Academics believe system gives those with ability the opportunity to succeed
Academics have called for the government to retain the current secondary school banding system after an international study found Hong Kong lagged behind its Asian competitors in producing high-flying maths and science students.
Their remarks follow the release of the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003, which compared maths and science performance among students aged 14 and 10 across 49 countries.
More that 360,000 students were tested, including 4,972 Form Two and 4,608 Primary Four pupils from more than 270 Hong Kong schools.
Singapore had the overall highest average scores for maths and science at Form Two. Hong Kong came third and fourth, and had the highest number of Form Two and Primary Four students above-average in both subjects. But for top-performing students, Form Two and Primary Four students dropped to sixth and 12th respectively in science.
Hong Kong had fewer Form Two students than its Asian competitors achieving the highest scores in maths. Thirty one per cent achieved above the advanced international benchmark - the top 5 per cent of participants with the highest scores - compared with 44 per cent in Singapore, 38 per cent in Taiwan and 35 per cent in Korea. At Primary Four, 22 per cent of Hong Kong maths participants were among the top five per cent, compared with 38 per cent in Singapore.
The TIMSS study, run by the US-based International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), was released a week after Pisa 2003 - the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment.