GEP 2018 - Screening and Selection Test
-
Hi
If you read similar thread of past years, there is no resources or references to prepare the child for it.
Just let the child take the test as there is no pass or fail tied to it. -
Will sending my child to enrichment centres that have prep programs help?
-
PrimaryParent:
Will sending my child to enrichment centres that have prep programs help?
1. U would be paying thru your nose for a course that doesn’t guarantee entry. I can also take your bundles of money and teach your kid “tips” but no guarantee ah! (I’m seriously kidding btw)
2. If let’s say your child gets in thru coaching and not truly having the giftedness, then forever you’ll be tied to paying & paying for premium after school GEP tuition just to maintain the grades.
Is it really worth burning such a big hole in your pocket?? -
In the market there are many GEP preparation course , u can just Google !
-
You got to know your child well. They can be stretched but not too much. I do not think one year preparation with 4 hours every week is good for children (Mind Stretcher (MS) provides this kind of training). In the end, your child would feel very frustrated if he/she could not get in.
In our case, DS attended two workshops, a 4-day Jun screening workshop in Mindstretcher and a 4-day Oct selection workshop in TLL just before the selection test. Those workshops could have helped a bit. DS knew how the questions looked like. He also got to know his standard among his peers. The selection workshop boosted his confidence and he finished the maths selection test half an hour earlier. And he got in.
Children develop at their own pace. I coach DS at home. I noticed his maths suddenly improved in P3, Sem 2. He can absorb the concepts very quickly, although he may have complained that he did not understand the same concept half year ago. When I know he does not understand, I will not stretch him further but wait for him to be ready to be taught. He is much weaker in English. He does not like books from the library, We seldom borrow books from the library. But I would buy one or two books every week upon his request. He will read each book at least three times. He also likes to retell stories. In addition, I bought some mainstream test papers from Popular and I revised those questions with him.
I had also struggled and wondered if I should put DS to the prep program for the entire year. I know his school is really a mediocre school. I let him sit for the MS GEP prep course test, given 10 dollars test fee and DS result slips (the enrollment test requires the child to have band one result English and Math in Primary 2 and passes their test before the child can be enrolled in their program). DS finished the 2 hours test in 50 min. MS called me the next morning said that DS could join the prep course. However, I did not enroll him. I still feel it was too expensive, we would feel too dreadful if DS was not selected. I want him to enjoy more other things during weekends instead of 4 hours sitting in a small air-con room. The test told me that he is somehow capable, that is enough.
I hope my experience is a bit helpful. Furthermore, please take note, last year, MOE only set 16 GEP classes for 2018 P4, which means, only about 400 pupils were selected. In contrast, MOE used to select about 550 pupils each year from 2008 to 2013. -
Ruhemut,
Does either MS or TLL follow up with you to check if your child clear the screening or selection test? -
To Sean Wife:
No. They didn’t.
DS is not qualified for the MS reward because we did not attend their selection workshop. DS’ School released the first round result very late therefore MS workshop could not fit in his schedule. I then just Google and found TLL’s workshop available at the very last minute. It was somehow shorter than MS workshop , total 6 hours or 8 hours but good enough. Then I never hear from TLL again. MS gives out cash and class vouchers if you attended all year round GEP class or attended the selection workshop. I received their Ads. -
just one advice … check the new DSA requirements before you decide to push your kids on this. GEP students are not prep for PSLE until 6 months before the exam, while MS has like 3 years prep for PSLE. If your DS/DD is currently feeling bored in school because it is too easy, don’t think you need a prep course and likely GEP is beneficial for him/her. If not, don’t know whether is it useful to get into GEP in the first place. Heard for this year, a lot of parents opt out because of the change in DSA rulings.
-
sean wife:
That is a good question. And I’m very surprised at the answer. Don’t they want to boast of their percentage of “successful” entries?Ruhemut,
Does either MS or TLL follow up with you to check if your child clear the screening or selection test?
If they don’t even follow up at all, it makes me very suspicious that they are simply preying on parents’ kiasuism (and deep pockets), without even bothering about success rate.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login