Prove it: Hong Kong lawmakers press education officials to show how schools benefit from controversial TSA exam
Legco panel deputy chairman calls lone example given by bureau ‘disappointing’
Lawmakers have called for the Education Bureau to provide more concrete evidence on the effectiveness of the controversial TSA in improving school standards, as they continue to push for the tests to be scrapped.
Lawmakers, including Wong Yuk-man, Dr Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung and Ip, called on the bureau to explain how schools had benefited from over 10 years of data collected from the TSA.
TSA cheat sheet: what you need to know about the review of Hong Kong’s controversial city-wide exams
Deputy Secretary for Education Dr Catherine Chan Ka-ki replied that there had been overall improvements in TSA results over the years.
This prompted lawmakers to ask for concrete evidence and statistics showing how TSA had helped schools.
Lam Tai Fai, chairman of the panel, also questioned whether the improvement in TSA results came from drilling.
After being grilled by several lawmakers, Chan cited an example of a school that saw a 20 per cent improvement in English language abilities based on TSA data.
Ip told the Post after the meeting it was “disappointing” that the bureau was only able to give one example of how TSA helped schools with over 10 years of data.
“Even with that example, it’s only one subject that saw improvement,” he said.
What’s the value of Hongkongers’ lives? Education chief gets earful over HK$5,000 payout per school to fight student suicides
“With over 10 years of data, we expect something more quantitative and qualitative,” Ip added.
Introduced in 2004, the TSA is intended to provide the government and school management with information on students’ standards in key learning areas for the purposes of improving learning and teaching, and to provide more targeted support to schools that are in need of assistance. However, parents, school organisations and political groups have spoken out against stress from over-drilling, with some even complaining of children showing signs of depression.
The controversial exam is suspended this year for most schools, but 50 of them – or 10 per cent of schools in the city – were invited to take part in a trial of a simplified version of the scheme.
The decision came after a review by a government committee, but parents and educators criticised the move as not addressing the problem of excessive drilling.
As of March 15 – the original deadline for schools to decide to participate in this year’s trial – only some 40 schools had told the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority they would join. The Education Bureau has extended the deadline, but it has not confirmed the exact date.
