All About GEP
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Kiasucy:
Say in RI, wouldn't the yr4 result affect their choice of subject combination in yr 5 n 6? Or affect their sch approval for them to take 4 H2 subjects? Was told in some ip schools it will. :?[/quote]yes it affects the number of H2 to be offered, but subject combination at year 5 is dependent on what was done at year 4, & of course some H2 subjects do not require prior knowledgeNebbermind:
[quote=\"atutor2001\"] The comment about the GPA needing minimal effort to pass is very true. All my kids had honey moon for 5 years. 2 have already survived the system because they woke up a couple of months before A level. However, my last one is a real worry - still having honey moon.
But even in non-IP schools, you donch need to do especially well to get a promotion, ya?
I remember we had O level to wake us up...and so we worked hard for maybe 6 mths...but after that, we slacked for another yr in JC1 too coz promotion was easy too.
Why blame IP? :scratchhead:
currently, year 3/4 's core subjects are ELA, MT or HMT, 2x math & SS, plus 3 electives -
Nebbermind:
IP is more slack than normal O level. They teach by modules so kids learn and forget after each test. Come JC, they have forgotten how to take exam where all topics are tested at the same time as they have spent the last 4 years having tests by topics format.atutor2001:
The comment about the GPA needing minimal effort to pass is very true. All my kids had honey moon for 5 years. 2 have already survived the system because they woke up a couple of months before A level. However, my last one is a real worry - still having honey moon.
But even in non-IP schools, you donch need to do especially well to get a promotion, ya?
I remember we had O level to wake us up...and so we worked hard for maybe 6 mths...but after that, we slacked for another yr in JC1 too coz promotion was easy too.
Why blame IP? :scratchhead:
As to project works, it is a joke. The only good is that it exposes to them the ugliness of human kind because there are many who leeched on others in the project team but will still get the same A. -
atutor2001:
A valid explanation. I guess every system has its own merits and it's up to us to choose wisely.IP is more slack than normal O level. They teach by modules so kids learn and forget after each test. Come JC, they have forgotten how to take exam where all topics are tested at the same time as they have spent the last 4 years having tests by topics format.
As to project works, it is a joke. The only good is that it exposes to them the ugliness of human kind because there are many who leeched on others in the project team but will still get the same A. -
Nebbermind:
every JC offers project work as part of the A level curriculum. it has got nothing to do with being IP or not. Leeches exist every where, IP and non-IP
A valid explanation. I guess every system has its own merits and it's up to us to choose wisely.atutor2001:
IP is more slack than normal O level. They teach by modules so kids learn and forget after each test. Come JC, they have forgotten how to take exam where all topics are tested at the same time as they have spent the last 4 years having tests by topics format.
As to project works, it is a joke. The only good is that it exposes to them the ugliness of human kind because there are many who leeched on others in the project team but will still get the same A. -
Sometimes I am not sure whether to laugh or to cry at our narrow mindedness. For example, some would take project works to mean only PW of JC.
IP starts at secondary level and they do have project works (literary) which are considered a subject (can’t remember if it is called RS in some school). I don’t remember there is such thing in O level. -
atutor2001:
project work as a part of a subject in a certain topic is not restricted to secondary school, it exists in pri school too, it is not a separate subject in itself. it is nothing exclusive to IP schoolSometimes I am not sure whether to laugh or to cry at our narrow mindedness. For example, some would take project works to mean only PW of JC.
IP starts at secondary level and they do have project works (literary) which are considered a subject (can't remember if it is called RS in some school). I don't remember there is such thing in O level.
only in JC is PW a separate gradeable subject by itself, and all JCs offer it, nothing exclusive to IP too
from sec 1, there is a \"subject\" called 'research education' which is gradeable but not part of the GPA computation, and this is not the same as project work
is there literally a literary project work in IP / JC ? merchant of singapore instead of merchant of venice ? -
atutor2001:
Lots of non-IP schools also have Research Studies these days, especially the better ones. It's even moved down to upper primary for some schools.Sometimes I am not sure whether to laugh or to cry at our narrow mindedness. For example, some would take project works to mean only PW of JC.
IP starts at secondary level and they do have project works (literary) which are considered a subject (can't remember if it is called RS in some school). I don't remember there is such thing in O level. -
jtoh:
aiya, some people are just narrow mindedness ......
Lots of non-IP schools also have Research Studies these days, especially the better ones. It's even moved down to upper primary for some schools.atutor2001:
Sometimes I am not sure whether to laugh or to cry at our narrow mindedness. For example, some would take project works to mean only PW of JC.
IP starts at secondary level and they do have project works (literary) which are considered a subject (can't remember if it is called RS in some school). I don't remember there is such thing in O level. -
I don’t actually know what to say when you say "their A level results speak for themselves", verykiasu. Just conduct an interview with any one of the school authorities (principal/dean/head) and they will tell you frankly that the academic standard has been dropping year after year (somehow they are more open to ex-students than current students). It is only grade inflation across the board which is propping the results up.
I’d say the CCA hours reduction is correlated with the advent of DSA and IP - the only recent major change apart from the switch to the H-syllabus. But I’d like to point out a disclaimer here: Correlation does not imply causation. Still, it is startling that even the principal doesn’t know what’s going on in her school when interviewed.
Nope, the CCA thing isn’t an oath of secrecy. It’s more like they only tell certain student leaders so there are rumours going on everywhere, but there isn’t any official announcement. And the principal, when interviewed, expressed surprise that this was going on and said she would check with her heads of departments.
About the project work leeching part, I don’t think that being leeched is necessarily bad. This will definitely happen in the outside world, so learning how to deal with it is important.
Philosophy in my year was simply retarded (or at least, the way they conduct it is). There were only 2 main exams and only 30% of the level passed the first exam. Then, the school authorities suddenly realised that it was a mandatory requirement to pass Philosophy to get promoted to the next level. Needless to say, almost everyone scored full marks for the second exam.
Research studies also appears to be a useless subject. GEP students have IRS, OM et cetera in primary school. Then there are Research Studies in secondary school for 4 years. But Meridian JC could still get the highest percentage of As for PW in one year. I think we can safely say that most in MJC did research only in JC. Three possible conclusions, your pick: Either Research Studies is a waste of time, or students from the top JCs are useless at PW no matter how much research experience they have, or PW is marked unfairly and should be removed from the official grading system.
To reiterate, I am strongly for a strict but not necessarily difficult yearly test for students in the IP, which they have to pass to be promoted. The current standard is way too low. Even coming from such a programme, I still feel that the O-level top scorers have the short end of the stick when they strive harder, but lose out on places to IP slackers who don’t need to excel in their exams, but just need to pass. Same reason why I am against DSA. Oh, and foreign "scholars" who enter in upper secondary - there is literally a quota for foreign "scholars", which local students aren’t allowed to fill. Entry should be based on merit only; after all, isn’t this the best exemplification of the true spirit of meritocracy?
The GEP already had enriched curriculum, extra programmes, external modules and study trips. In fact, to me, the IP offers less exposure than the GEP. However, taken in a broader perspective, the IP probably benefits more students since it caters to a larger crowd. But some (if not most) IP students struggle with GEP stuff, so the standard has to be lowered. Simply put, I don’t believe GEP students should be made to slow down for others in the IP to catch up. As this is the GEP forum… I’m strongly inclined towards the GEP.
And I think verykiasu is still missing the main point of my previous reply - Negative opinions about the IP are covered up, that’s why you don’t see them around. Just ask any ex-GEP student if he prefers GEP or IP! <— Massive digression detected, that’s to link it back to the GEP thread -
Conversations about GEP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQiJZ2wL8PY
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