Child Underperforms Because Tested Above Cognitive Level

[Chenonceau]

beanbear:

With one more week to go to prep before CA1, I got DS to stay home with me today so I can teach him and set goals for the CA1. I'm shifting away from specific marks. One part of me is still using the old frame of mind of \"marks\" as the outcome but the other part of me wants to reframe this whole exam thing as an opportunity to see what skills he has learnt in the last 2 months of mummy tutoring him + his hard work and notice for signs of progress.

Yeah... I also went about setting goals by skills sets too, not marks. :rahrah:

beanbear:

So I'm doing the unconventional - no setting of goals for marks. I'll be asking DS to set goals for what skills & conceptual understanding he wants to demonstrate during the exam. For eg for Maths - it's ok if he didn't get solve an entire Higher-Order-Sum but if he shows his thinking by doing specific steps & use concepts & strategies that he has been taught, that's fine. I'm teaching him specific questioning skills to help him figure out what the exam question is really of him and I'll ask him to write down his responses to his own questions on the paper so that I can see he is demonstrating his thinking on paper. If the exam paper is exceptionally difficult and he can't solve the questions posed to him, that's no big issue if he is on track in his thinking process. Then I'll know how to bridge the gap after the exam.

beanbear... you're amazingly contrarian. And you're one of the most determined people I've come across.

:udawoman:

[beanbear]

Chenonceau:

doodbug:

wow...very admirable the type of dedication mamas have these days, to help kids with CA1. Kids with parents who can and care enough to coach are very fortunate.

It's actually 'cos beanbear's kid flunked Math all of last year.

Yah lor, if teachers cannot do their job properly for my child, then I must step up lor. Found gaps teaching him algebra this morning - sigh - the more I teach, the more gaps in the school's teaching I find...Now scooting of with DS to have a nice lunch before we come back and revise exam papers...

[Chenonceau]

beanbear:

Chenonceau:

[quote=\"doodbug\"]
wow...very admirable the type of dedication mamas have these days, to help kids with CA1. Kids with parents who can and care enough to coach are very fortunate.

It's actually 'cos beanbear's kid flunked Math all of last year.

Yah lor, if teachers cannot do their job properly for my child, then I must step up lor. Found gaps teaching him algebra this morning - sigh - the more I teach, the more gaps in the school's teaching I find...Now scooting of with DS to have a nice lunch before we come back and revise exam papers...[/quote]
The more I teach, the more gaps in the school's teaching I find... yeah man. Sounds familiar.

[doodbug]

Chenonceau:

doodbug:

wow...very admirable the type of dedication mamas have these days, to help kids with CA1. Kids with parents who can and care enough to coach are very fortunate.

It's actually 'cos beanbear's kid flunked Math all of last year.

Sigh. Yeah, it's kinda sad, that some children who are conscientiously completing their homework and revising their textbooks, are not able to cope with school exams and tests. No choice but to molly-coddle and mould the kiddoes!

[Chenonceau]

Nebbermind:

BeContented:

And once such specialized resources are provided.....aren't we going through the whole process of ..... kids are tested beyond again? There will always be some tougher questions to sift out the better students.....problem is now, many many parents expect their kids to be able to answer ALL the questions and that's how standards are being driven upwards continuously. I support your cause to provide better textbooks so that the kids can learn properly .... but I think the vicious cycle will never end :faint:

Agree wholeheartedly!!! :goodpost:

So what if exams are set so that kids who study hard can answer all the questions? Only those people, with really smart kids, who are confident their kids can answer all the questions want to be differentiated (GEP and the like). The rest of us don't want that very much.

It's written in the bible or some law that there WILL be some tougher questions to sift out people? So that we can bring out the best in them? Why do we wanna sift them out so badly? The GEP lot studied by Terman over 10 or 20 years turned out pretty normal in life. It isn't as if they're ALL multi-millionaires or that they ALL made a major contribution to the world. Some of Termie's kids aren't doing well in life at all despite all the hype about how smart they were... and how the system was able to sift them out and enrich them to their potential.

