Frequently Asked Questions

Students

Public User

Can I access ZBschools.sg without subscription?

Yes, you may choose the different landing page via the blue button at the top right hand corner. Navigate the different tabs to read the free content.

Compared to a subscriber, how much information can I access from the portal?

A public user can only access approximately one fifth of the information available.

Can I subscribe to ZBSchools as a home subscriber?

Yes, you may subscribe to ZBSchools.sg by clicking on the link below.


Subscriber

I've forgotten my password.

You can retrieve your password using the 'Forgot Password' link which can be found in the login box on the landing page.

I've submitted my Login-ID on the “Forgot Password” page, but I did not receive the reset password email.

Please ensure that you have provided a valid email address.

Secondly, please check both your inbox and spam folder in your email account.

If you are still unable to find the reset password email, please contact our support team for further assistance. Teachers may reset the password for students too.

I've forgotten my login ID.

Please contact our support team for further assistance.

Can I change my email address?

You may change your email address by accessing “Profile” page and clicking on the “Email” tab. Please save upon completion.

Can I change my login ID?

You arer unable to change your login ID. For further assistance contact cirschool@sph.com.sg.

Can I change my password?

Yes, you can change your password by accessing the “Profile” page and clicking on the “Password” tab. Please save upon completion.

How to accept teacher's Gift?

How to earn points to redeem exclusive prizes?

Placement Test

Why is the Placement Test necessary?

The system can only ascertain your reading level accurately after you have completed the test. The system will then push relevant articles suitable to your reading abilities in the category “今天读什么”. Hence, articles found in “今天读什么” vary from subscriber to subscriber.

As you go on to read and complete the practices found at the end of each article, the system will continuously update your reading progress.

How many times must I do the placement test?

Each subscriber will only be able to attempt once to the placement test. You are unable to redo the test once submission.
Article page

How do I bookmark an article?

You may click the icon and save the article to your “favourite article” folder.

Can I share the article across social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter?

Yes, you can share articles to Facebook and Twitter if you are a secondary school student. You may click the icon within the article page to share it.

Can I attempt “开始练习” more than once if I want to get a better score?

You have to wait 2 hours before you can retry the End-Article Quiz after completion.

I didn’t see my results after i completed the NiE 练习.

Your NiE Quiz contains Open-Ended questions which require your teacher to grade.

Can I see comments from other school students?

No, you can only view comments from your schoolmates.

Teacher

Gifts

How do I assign Gift to student?

What "Gifts" can I assign to student?

The gifts that can be assigned are:

Thumbs Up Junior
  • 文后练习
  • 温习虫
  • 作文练习
  • 口语练习
  • 字词句练习

Thumbs Up
  • 文后练习
  • 温习虫
  • 大头条
  • 新闻消化室
  • 大玩家玩汉字
  • 看录像说话

Comma
  • NIE练习
  • 文后练习

Can I assign “Gifts” to an individual student in my class? If yes, how can I do so?

Yes, you can assign Gifts to an individual student, groups of students or an entire class.

You can add an individual student, groups of students or an entire class as recipient when creating a new “Gift”.

Can I assign “Gifts” to student/s not from my class?

No.

Can I let students view quiz answers?

Yes, you can decide whether to let students view quiz answers when creating the assignment.

How do I monitor progress of the “Gifts” I’ve assigned?

You can click the button on each Gift. It will direct you to the individual Gift report. Information on student progress will be displayed.

How do I allocate points for the completed Gift?

Analytic Report

What report/s can I view?

You can view 3 types of analytic reports:

  • Class overview and detail report(please give explanation) It will show analytic data of entire class or individual student such as reading level progress, number of articles read, number of quizzes completed, earned points, performance of language skills.
  • Top performance report(please give explanation) It will show ranking of student performance such as earned points, reading level increment, number of articles read, number of quizzes completed.
  • Quiz report(please give explanation) It will show analytic data of quizzes completed by students such as accuracy, level, format, question type and language skill.

Can I download the report?

Yes, you can download the report in xls format by clicking on “Export” button.

General

Tech Matters

What browsers can I use to access ZBSchool.sg?

Google Chrome (recommended), Safari, Firefox or Internet Explorer 9+..

Can I access this portal through Tablet/Mobile?

Yes.

Is there an app version of ZBSchools.sg?

Not for the time being.

Who Can I contact for further assistance?

For content issues, please contact zbschools@sph.com.sg.

For technical support, please contact support@commontown.com.
Subscription Info

How many issues will I receive for a one-year subscription and when are the publication dates?

You will receive 20 issues of the publication for a one-year subscription. Please take note that some are bundled and published as bumper issues.

The issues dates for the calendar year can be found here.

For home subscriber, if you have a print subscription, the copy will be delivered to you within 5-7 working days of the issue publication date.

How can I access ZBschools.sg portal?

For home subscribers' digital subscriptions, the access will start within 24 hours. The PDF version will also be available for download on ZBSchools.sg. Please use your mySPH user ID and password to log into ZBSchools.sg.

For school subscribers, please use the login ID and password provided by your school.