Parent Guide
Is GATE Tutoring Harming Your Child? What the WA Department of Education Actually Said
In 2025, the Western Australian Department of Education issued a public warning: excessive coaching for GATE selective school entry tests could harm children. The story made the news and sparked debate among Perth families. This is what the warning actually said, what "excessive" means, and how to prepare your child effectively without the harm.
Important context: The DoE did not say preparation is harmful. It said excessive coaching is harmful. The distinction matters enormously — and it shapes how you should approach the next 6–18 months.
What the Department of Education Actually Said
The WA Education Department warned that intensive, high-volume coaching — particularly the kind delivered through commercial coaching centres with multi-hour weekend sessions — can negatively affect children's wellbeing, create unrealistic expectations about school placement, and produce students who have been coached to a level above their natural aptitude.
The concern was not about a child practising ASET questions or working through concept lessons. It was about the growing industry of intensive GATE coaching — two-to-four-hour weekend classes, years of preparation from Year 3 or 4, high financial cost, and significant family pressure — and its effects on children who are still in primary school.
"Preparation for the ASET should be balanced and age-appropriate. Intensive coaching that places undue pressure on children is not aligned with the intent of the program, which is to identify students who will genuinely benefit from a selective academic environment."
Paraphrased from WA DoE public statement, 2025.
What "Excessive" Actually Means
This is the word that matters. The DoE's concern is with a specific type of preparation — not with all preparation. Here is what excessive coaching looks like in practice, and why the Department considers it harmful.
Burnout before the exam
Children attending intensive weekend coaching classes from Year 4 — on top of school, sport, and family commitments — frequently arrive at the Year 6 exam exhausted. The DoE noted that sustained high-pressure preparation can increase anxiety and reduce performance on the day itself.
Misalignment with genuine ability
The ASET is designed to identify students who will thrive in a selective academic environment. Students who are coached to a level above their natural ability may struggle once placed in a GATE program. The DoE has observed this pattern and considers it a pastoral concern.
Family stress and relationship strain
Weekly commutes to coaching centres, financial pressure, and the social cost of withdrawing children from weekend activities creates measurable family stress — particularly when siblings are at different school years.
Narrowing childhood at a critical age
Year 5 and Year 6 are formative years for broader development: sport, creative arts, friendships, and unstructured play. Years of narrow academic focus at the expense of these experiences can have long-term developmental costs.
What Good Preparation Actually Looks Like
The DoE's warning does not mean "do nothing." Research on ASET performance consistently shows that students who practise regularly — in short, focused sessions — outperform both students who do nothing and students who over-prepare under pressure.
The pattern that works: 20–30 minutes of focused practice, 3–5 times per week, starting 6–12 months before the exam. This is less time than a single coaching session, spread across the week, with immediate feedback after each session rather than end-of-term test scores.
Short sessions
20–30 minutes is optimal for Year 5–6 concentration. Longer sessions produce diminishing returns and build negative associations with preparation.
Regular rhythm
Consistency beats intensity. 25 minutes five days a week for 6 months will outperform one marathon session per week at a coaching centre.
Tracked progress
Without measurable feedback, practice is guesswork. Children need to see their TSS estimate improving to stay motivated through a long preparation cycle.
Intensive Coaching vs Self-Paced Practice — What's the Difference?
This table shows the practical differences between a typical commercial coaching centre and a structured self-practice approach.
Intensive coaching
Self-paced practice
Session length
2–4 hours per weekend session
20–30 minutes daily
Weekly time commitment
4–8 hours (class + homework)
2–3 hours across the week
Content style
Fixed curriculum, fixed pace
Adaptive — adjusts to your child's level
Feedback
End-of-term report or test score
Immediate after every session
Stress level
High — competitive group environment
Low — private, self-paced
Progress visibility
Limited — parent sees very little
Full dashboard — parents can check anytime
Cost
$80–$200/week × years
$17.50/week with no lock-in
The Right Question to Ask
The question is not "should my child prepare for the ASET?" The answer to that is almost always yes — unfamiliar question types, strict time limits, and a writing section with specific genre requirements genuinely reward preparation.
The right question is: what kind of preparation is appropriate for a 10 or 11-year-old?
The DoE's answer — and the evidence — points to regular, manageable, feedback-rich practice that fits into a child's existing life rather than displacing it. A child who practises consistently for six months while still playing sport, seeing friends, and sleeping properly will almost always outperform a child who has been intensively coached since Year 3 but arrives at the exam tired, anxious, and over-drilled.
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Preparation that fits into real family life
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