It's not a law that exams must differentiate.

If people wanna know how smart they are, there are IQ tests. There are all sorts of enrichment opportunities. Do those for fun and challenge. Why test for it? Learning is so much more fun when done for its own sake. Mainstream education should not demoralize 99% of the kids. Many kids have no access to the specialized materials that I had to buy for my DS because
(1) he doesn't do CCA academic enrichment
(2) his school doesn't give

[Chenonceau]

doodbug:

Chenonceau:

[quote=\"doodbug\"]
wow...very admirable the type of dedication mamas have these days, to help kids with CA1. Kids with parents who can and care enough to coach are very fortunate.

It's actually 'cos beanbear's kid flunked Math all of last year.

Sigh. Yeah, it's kinda sad, that some children who are conscientiously completing their homework and revising their textbooks, are not able to cope with school exams and tests. No choice but to molly-coddle and mould the kiddoes![/quote]That's why we are making noise lor...

[Chenonceau]

DS’ ex-Kumon teacher told me yesterday that many of her Kumon students stay in the neighbouring 3 and 4 room flats. On average according to her, these people spend $1500 a month on tuition. This is a big chunk of income on kids’ education for families who stay in 4-room HDB.


Education in Singapore is not free if you’re in mainstream. Classes are 40. Teachers teach more classes each. They have to write their own resources. They have no time for our kids. So, we need to either teach at home… OR we get tutors. The very poor have access to free tuition. The very rich can afford TLL. The GEP get special teaching. The masses in the middle are squeezed.

Sounds familiar? Happens in housing… in healthcare… in unemployment.

[corneyAmber]

janet_lee88:

ksi:

Janet, relax... If already prepared just let go and let the child perform his best.

Not what I would describe as 'prepared'...he hasn't touched any CA1 paper at all. That is what worries me. Finishing school hw daily is an accomplishment already. :imdrowning:

It is true that finishing hw is already an accomplishment so I wish him all the best in his exams for his diligence to complete his hw... :rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah:

[Chenonceau]

Nebbermind:

BeContented:

Ha ha...DH always comment.....his friend is already preparing their P5 kids for PSLE, how come I seem so relax??

Preparing for PSLE has different meaning for diff parents. To alot of parents here, it means PREPARING FOR ENTRY INTO RI/HCI!!! :evil:

Looks like yr son has a pretty list of CCAs....good for DSA!

No... to us, beanbear, I and Janet, it means not FAILING CA1... even the tiny tiny CA1. beanbear's DS flunked math all of last year. Janet's too. Mine flunked Chinese compo up till SA1. I'm relaxed now 'cos I know he won't fail.

I think... hope.

The view is very different when your kids aren't failing. At first, I thought my own DS was stupid. Now that I have taught him myself, I know he isn't more dumb than I am. He was failing because he was tested way beyond what the school taught. If you have no bandwidth to teach, at least provide the resources for self-study. But no... I had to buy these resources myself and beg them from parents in other schools for my son to self-study.

Specialized resources. We're unlucky. Some schools do provide these resources, written by their own Teachers. Parents in such schools can relax also.

[KSP]

bebe:

Chenonceau:

[quote=\"nani\"]Is cca complusory at primary school?

No... CCA is not compulsory in primary school. However, many parents like to strategise and pick the CCA for their child that will best beef up their portfolio in secondary school and for DSA. Secondary schools don't allow children to choose CCAs by interest alone. Kids are tested and screened and then put into the CCA, such that the school can use the best talent to win prizes.

Hence, you are more likely to get into the CCA of your choice in secondary school if you have been trained since primary school.

I thought CCA is compulsory at least for upper primary? No? CCA at lower primary is more of elective and parents can choose not to go for it.[/quote]I thought so too. But just realised dd's school CCA is not compulsory for GEPpers ONLY..... isn't it double standard? :?