Students have been let down by local exam that is far too difficult

I refer to the letters by Cheung Wai-yu ("Students of English have few excuses", June 7) and Henry Wong ("Reading is key to language learning", May 4) in reply to my letter ("DSE English paper asks too much of local students", April 29).

Both correspondents mistakenly diverted the focus of the controversial reading paper of the Diploma of Secondary Education exams to English teachers' teaching methods.

Firstly, my question on the paper's quality is based on my 28 years of teaching, including the Hong Kong Certificate of Education and Use of English exams, and my past personal exam experiences such as exams of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), Benchmark for English teachers and International English Language Testing System (Ielts). I also did the reading paper before writing my letter.

The DSE is a local exam for secondary students. If it is set at as high a standard as Ielts, an international exam for tertiary students, is this fair to our students?

Mastering the levels of target candidates is a basic step when setting an exam paper. The HKEAA has failed us in this regard.

Secondly, evaluating an exam paper has to be independent of evaluating English teachers' teaching methods.