Choosing Secondary Schools After PSLE: A Practical Guide to Cut-off Points
After PSLE results are released, families have about six days to submit six school choices. Here is what you need to know.
What a cut-off point means
A cut-off point (COP) is the PSLE score of the last student posted to that school in a given year. PSLE uses Achievement Levels (AL) from 4 (best) to 30, so a lower cut-off means a more competitive school. MOE shows a range such as 6 – 8: the right-hand number is the cut-off.
Posting Groups
Since 2024, students are posted in three Posting Groups based on their PSLE score:
| PSLE score | Posting Group |
|---|---|
| AL 4–20 | PG3 |
| AL 21–22 | PG3 or PG2 |
| AL 23–24 | PG2 |
| AL 25 | PG2 or PG1 |
| AL 26–30 | PG1 |
Each school has a separate queue and cut-off for each group, and all six choices must be in one group.
How posting works
Students are processed from the best score down. When it is your turn, MOE checks your choices in order and posts you to the first school with a place. That means ranking your true preferences is optimal: putting a harder school first never costs you a later choice.
Reach, match and safe
- Reach: 1–2 points short of the latest cut-off.
- Match: meets the latest cut-off, but not with a margin every year.
- Safe: better than every recorded cut-off, or the school had vacancies.
A common split is 1–2 reach, 2 match and 2 safe. MOE itself recommends including 2–3 schools you are likely to qualify for.
How much do cut-offs move?
Across 2023–2025, 95% of year-on-year PG3 changes were within 1 point. History is a good guide, but a score exactly at the cut-off still carries tie-break risk (citizenship, choice order, then a computer ballot).
Browse three years of data in the free cut-off tool, or get a personalised report that ranks six choices by your score and distance from home.