Editorial | Testing time for Hong Kong as student marks fall after Covid closures
- Assessment appearing to reflect costly impact of three-year school shutdown underlines help education sector requires if it is to recover
That education and learning suffered in recent years through Covid-induced shutdowns appears to be a foregone conclusion pending studies to show the true scale of their impact. If the latest post-pandemic assessment of the standards of Hong Kong students is any reference, the worst fears have come true.
According to the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA), the percentage of pupils who achieved a basic level of competency in Chinese, English and maths declined for all age groups, with some figures plunging to record lows. The most significant drop was in the performance of Primary Six students in English, with the attainment rate falling from 72.9 in 2019 to 64.3 this year.
The competency rates in English and maths were at their lowest for Primary Six and Secondary Three students since assessments were introduced for those age groups in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
The Education Bureau said most of the falls were within acceptable ranges and aligned with results of other large-scale international assessments. It said the school sector generally found that the suspension of face-to-face classes during the Covid-19 pandemic had taken its toll on the learning and development of students.
And it also took time for various parties to adapt to the assessment following the three-year hiatus. “Therefore, it is not appropriate to draw any conclusions with reference to the assessment results this year,” a bureau spokesman said.