GP FAQ: How soon can I expect to see progress?

While I understand that all students hope to see improvements sooner than later, we also need to be realistic with our goals. There are many factors that affect a student’s progress – language foundation, level of engagement, hard work, consistency, etc.

Students who are highly engaged and are diligent can look forward to seeing better grades (one to two grade improvement) in about two months.

After every jump in grades, students tend to stay in their comfort zone a little while before pushing ahead again. This differs from student to student. Aggressive students who are willing to take the plunge and continue to push themselves relentlessly should see their grades improve steadily (usually about 1 grade every 3 to 4 months). Students stay in their comfort zone may not show noticeable improvements.

A realistic goal is usually 1 to 2 grades improvement within 1 academic year. While it is possible to jump several grades within a short period of time, it is somewhat unusual. This is because General Paper is a skills based subject and developing skills takes time. This is also a possible reason students do not show immediate improvements.

If a student is scoring ‘S’ or lower in JC1 and signs up for lessons, we can expect a confident ‘S’ or ‘D’ by the end of the academic year. ‘C’ and above would be considered a very good effort. In the second year, the student can work towards getting a ‘B’ or ‘A’.

A student who scores ‘C’ or ‘D’ in JC1 and signs up for lessons in JC2 can also expect a similar result.

If your GP grades are not improving, here are some possible reasons.