL6, Science AL6, Tamil AL6Score 23: Posting Group 2Most subjects at G2, but the AL5 in English lets this child take English at G3 from Secondary 1.
Where real totals landed in 2025
These are the PSLE Scores of the first and last child posted to each school in the 2025 Secondary 1 posting, for children without affiliation. The second number is the cut-off point.
At SAP schools the cut-off can also carry a Higher Chinese grade in brackets. Our IP schools list has every Integrated Programme school's 2025 range, and our cut-off points guide explains how to read a school's range and use your six choices.
Higher Chinese, and other languages
A child with a Distinction, Merit or Pass in Higher Chinese and a PSLE Score of 14 or better gets an advantage at SAP schools: when two children have the same score, the one with the better Higher Chinese grade is placed first, before any other tie-breaker. Higher Malay and Higher Tamil carry no posting advantage, and Higher Chinese carries none at schools outside the SAP list. Our Higher Chinese at PSLE guide covers when it is worth taking.
For Secondary 1 itself, the rules have loosened. From the 2026 intake, taking Higher Mother Tongue in secondary school no longer depends on the overall PSLE Score. A child with AL1 or AL2 in Mother Tongue, or a Distinction or Merit in the Higher paper, can take it from the start. Third languages still use the total: French, German, Japanese or Spanish need a PSLE Score of 8 or better.
How the cohort actually scores
MOE does not publish how many children get each PSLE Score. The closest official figures are by subject: the share of children scoring AL6 or better.
Read the other way, roughly one child in ten scores AL7 or AL8 in Maths or Science. The last published split by course, from the 2022 PSLE, was 68.4% of children eligible for what is now Posting Group 3, 18.7% for Posting Group 2 and 11.3% for Posting Group 1.
The 2026 results and what comes next
The 2026 PSLE results are due on Tuesday 24 or Wednesday 25 November 2026 at 11am, with the exact date confirmed nearer the time. School choices open at 11.30am that day for seven days, and posting results are expected on Friday 18 December 2026. Our PSLE 2027 page gathers the next cohort's dates as MOE releases them, and our PSLE score calculator adds up a child's ALs and shows the Posting Group.
Common questions
What does AL mean in the PSLE?
Achievement Level. Each PSLE subject is graded from AL1, for 90% and above, to AL8, for below 20%. The four subject ALs add up to the PSLE Score.
Is AL4 good in the PSLE?
AL4 means a score of 75% to 79% in that subject. Four AL4s make a PSLE Score of 16, which is Posting Group 3, with every subject at G3 in Secondary 1.
What is a good PSLE Score?
Any score from 4 to 20 gives Posting Group 3. In the 2025 posting, Integrated Programme schools took their last children at scores of 6 to 9, and many neighbourhood schools at scores in the high teens.
Is there a pass mark for the PSLE?
No. MOE says there is no pass or fail mark for any subject or for the PSLE as a whole, and that 65% is not a pass mark.
Does Higher Chinese count in the PSLE Score?
No. It is graded separately. It gives an advantage only at SAP schools, and only to children with a PSLE Score of 14 or better.
What does Foundation A count as?
A Foundation A counts as AL6 in the PSLE Score. Foundation B counts as AL7 and Foundation C as AL8.
Can my child take a subject at G3 if their total is above 20?
Yes, if they scored AL5 or better in that subject. A Posting Group 2 child can then take it at G3, and a Posting Group 1 child at G2 or G3.
When are the 2026 PSLE results released?
Tentatively on Tuesday 24 or Wednesday 25 November 2026, at 11am.
Official sources
- MOE, PSLE scoring system
- MOE, PSLE FAQs
- MOE, What are Posting Groups
- MOE, Secondary school experience under Full SBB
- MOE, Release of 2025 PSLE results
- MOE, SchoolFinder, 2025 PSLE score ranges
- MOE on data.gov.sg, Percentage of PSLE students who scored AL1 to AL6, by subject
Written by Tan Hong Ting, Mathematics & Science Tutor, The Singapore Syllabus. Bachelor's in Psychology, National University of Singapore · 4 years' tutoring experience in Mathematics and Science. More about Tan
Free to ask. No contract.
Found this useful? Get your child the right tutor.
Prefer the shortlist page? Open find a tutor
Tell us about your child
Prefer to talk first? WhatsApp +65 8971 7546