Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board

The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) is Singapore's statutory board for national examinations and assessment services. It was established on 1 April 2004, formerly the Examinations Division of the Ministry of Education, to develop and conduct national examinations in Singapore and provide other assessment services locally and overseas (SEAB, What we do, accessed 31 August 2026). SEAB is an assessment authority and service provider; it is not a school, a university admissions office, or the sole authority for every qualification used in Singapore.

SEAB's role in national examinations

SEAB develops and conducts national examinations and assessment exercises, and its official mission links assessment to certifying individuals, upholding national standards and improving assessment quality (SEAB, What we do, page last updated 16 June 2026, accessed 12 September 2026). The Board also provides assessment products and services locally and overseas and states an aim to become a regional centre for assessment products and services (SEAB, What we do, page last updated 16 June 2026, accessed 12 September 2026). That outward-facing service role does not turn every overseas assessment or qualification into a Singapore national examination. The relevant authority for a candidate's registration, timetable, results, appeal or script-return question depends on the particular examination and the current SEAB instructions.

Joint examining authorities and the PSLE

The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is an annual national examination and placement exercise at the end of primary education. SEAB and MOE are joint examining authorities for the PSLE (SEAB, About PSLE, accessed 31 August 2026). This joint arrangement means that SEAB's examination operations should not be confused with MOE's wider responsibility for curriculum, schools and education policy. The PSLE Score is used in secondary-school posting under the applicable posting framework, while the examination itself remains an assessment administered through the SEAB–MOE system.

The 2027 Secondary Education Certificate transition

From 2027, the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) will replace the separate GCE N(T)-, N(A)- and O-Level examinations in line with Full Subject-Based Banding. SEAB, MOE and Cambridge International Education will continue as joint examining and awarding authorities; students will sit subjects at G1, G2 or G3 and receive a certificate reflecting the subjects and levels taken (SEAB, Secondary Education Certificate, accessed 31 August 2026; MOE, Committee of Supply announcements, accessed 31 August 2026). This is a dated transition boundary: it does not mean that the pre-2027 examinations have already ceased in 2026, nor that the three subject levels have identical standards.

Boundaries for candidates and researchers

SEAB's examination authority does not by itself decide school placement, post-secondary admission or the content of all school curriculum. Those outcomes can involve MOE rules, school or institution procedures, and the requirements of the receiving programme. Examination dates, private-candidate eligibility, registration windows, grading information and appeal routes can change by examination year, so current SEAB notices and candidate instructions control over a general description. SEAB's role is also distinct from the work of Cambridge International Education when an examination is jointly examined or awarded.