What Are the AL Ranges for MOE SEAB PSLE?
Quick Read: PSLE Achievement Level Ranges
For Standard-level PSLE subjects, Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE) uses eight Achievement Levels, from AL1 to AL8.
| Achievement Level | Reference Raw Mark Range |
|---|---|
| AL1 | 90–100 |
| AL2 | 85–89 |
| AL3 | 80–84 |
| AL4 | 75–79 |
| AL5 | 65–74 |
| AL6 | 45–64 |
| AL7 | 20–44 |
| AL8 | Below 20 |
AL1 is the highest Achievement Level. AL8 is the lowest.
A student’s overall PSLE Score is obtained by adding the AL scores of the four PSLE subjects. This gives a possible overall PSLE Score from 4 to 32, with 4 being the best possible score. MOE introduced the AL scoring system from the 2021 PSLE to replace the former T-score system.
In one line
90+ = AL1 → 85–89 = AL2 → 80–84 = AL3 → 75–79 = AL4 → 65–74 = AL5 → 45–64 = AL6 → 20–44 = AL7 → below 20 = AL8.
Understanding the MOE-SEAB PSLE Achievement Level System
The Primary School Leaving Examination, or PSLE, is jointly administered by Singapore’s Ministry of Education and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board.
SEAB describes the PSLE as an annual national examination taken at the end of primary education and, importantly, as a placement examination used to support students’ progression into secondary education.
The present Achievement Level system therefore works differently from the old PSLE T-score system.
Rather than determining a child’s score according to how finely their performance differs from other pupils, the AL system places their achievement within broader bands.
MOE explains that these wider scoring bands were introduced to reduce excessive competition and overly fine differentiation of examination results at a young age.
What Does Each PSLE AL Mean?
AL1: 90–100 Marks
A student who obtains 90 marks or above for a Standard-level PSLE subject receives:
AL1
This is the highest Achievement Level.
An important consequence of the banding system is that:
- 90 marks = AL1
- 95 marks = AL1
- 100 marks = AL1
For the purpose of calculating the PSLE Score, all three performances contribute 1 point.
This illustrates one of the main differences between the current system and the former T-score system.
The objective is not to distinguish endlessly between students who are already performing within the same broad achievement band.
AL2: 85–89 Marks
Scores from:
85 to 89
receive:
AL2
The transition from 89 to 90 is therefore important because:
89 marks = AL2
90 marks = AL1
This is sometimes referred to by parents as crossing an “AL boundary”.
However, students should not think only about chasing the next numerical boundary. The more useful educational question is:
What knowledge, understanding or examination skill is preventing the student from performing consistently at the next level?
AL3: 80–84 Marks
Scores between:
80 and 84
receive:
AL3
At this stage, comparatively small changes in raw marks can alter the student’s Achievement Level.
For example:
84 = AL3
85 = AL2
This is why improving accuracy can become particularly important for students performing close to an AL boundary.
AL4: 75–79 Marks
Scores between:
75 and 79
receive:
AL4
The upper four Achievement Levels are therefore relatively narrow:
| AL | Marks |
|---|---|
| AL1 | 90–100 |
| AL2 | 85–89 |
| AL3 | 80–84 |
| AL4 | 75–79 |
From AL5 onwards, the bands become wider.
This is deliberate: MOE describes the AL bands as reflecting broadly different levels of achievement while reducing unnecessary fine differentiation between students.
AL5: 65–74 Marks
Scores from:
65 to 74
receive:
AL5
This is a ten-mark band.
For a learner at this level, improvement should usually be considered in terms of specific subject weaknesses, rather than merely trying to gain ten additional marks.
For example, an English student may be losing marks because of:
- comprehension inference;
- vocabulary;
- grammar;
- synthesis and transformation;
- composition organisation;
- oral communication;
- or examination accuracy.
A Mathematics student may instead have weaknesses in:
- conceptual understanding;
- problem representation;
- multi-step problem solving;
- calculation accuracy;
- or checking.
The AL tells us where the current performance sits.
It does not tell us why the learner is there.
That requires diagnosis.
AL6: 45–64 Marks
Scores from:
45 to 64
receive:
AL6
Notice how much wider this range is.
A student obtaining 46 and another obtaining 63 will both receive AL6 for that subject.
This demonstrates an important feature of the system:
Achievement Levels are bands, not individual marks.
The raw score remains useful educationally because it helps teachers diagnose learning, but the PSLE scoring system converts the student’s subject achievement into an AL for the calculation of the overall PSLE Score.
AL7: 20–44 Marks
Scores between:
20 and 44
receive:
AL7
Again, this is a deliberately broad band.
