Hong Kong candidates sitting an international English test have scored lower than the global average. While their results were weakest in writing, they were stronger in reading and listening.
A total of 3,393 people from Hong Kong sat the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in 2000, the year for which the comparison was made. They achieved a mean band score of 5.58 compared with the global mean of 5.87. In excess of 212,000 candidates from more than 200 countries sat the test last year.
The average mean band of 3,460 Hong Kong candidates in 1999 was 5.79 compared with the global mean of 6.19.
But bodies which administer the test said last week that the SAR results might not be a representative sample that reflected the overall English standard in Hong Kong.
The test assesses candidates' reading, listening, writing and speaking skills and reports the result on a scale of nine bands.
A candidate who scores nine is considered an 'expert' while one achieving band five is rated a 'modest user', mastering partial command of the language but likely to make many mistakes.