Exams to move up from Prathom 6 to Mathayom 1

[bluesofa]

My son will next year move up to Mathayom 1. I see there are entrance exams if he wants to move to a different school at this point?

Does every school have its own entrance exam for students? I understand there is a fee involved as well? Can a kid take as many of the different schools entrance exams as they want (or as their parents want, more likely), or is there a limit?

 

As a very old Brit kid, I took the Eleven Plus, which was (I assume) a national standard at that time. Your eligibility to be accepted to the next level was based on your results at this stage.
It seems to me everyone here has their own exam each time – no national standard?

My wife explained it(-ish) to me, but having no experience of any other nations education was quite frustrated because I didn’t get the hang of it immediately, and not being Thai, kept asking questions to get a comprehensive (no pun intended) answer!

 

[Scott]

I am not 100% sure, but I believe that they will look at the transcript and national test scores already on file.   The school will also do an exam of some of the core subjects.  

 

I used to be involved in the testing of English, which was a cursory exam of their reading, speaking ability.   For someone going into Mathyom 1, I would ask them the basic information on the application:   Name (have them spell it), age, grade, etc..   This gave me an idea of what I was dealing with.   If they seemed pretty good, then I would ask them their birthdate, address (and have them explain where it was).  

 

There were a series of questions I would ask and when they got too difficult, I would stop.   For younger kids, it was identifying colors, shapes, days of the week.   For older kids it was the months of the year, and maybe counting backwards from 100 until it was clear they could (especially going from 80 to 79).  

 

I also had a paragraph from a story that was relatively simple, but still age appropriate.   I would have them read it and check for pronunciation, speed of reading, etc..   Once the paragraph was done I would ask them a few basic and concrete question.   If they didn't remember, I'd give them a minute to find the answer.  

 

They had already taken the Thai "English" version of a test on grammar, so I didn't focus on that.  

 

I would pass them if they seemed to have a reasonable grounding in the language.   Some students sort of know the language, but seldom use it, so they might be pretty rusty.   Reading ability was the big one.   I did get a fair number of students who couldn't really converse, but they could read like the wind and had good comprehension.

 

My testing was done for a bilingual and an English program.  

 

As a very, very general rule, even if they did poorly in the English portion, but did well in all the Thai tests, I would pass them.   Students who are good in other subjects have the ability to do well in English as well.  

 

I did not press students beyond their ability.  If they could not answer basic questions, there was little need to go on to more complex questions.  

 

But yes, they took an exam in the core subjects and it was paid for.   They could take exams at as many schools as they wanted.   I knew quite a few students who were testing at numerous schools and then would chose the best one that accepted them.  

 

[bluesofa]

2 hours ago, Scott said:

I believe that they will look at the transcript and national test scores already on file

 

Thanks for your detailed reply.

Do you mean the results generally for the school the applicant currently attends, or are the individual results per pupil on file?

 

[Scott]

When you apply to another school, I believe you give them the information either before or at the time of the interview/test.   They will review at that time.   Some of the more prestigious schools will likely have this submitted well in advance and if the national test scores are too low, they won't be invited for further interview or testing.  

 

The in-house test is just to more or less confirm that the student is operating at the level they are being considered for.  

[Goingmad]

On 23/12/2559 at 6:56 AM, bluesofa said:

Thanks for your detailed reply.

Do you mean the results generally for the school the applicant currently attends, or are the individual results per pupil on file?

 

Most schools also have their own entrance exam. The better the school; 100 % they have your own exam.

You kid can go to many schools to take the exams.

Good luck.

[mrwebb8825]

Presuming your kid is Thai (50%?) have your wife download the latest GAT and O-NET practice tests for P6/M1. If he/she can get through those there shouldn't be a problem getting accepted most anywhere.