For students performing here, the priority should generally move away from simply asking:
“How do we gain another few marks?”
and towards:
“Which foundations are missing?”
This distinction matters.
When foundational knowledge is unstable, increasing the amount of difficult practice may not solve the problem.
Repairing the earlier weak link often produces better results.
AL8: Below 20 Marks
A raw mark below:
20
corresponds to:
AL8
AL8 is the lowest of the eight Standard-level Achievement Levels.
However, there is an important distinction parents should understand.
SEAB stated in May 2026 that the PSLE does not use a Pass-Fail nomenclature for individual subjects. It explained that the PSLE is a placement examination and that there is a progression pathway for students.
Therefore:
AL8 should not simply be described as a conventional “fail grade”.
It is an Achievement Level within the PSLE placement system.
How Is the Overall PSLE Score Calculated?
The calculation is straightforward.
Add together the student’s Achievement Levels for the four subjects counted towards the PSLE Score.
For example:
| Subject | Achievement Level |
|---|---|
| English | AL2 |
| Mathematics | AL1 |
| Science | AL2 |
| Mother Tongue | AL3 |
The student’s PSLE Score is:
2 + 1 + 2 + 3 = PSLE Score 8
This creates another important PSLE rule:
A lower overall PSLE Score is better.
The best possible score is:
4
because:
AL1 + AL1 + AL1 + AL1 = 4.
The overall scoring range extends to 32.
Do All Subjects Have the Same AL Ranges?
For the Standard-level PSLE subjects scored using the AL1–AL8 framework, the same Achievement Level ranges apply.
The standard table is:
AL1: 90–100
AL2: 85–89
AL3: 80–84
AL4: 75–79
AL5: 65–74
AL6: 45–64
AL7: 20–44
AL8: below 20
However, Foundation-level subjects use a different grading scale.
What Are the PSLE Foundation Subject AL Ranges?
Foundation subjects are graded:
A, B or C
rather than AL1–AL8.
The official MOE mapping is:
| Foundation Grade | Foundation Raw Mark Range | Equivalent Standard AL for PSLE Score |
|---|---|---|
| A | 75–100 | AL6 |
| B | 30–74 | AL7 |
| C | Below 30 | AL8 |
For Secondary 1 posting purposes, these Foundation grades are mapped to their Standard-level AL equivalents when calculating the student’s overall PSLE Score.
Why Are the PSLE AL Bands Different Sizes?
This is one of the most useful parts of the system to understand.
The bands are not evenly divided into ten-mark intervals.
For example:
AL2 covers 5 marks.
AL3 covers 5 marks.
AL6 covers 20 marks.
AL7 covers 25 marks.
This is intentional.
MOE explains that the Achievement Levels were designed around curriculum learning objectives and levels of understanding and mastery, while reducing excessive differentiation between examination results.
In simple terms:
The system is trying to identify meaningful levels of achievement, rather than rank every pupil according to tiny differences in marks.
Why Do AL Boundaries Still Matter?
Although the system reduces fine differentiation, AL boundaries naturally remain important.
Suppose two students obtain:
Student A: 84
Student B: 85
The one-mark difference crosses the boundary from:
AL3 → AL2.
The same occurs at:
89 → 90
AL2 → AL1
and:
74 → 75
AL5 → AL4.
This means examination accuracy can matter considerably near a boundary.
But there is a danger in focusing excessively on the boundary itself.
A student consistently scoring around 72, for example, probably does not have a “three-mark problem”.
There may instead be an underlying:
knowledge problem,
comprehension problem,
answering problem,
application problem,
accuracy problem,
or examination-management problem.
Finding the correct problem is usually more useful than repeatedly telling the student to “get three more marks”.
PSLE AL Versus PSLE Score: What Is the Difference?
These terms are frequently confused.
Achievement Level or AL
An AL describes the student’s performance in an individual PSLE subject.
For example:
Mathematics — AL1
English — AL3
PSLE Score
The PSLE Score is obtained by adding the four subject ALs.
For example:
English AL3
Mathematics AL1
Science AL2
Mother Tongue AL2
produces:
PSLE Score 8
Therefore:
Subject performance → Achievement Level → four ALs added together → PSLE Score
Does an AL Tell Parents Everything About a Child’s Learning?
No.
This is one of the most important distinctions for parents.
An Achievement Level is an outcome measurement.
It does not automatically identify the mechanism that produced that result.
Two students can both receive AL4 while having completely different learning needs.
For example:
Student A
Understands the curriculum well but:
- rushes;
- makes careless errors;
- manages examination time poorly.
