Tag: GEP Exam

GEP Test Dates 2015

Source: http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/programmes/gifted-education-programme/faq/gep-pupils/

Just a gentle reminder that the dates for 2015 GEP Test would be as follows:

Schedule for 2015

  1. GEP Screening Test: 28 Aug 2015
  2. GEP Selection Test: 20 and 21 Oct 2015
  3. Invitation to join GEP: Early November 2015

(Do check the website above for updates)

Students interested to buy books relevant to GEP can check out one of my most popular blog posts on Recommended Books for GEP Screening / Selection Test. The truth is that at age 9 there is little difference between normal and gifted kids, i.e. normal kids with some training and excellent family support / learning environment can easily be on par with gifted students. Gifted students are nothing really special, they do have more training and good family learning background, but normal students with additional exposure and training can be as good as gifted students.

Singapore’s educational experts and professors have recently called for Singapore as a nation to read more books, posted prominently in Straits Times. The correct choice of books is critical, as reading books meant for entertainment like Harry Potter or Twilight is unlikely to benefit students a great deal. Worse still is reading FaceBook or Twitter, as they are often in broken English. Singaporeans are notoriously known for reading very few books, leading to bookstores like Borders and PageOne completely shutting down in Singapore. Students who wish to enter GEP would need to read even more books, as GEP would require a broad knowledge base, which is tested in the vocabulary and logic section of the screening tests.

In my earlier post on Recommended GEP Books, I recommended some books to tackle the notoriously difficult GEP Screening Test, including the Vocabulary Section, Math Section, and Logic Section. Children with weaker English levels would definitely need to brush up on their vocabulary, as words like “gregarious“, “amicable“, “cantankerous” would pop up in GEP tests, leading to students being “flabbergasted“.

For the Math section, the harder GEP Screening Math questions are undoubtedly of a Math Olympiad style that would flounder all but those who are trained in the art of Math Olympiad. It is a truth that a P3 student scoring 100 marks in normal Math, most likely cannot solve a P3 Math Olympiad problem due to lack of training. However, once he/she is trained, Math Olympiad is just a trick and will be easily solved. Check out some Recommended Books for Math Olympiad Self-learning.

Finally, remember the Cheryl Birthday Puzzle that went viral? This is an example of a logic puzzle. Logic is not taught anywhere in the syllabus, and hence students would need to self learn to master the art of logic puzzles. This skill will be critical again for DSA / GAT / HAST, as they will be testing the similar logic puzzles again for P6 DSA.

To all students taking the GEP test, all the best. Keep calm and good luck!

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GEP Sample Question: The Worker Question

Here is a type of a typical GEP Exam Question that can come out. Technically, this question is in syllabus since it only involves Whole Numbers. However, in practice, this is an extremely tough GEP Exam question for students who have not seen the Worker Question before.

GEP Test Question Sample (Worker Question):

6 men working 8 hours a day can paint a house in 2 days. In how many more days will 4 men, working 3 hours a day at the same rate, complete the same job?

Before you scroll down to check the answer, do give it a try! From personal experience as a tutor, even a 16 year old typical Secondary 4 student cannot solve this question if it is the first time they see it. However, once I explain the solution to them, it is extremely easy and students will get it immediately, even for primary school kids. Someone who has seen these types of questions before can solve it under a minute!

This shows the immense advantage one has if he/she has been exposed to certain types of questions. This is same for the GEP General Ability Test (GAT), a type of “IQ test”, which is basically pattern recognition. If a child has been exposed to books like Match Wits With Mensa: The Complete Quiz Book, words cannot describe the huge advantage he/she has over someone who has not seen a logic pattern puzzle before.

Solution to GEP Sample Question (Worker Question):

There are many types of solutions to this question, but my favorite is using the man-days concept. Man-days is a unit for the amount of work that is needed for something. E.g. If building a house needs 10 man-days, it can be accomplished by either 1 man x 10 days = 10 man-days, or 5 men x 2 days = 10 man-days, etc.

For this question, we will use the unit of man-hours instead.

6x8x2=96 man-hours are needed to paint the entire house.

4 men working 3 hours a day would lead to 12 man-hours a day. Hence 96/12=8 days are needed.

Warning: This is where they trap the careless students! The question asks for how many more days. Hence, the answer is 8-2=6 more days.

Ans: 6 days

Do also check out the Chicken and Rabbit GEP Math Question, which is another type of popular GEP Selection Test and Screening Test question, and can be practiced beforehand as a GEP Mock Test.