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A test intended to help the Government track children's standards of Chinese, English and mathematics is not working, experts claim.

 Results of the Hong Kong Attainment Test, in place since 1976, show standards from Primary One to Form Three have risen.

 It shows Primary Six students in the 1996-97 school year scored about 10 points more for English than those 10 years ago. Between the same period, the same batch of students did better in Chinese by 6.2 points, and in mathematics by 7.5 points.

 But education experts say standards are declining.

 They say the test's scores are not reliable because the test is not administered properly.

 A member of an Education Commission panel on students' competency, Daniel Chan Wing-kwong, said: 'We have noticed a decline in language proficiency among students. The data is not convincing at all.'  He said the test results were invalid because some schools prepared their students and others did not.

 It is understood at least one major school-sponsoring group with about 50 primary and secondary schools has been preparing students.

 Democratic Party legislator Cheung Man-kwong, who represents the education sector, said: 'The test cannot serve to tap the trend of students' performance although the Education Department cites the figures to tell the public if our children as a whole are doing better or worse.

 'But the data is distorted. There isn't a stringent marking scheme to ensure teachers are grading on the same criteria,' said Mr Cheung, who is also president of Professional Teachers' Union.

 The scores are supposed to be used by teachers to 'diagnose' students' strengths and weaknesses and to allow the Government to monitor students across years and levels.

 Education officials said the test was the only scientific system to track students' performance. They played down its importance as a vital indicator.

 Assistant director for Education (planning and research) Andrew Poon Chung-shing refused to comment directly on whether the results were accurate.

 'Let's put it this way. On average, there has been little difference in the grasp on content of the curriculum for primary six students over the last 10 years according to the test,' he said.

 'The test is only one of many tools used to monitor students' levels.

 'It's true that we don't have sufficient data to gauge students' standards and we're trying to do more.'  One in two parents agree with the Education Commission's proposal to have nine years of public education free of open examinations, while 24 per cent disagree, a new survey finds.

 The Hong Kong Council of Social Service interviewed 638 parents.



Check on Chinese, English and maths skills gets poor marks