All About GEP

[SullyM]

hello

i was trying to search for some discussion about GEP when i found this interesting forum. my son will be going for the 2nd round tests next wk. I'm curious what they normally ask in the General Ability paper? :?

I agree with the earlier discussion that we should not prepare for the child so it will just be tested on his ability. but at least i can tell him what to expect.

[walterp]

smurfette3:

Hi,


I was just wondering are there any parents out there who have children in GEP but feel the mainstream is better? My friend's kid was very stressed when she went into GEP. So am not sure if I should let my son go. He himself does not want to but I think its more because his friends are not going. I know everyone is more or less for GEP but I really would like to know more. My son is the happy go lucky type and he likes lots of outdoor sports and is quite involved in them. Would being in GEP take away a lot of that time? Any comments? Am quite troubled, not sure what to do. (not tt he has gotten in, he is going for round 2 but very resistent to do so)

I read many interesting concerns on the GEP ... Let me share some of my thoughts on these ... Why force your kids to a GEP if she /he is meant for it. Don't believe those crap training centre ..Let nature take it course


My daughter is in P6 GEP at RGPS and had just completed her PSLE like all other 50K kids in her cohort. She is now enjoying herself with her fellow P6 GEP at the Sentosa UnderWater World. She was posted to RGPS from CHIJ Pri (Toa Payoh) in 2008. As a child , she was always more sharp and alert than her older sister. Imagine she could solve a logic ratio qns at P3 when her P5 sister could not.

GEP preparation - Why go to extent on doing this ? It cost money and add stress to your kids and yourself. My daughter doesn't need tuition since P1 and even now she does not not have extra enrichment programme.

The GEP testings not only the high order ,systemic and logical thinking ability but the ability to take stress to solve problem under very tight time.

GEPer are known to be quick thinkers and thrive on it. Imagine answering 1 question within 45 - 60 seconds time frame. My daughter told me after her second rounds test that the questions are so easy but her friends all complain like hell.. and most can't finish the paper .. I was told there are mark deduction for wrong mistakes as well ...

That's why the GEP GAT is a real testing to single out the best and coolest top 1% thinkers (500 of 50,000) out there. Incidentally the ratio is almost always 2 boys to 1 girl


So those who made it to the GEP class should be able to take the rigours and pressure of the programme. If your child doesn't make it , it doesn't meant she/he is inferior or less ability than a GEP kids.

[kancheongmum]

Hi waltrep


Totally agreed with you. What is the meaning of "gifted"? To me is simply you are born to be. You cannot train to be gifted. You cannot learn to be gifted. You cannot nurture to be gifted. But if you are gifted, you can be nurtured. Sorry to say, no offence, all these GEP training classes that say can make you gifted and go the gifted class are all there to fatten their own bank accounts. I give my children the choice, I ask them do you feel you are gifted? If the answer is yes then go for GEP screening. If not don’t waste time. So none of them go for the screening. So they are all happy doing things in their normal way.

Just my two cents worth. Sorry no offence to all.

[verykiasu2010]

lwm99:

I wonder for schools that have say 10 classes of P2 (300 pupils), how they split them in P3? If they have 8 classes, does it mean it has 20 vacancies at P3?

more like ending up with 43 x 6 classes plus 42 in class

this is for mainstream classes


GEP class size is max 25

[metz]

verykiasu2010:

Chamonix :


Hi there ! this is :offtopic: but I wish to ask what is the weather there like now ? How is it in Dec ? Many thanks !!

:offtopic:

Hi verykiasu2010,

Your family must be looking forward to the trip! Hope you have gotten good accommodation deals for your stay.

At the moment, it's brbrbr..... freezing over here in the mornings. But afternoons are generally fine. We are expecting temperature to dip below 10 degrees next week. For Dec, we can only hope that the coldness won't be as harsh as last year.

http://www.messentools.com/en/msn-emoticon-details-and-download/id/250/

[Neko]

SullyM:

hello

i was trying to search for some discussion about GEP when i found this interesting forum. my son will be going for the 2nd round tests next wk. I'm curious what they normally ask in the General Ability paper? :?

