GEP Preparatory Program

[metz]

iFruit:

metz:

[quote=\"iFruit\"]

The question however though is, should we continue to shower these privileges in terms of DSA after PSLE and in JC admissions even at the expense of a bright non-GEP kid who has proved herself to be better than a GEP kid in the only national exam that she is even allowed to compete with GEP kids?

Of the 2 GEPpers - A& B that I know, A DSAed to his dream school. Even without DSA, he would have made it based on his PSLE T-score. B, though was not successful in his DSA applications, managed to score well enough in PSLE to apply to an established IB/IP school. Another boy ,C, from mainstream DSAed into one of the most prestigious boys' schools. However, his result was much less stellar than B. In fact, he scored about 10 pts below the school's COP.

right...

And yet, when LindsayL talked about a GEP student getting preference over non-GEP student, you asked

\"Do you mean an ex-GEP student taking the same exam as the non-GEP stuent was given priority to HCI despite a less stellar results? If that's true, could it be that the ex-GEP student has other talents that HCI recognises?\"

and I am left to wonder why the same logic of yours can't be applied to the mainstream boy 'C'...


But I agree with you that Academic DSA is unfair ( unless your argument is academic DSA is fair for only GEP and not for mainstreamers) [/quote]Let me clarify this - I have never thought Academic DSA as unfair. In fact, I think it is a great system for those who have worked hard and performed well consistently over the years, but somehow may underperform during a major exam. Both students A and C are good examples.

[iFruit]

...no one can fault rich parents for using the resources at their disposal to help their offspring stay ahead of the pack.


The danger, of course, is that over time, inequality begets greater inequality. The cycle of advantage becomes structural, as does the cycle of disadvantage. Those who criticise such structures are not attacking meritocracy, they are critiquing the status quo.

They are warning that if left unchecked, certain aspects of Singapore-style competition will lead to an ever more stratified society, which those stuck at the bottom will come to decry as unfair.

But change will not be easy. For starters, the winners of the current system will resist it, and they are armed with wealth and influence.

For another, any change to tilt the balance in favour of weaker and less-advantaged groups risks being seen as anti-competitive, and therefore anti-meritocratic as well.

--Lydia Lim, Straits Times 15/12/12

[metz]

Sorry, I am confused here...


Is the passage you quoted targetting at GEP or the entire education system?

iFruit:

...no one can fault rich parents for using the resources at their disposal to help their offspring stay ahead of the pack.

The danger, of course, is that over time, inequality begets greater inequality. The cycle of advantage becomes structural, as does the cycle of disadvantage. Those who criticise such structures are not attacking meritocracy, they are critiquing the status quo.

They are warning that if left unchecked, certain aspects of Singapore-style competition will lead to an ever more stratified society, which those stuck at the bottom will come to decry as unfair.

But change will not be easy. For starters, the winners of the current system will resist it, and they are armed with wealth and influence.

For another, any change to tilt the balance in favour of weaker and less-advantaged groups risks being seen as anti-competitive, and therefore anti-meritocratic as well.

--Lydia Lim, Straits Times 15/12/12

[iFruit]

metz:

Sorry, I am confused here...


Is the passage you quoted targetting at GEP or the entire education system?

Sorry..I should have quoted the entire article...

Ms. Lim was referring to

1) P1 registration for alumni
2) Secondary school entry for GEP
3) Secondary school entry for affiliated primary schools
4) Preschool education

You can read the entire artcile here http://www.singapolitics.sg/views/striking-right-balance-meritocracy

[metz]

Thanks for the article.


One particular point caught my eyes -

The three he cited were priority in Primary 1 registration for children of alumni, lower secondary school entry requirements for pupils from affiliated primary schools and a lower secondary school entry requirement for those in the Gifted Education Programme.

Is it true that there is a lower secondary entry requirement for those in the GEP? I assume DSA is out of the picture since Ms Lim didn't mention that.

iFruit:

Sorry..I should have quoted the entire article...

Ms. Lim was referring to

1) P1 registration for alumni
2) Secondary school entry for GEP
3) Secondary school entry for affiliated primary schools
4) Preschool education

You can read the entire artcile here http://www.singapolitics.sg/views/striking-right-balance-meritocracy

[iFruit]

metz:

Is it true that there is a lower secondary entry requirement for those in the GEP? I assume DSA is out of the picture since Ms Lim didn't mention that.

Sure...

[metz]

Really? Then please enlighten me - what's the COP for IP schools for GEPpers for 2012?


RI -
HCI -
RGS - (for future use)
NYGH - (for future use)
ACSI (IB) -
SJI
other schools -

Need to find out for student B if he meets the lower COP cos we didn't know there is one. Thanks.

iFruit:

metz:

Is it true that there is a lower secondary entry requirement for those in the GEP? I assume DSA is out of the picture since Ms Lim didn't mention that.

Sure...

[nansk]

metz:

So, it does leave me wondering if DSA is really an advantage for GEP kids ONLY as most believe.

metz:

Is it true that there is a lower secondary entry requirement for those in the GEP?

GEP students do not have to sit for the GAT; I would say that constitutes a lower entry requirement to secondary school. And, although the article writer did not specifically mention DSA, since DSA is one route to secondary entry, it should be considered in this discussion.

[metz]

nansk:

metz:

So, it does leave me wondering if DSA is really an advantage for GEP kids ONLY as most believe.

metz:

Is it true that there is a lower secondary entry requirement for those in the GEP?

GEP students do not have to sit for the GAT; I would say that constitutes a lower entry requirement to secondary school. And, although the article writer did not specifically mention DSA, since DSA is one route to secondary entry, it should be considered in this discussion.

So, it is your stand that DSA is unfair, regardless if the student is from mainstream or GEP?

Btw, I think student B did take GAT.

[nansk]

Back to the topic of GEP Prep program, I read http://giftedphoenix.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/gifted-education-in-singapore-part-2/ yesterday about the GEP.


Quoting from the article:[quote]The testing process is designed to identify pupils with what the Ministry calls ‘high intellectual ability and potential’, as opposed to high attainment.[/quote][quote]The Ministry advises parents (the emphasis is mine (the writer)):

‘not to prepare their children for the Screening and the Selection Tests. No test/assessment books have been prepared by the MOE for such a purpose. The GEP Screening Test and Selection Test are based on what all pupils should have been taught by Primary 3 in our schools…

We have no evidence that schools are preparing their pupils for the GEP Screening and Selection Tests....’

This rather defensive statement appears directly to contradict the earlier statement that the tests are designed to locate high ability and potential rather than existing high attainment. If the tests are based on what pupils have been taught, they must relate to a defined range of knowledge, understanding and skills. As such, they must be coachable.

On the other hand, it is hard to understand how a test of ‘abstract reasoning ability’ can be ‘based on what all pupils should have been taught…’ There is a fundamental contradiction here..[/quote][quote]Mr Morris Allen, who teaches a two-week GEP prep class every June, exposes the kids to all sorts of IQ puzzles – words, pictures, numbers – to prepare them for the General Ability paper, which tests their problem-solving aptitude.

He also teaches them about time management, so that they do not panic and stumble or waste too much time on questions they cannot answer.
...
‘It’s just familiarising them with the unfamiliar,’ said Mr Allen, who sources cognitive ability tests from other countries for his pupils to practise on.’[/quote]So, purely on the basis of this info, I concluded:
1. The Maths and English papers are supposed to test what any P3 student has been taught.
2. The General Ability paper tests IQ questions, which a student can at least be made familiar with.