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Much has been written over the decades about the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), detailing its pros and cons. I feel it is important to refresh our reasons for why the  exam is a meaningful experience, having recently sent my twin sons to their first PSLE trial, namely the PSLE orals. Come end-September, I would have gone through the PSLE thrice as a parent. I have always taught my children that learning is about self-improvement, growth and knowledge, not about grades.  Our objective collective sense is that the PSLE does teach knowledge and other valuable life lessons. For parents, life is not about removing every obstacle and challenge for our children, but about equipping them with the skill and the mettle to face and overcome challenges on their own. Through the PSLE preparation journey, I can see my children steadily mature into thinking teenagers firmly on the way to adulthood. They start to make decisions that trade short-term gratification for long-term benefits.  They learn to persist and persevere, both over long months of studying and over the frantic timespan of a single exam paper.   They learn to handle both the disappointment of failure and the euphoria of success, and treat these two imposters the same. They learn to support their friends both academically and emotionally. Just as importantly, they allow themselves to be supported and realise that there is no shame in that. Many of these are formative traits important for resilience and fortitude as future adults. In fact, the PSLE is the best kind of challenge to have. First, it is shared adversity. Every single Primary 6 pupil in Singapore goes through it, without exception. This fosters our children’s camaraderie with their peers, as they face the challenge together as one. Second, the stakes are very real yet every outcome, good or bad, is supported. Our children are supported by teachers, parents, peers, even grandparents and siblings, regardless of their results and as they transition into secondary school. None of them faces the outcome alone. To build a nation strong and free, we must build strength in our people.  PSLE builds that strength not just for a select few, but for all of our young people. Let’s continue to strengthen and evolve this cornerstone of our nation’s foundation.