I agree with the earlier discussion that we should not prepare for the child so it will just be tested on his ability. but at least i can tell him what to expect.

According to dd, GA is the easiest paper of all. Examples are given and to quote her : 'cannot go wrong one lah'.

[Neko]

Exams are over! :celebrate:

[sakura_2009]

verykiasu2010:

I think also partly because older kids are easier to manage once they have settled in the school system; probably some streaming already done (quietly) at end of P2

As far as I know most primary schools have some form of streaming done, usually at end of P2 (although I've also heard some schools do it at end of P1). Usually the top X% of the cohort will be streamed to the best 2 classes, and students in these classes get to attend extra or supp courses not attended by the rest of the classes of the same standard.

[sakura_2009]

SullyM:

hello

i was trying to search for some discussion about GEP when i found this interesting forum. my son will be going for the 2nd round tests next wk. I'm curious what they normally ask in the General Ability paper? :?

I agree with the earlier discussion that we should not prepare for the child so it will just be tested on his ability. but at least i can tell him what to expect.

I think you can find somewhere in this tread (if you have the patience to read all 180+ pages) some forummers have previously provided some insights on type of questions for the selection tests -based on 'memory' of the students who have previously taken the tests

[fruitplus]

Hi smurfette3,


I was also in your position 3 years ago. My son is in GEP P6 now.

My son was from a neighbourhood school, 15th position in top class. Only 3 students from his school selected (Position 1 and 3 and 15) for GEP that year, all from his class. DS is easygoing, friendly, the happy go lucky type. He doesn’t look like those exceptionally bright students (you know, the smart look), he looks like every average boy, though he likes all them mind games (eg. Rush hours) and Lego.

Hubby and I were very surprised that our son got selected. Hubby joked that, "Did they send the letter to the wrong address?"

I talked to a few persons before making the decision to let DS try for GEP. I think we made the right decision. Beside considering we shouldn’t let the chance go and regret, I was thinking about the advantages of the EESIS scholarship for GEP students (I didn’t know about DSA advantages then).

DS is still very playful, and not very matured. It was worst 3 years ago.

First half year was very tough for him in terms of Social studies (SS) and Higher Chinese (he took Normal Chinese from P1 to P3). He totally enjoy Science and Maths. Expectation of English teacher was very high, too. But he manage to struggles through.

I have a daughter 3 years older than DS, so I just happened to flip through her history text book and found that the topics were similar to Sec 1 history. So I bought a Sec 1 History assessment book - History Study Guide by CASCO – from Popular book store. His results for SS was 60+ in P4. By P5, he has improved to 80+ (SS portfolios played a big part, too -see below).

The SS portfolios (I think they contribute to 30% or 40% of the overall results, I can’t remember the exact figures) were very tough for him in P4 as he wasn’t matured enough to tackle the issues, I pushed him very very hard (I scolded him badly, as a result, he cried a few times because he didn’t even want to start doing) as he didn’t even want to start researching for his portfolios. By P5, I only helped him in vetting thru his grammar and some work in his artefacts. By P6, I only helped him in his artefacts.

I also put him in Eduplus Higher Chinese tuition classes (1 for oral, 1 for composition) from 2nd term of P4, his chinese improved slowly.

I asked him a few weeks ago, whether he like his previous school work (P3) or the GEP school work. He said the GEP school work are more interesting. They even get to discuss wether the laser sword in Star Wars really will work in real life, and many many interesting topics.

If your child is creative, inquistive, and given the chance to join GEP class, you should really let him/her try it out. Almost all kids that are not trained for the GEP selection test will do well in GEP class. It will broaden their mind (especially SS) and experiences.

Besides, for DSA in IP schools, GEP students have better chances. For RI, HCI, as long as the overall average for all the subjects is 80% or above, they don’t need to sit for the General Ability Test; for DHS, it is 75%.