Allen, A. (2011). Michael Young's The rise of the meritocracy: A philosophical critique. British Journal of Educational Studies, 59(4), 367-382.

Lim, L. (2013). Meritocracy, elitism, and egalitarianism: A preliminary and provisional assessment of Singapore's primary education review. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 33(1), 1-14.

Tan, K. H. K., & Deneen, C. C. (2015). Aligning and sustaining meritocracy, curriculum and assessment validity in Singapore. Assessment Matters, 8, 31-52.

Tan, K.H.K. & Deneen, C. (2015) Aligning and sustaining meritocracy, curriculum, and assessment validity in Singapore. Assessment Matters 8: Special Issue.

Meritocracy embodies tension(s) between its egalitarian and elitist strands, which in turn construct how fairness” is construed in terms of educational opportunity and outcome. In this article, two conflicting notions of fairness are identified, and the dialectic tension and relationship(s) between each are explored. Assessment practices in schools, in particular those pertaining to notions of assessment validity, are identified as early purveyors of merit determination. The case of “holistic assessment” and “bite-sized assessment” in Singaporean primary schools is discussed as an example of the importance of addressing validity in school assessment with the goal of preparing students as future citizens with capacity to fully participate in meritocracy discourse in society. A critical mass of such participative capacity is suggested as an important first step to broaden access to meritocracy, while extending the scope and practice of assessment validity in schools is considered fundamental for developing such capacity.

Lim, L. (2013). Meritocracy, elitism, and egalitarianism: a preliminary and provisional assessment of Singapore's primary education review. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 33(1), 1-14.

Meritocracy functions in Singapore as the key principle of governance and educational distribution. However, the concept of meritocracy itself contains a number of inherent contradictions, most evidently witnessed in the tension between its egalitarian and elitist strands. This tension is documented in the recommendations of Singapore’s recent primary education review, already accepted by the Ministry of Education and to be implemented in the coming years. This article considers these recommendations against the backdrop of a tentative movement towards egalitarianism in educational distribution. Specifically, it provides a preliminary and provisional assessment of how far they would go towards providing for greater educational equity and, therefore, in recovering the ideology of meritocracy in the nation-state.