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Hong Kong’s banding mechanism increases competition between schools and pressure on teachers, as all are vying for top rankings by producing more high-achieving students. Photo: Shutterstock

Letters | Relax, Hong Kong parents: places in top schools don’t always mean better careers

  • Competition to enter the few top-band secondary schools puts unnecessary pressure on students
  • Studies show that able students in low-ranking schools feel more confident in their academic performance than similarly talented students in high-ranking schools
Education
Children in Hong Kong are an unhappy lot, burdened with heavy study pressure. The chief culprit could be the school banding system that has been in place for decades.
Given that band one schools are believed to be only about 10 per cent of the total 472 secondary schools in the city, barely a tenth of students can access the enviable elite schools. The rest, the majority, may beat themselves up for slacking off at their studies and parents may blame themselves for not spending enough to provide the best study resources.
But is getting into a high-achieving school a sure ticket for better career prospects, and conversely does entry into a lower-ranking school mean failure? The “big fish in little pond” theory gives us a clue that being a mediocre player in an elite surrounding is no better than being a top player in a less competitive environment.

Many studies have affirmed the validity of the “big fish in little pond” effect. In the context of schooling, the theory says that a high achiever in an ordinary school is more likely to pursue higher education – and fare better in their future career – than an equally able student who is just run-of-the-mill in a higher-performing school. The explanation behind this is that a big fish (an extraordinary student) in a little pond (a low-ranking school) feels more confident in their academic performance than a similar student in a high-ability school.

A study published in the November 2018 issue of Comparative Education Review further validates the correlation between highly competitive programmes and students’ negative self-concept.

In a nutshell, it is high self-confidence or simply the feel-good effect that makes students more driven and motivated, and therefore stand a better chance to succeed in the long run.

Self-trust and a sense of achievement matter considerably to children, prompting them to aim higher and do better.

While the school banding system could be to blame for the stress suffered by teachers, parents and students, the students are worst off, as their pressure is aggravated by parents and teachers who project their stress onto them.
The banding mechanism is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it provides a useful manual for students and parents to make informed decisions on choosing schools but, on the other hand, it increases competition between schools, as all are vying for high rankings and good reputations by producing more high-achievers. Teachers are under acute pressure as they strive to nurture a high-achieving class and try not to leave any weak members behind as they might drag down the class’s overall performance. Such pressure from teachers then translates into a focus on students’ test results, which further creates anxiety and fear of failure in students.
Demand among parents drives the prevalent after-school tutoring culture. Some parents line up at dawn for their children to grab places in celebrity private tutoring schools; there are so many applicants, they have to set quotas for enrolment. Weekend schedules are packed with main subject classes, with extracurricular lessons filling the gaps. I’ve seen parents furiously scold their children or promise them an extra 10 minutes’ game time as a reward. Before mid- and final-term examinations, unease and anxiety creep into parents' faces. They may pay double rates for home tutors to extend the regular classes to two or three hours. Ostensibly they are buying more time and tutors’ expertise to get their children better prepared for the exams. But in fact they are buying themselves peace of mind, reassuring themselves that they pulled out all the stops to help their children get ahead.

Parents should be more relaxed about test grades and entry into elite schools, because securing a place in a top school doesn’t ensure their children will claim a top spot on the social hierarchy in the future, and equally, relegation to a low-level school doesn’t mean they won’t be included in future rich lists.

Jenny Wang, Tai Wai

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