Student B
Works carefully but:
- has missing foundational concepts;
- cannot solve unfamiliar questions;
- has weak vocabulary or content knowledge.
Both may finish with the same Achievement Level.
Their required intervention is completely different.
So:
AL tells us where the student finished. Diagnosis tells us what should happen next.
What Changed After Full Subject-Based Banding?
Parents may still find older MOE material online referring to Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical).
That terminology reflects the former secondary-school streaming structure.
Full Subject-Based Banding has been fully implemented in secondary schools since 2024. Students entering secondary school are now admitted using Posting Groups 1, 2 and 3, and can subsequently take different subjects at different subject levels according to their strengths and learning needs.
This is an important distinction when reading older PSLE explanations.
The AL1–AL8 subject scoring system remains, but the secondary-school system around it has evolved.
Are Secondary School PSLE Score Ranges Fixed?
No.
There is another number that parents often confuse with the AL ranges: a secondary school’s historical PSLE score range.
They are not the same thing.
AL range
This is the national subject scoring framework:
90+ = AL1
85–89 = AL2
etc.
School PSLE score range
This reflects the scores of students admitted to a particular secondary school through an earlier Secondary 1 Posting Exercise.
MOE cautions that these school ranges should be used as a reference. Actual cut-off points depend on the results and school choices of the relevant cohort and are only known after posting has taken place.
So parents should not read a previous year’s school cut-off point as a guaranteed future admission score.
How Should Parents Use the AL Ranges?
A useful approach is:
Know the AL → locate the raw performance → diagnose the weakness → repair the earliest weak link → practise → measure again.
For example, if a student is currently obtaining:
English: 73 marks → AL5
the immediate target might appear to be:
75 marks → AL4.
But the better question is:
Where are those marks actually being lost?
If most lost marks come from comprehension inference, adding more grammar worksheets may have very little effect.
If the weakness originates in vocabulary and reading comprehension, those skills may need to be strengthened before composition quality improves.
The AL table is therefore best used as a measurement framework, not as the entire learning strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions About PSLE AL Ranges
What score is AL1 for PSLE?
90 to 100 marks for a Standard-level subject.
What score is AL2?
85 to 89 marks.
What score is AL3?
80 to 84 marks.
What score is AL4?
75 to 79 marks.
What score is AL5?
65 to 74 marks.
What score is AL6?
45 to 64 marks.
What score is AL7?
20 to 44 marks.
What score is AL8?
Below 20 marks.
Is AL1 or AL8 better?
AL1 is the highest Achievement Level.
For both individual subject ALs and the overall PSLE Score:
Lower numbers represent stronger results.
What is the best possible PSLE Score?
4.
This occurs when a student receives AL1 in all four subjects counted towards the PSLE Score.
What is the PSLE Score range?
The overall PSLE Score ranges from:
4 to 32.
SEAB confirms that the score is derived from the sum of the subject scores.
Is AL8 officially a fail?
SEAB’s current explanation is more precise: PSLE does not use a Pass-Fail nomenclature for individual subjects, because PSLE functions as a placement examination and students have progression pathways.
Are the AL ranges different for English, Mathematics and Science?
Standard-level PSLE subjects use the same AL1–AL8 reference raw-mark framework.
The assessment demands, skills and examination formats of the individual subjects are, of course, different.
The PSLE AL Table to Remember
For quick reference:
| PSLE AL | Raw Mark |
|---|---|
| AL1 | 90–100 |
| AL2 | 85–89 |
| AL3 | 80–84 |
| AL4 | 75–79 |
| AL5 | 65–74 |
| AL6 | 45–64 |
| AL7 | 20–44 |
| AL8 | Below 20 |
And:
Four subject ALs added together = overall PSLE Score
with:
4 = best possible PSLE Score
and:
32 = maximum possible numerical PSLE Score.
Understanding the Number Is Only the Beginning
The Achievement Level system gives parents and students a clear way of understanding PSLE performance.
But an AL should be treated as a signal, not a complete diagnosis.
If a child receives AL3, AL5 or AL7, the useful next question is not merely:
“How do we get the next AL?”
It is:
What is stopping the student from performing at the next level?
That may be knowledge.
It may be vocabulary.
It may be conceptual understanding.
It may be application.
It may be examination technique.
It may be accuracy.
Or it may be an earlier learning gap that has remained hidden until Primary 6.
Once that weak link is identified, the AL ranges become much more useful. They provide the measurement system while teaching, practice and diagnosis provide the path forward.
For parents preparing a child for PSLE, the objective is therefore not simply to chase marks one worksheet at a time.
It is to understand:
where the child is now, why the child is there, and what needs to change next.