Primary Three pupils from 50 Hong Kong schools take revised Chinese TSA exam, but some sit out after controversy
At least two schools say more than 10 per cent of their eligible pupils did not participate
Primary Three pupils from about 50 schools in Hong Kong sat the Chinese-language written test for the revised Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) on Tuesday, but at least two schools said more than 10 per cent of their eligible pupils did not participate.
The Education Bureau made public the question papers on the day of the assessment for the first time, in what was seen as a bid to appear more transparent and allay public concerns about excessive drilling in preparation for the tests.
Educators and parents have long complained about the pressure imposed by the TSA on primary children, which prompted a review by a government-tasked committee which recommended a try-out of a revised version for 50 schools.
Students now have to read two – instead of the previous three – passages for the comprehension section. The word limit has also been reduced in the writing section.
Tasks in the new exam included writing a narrative for the experience of participating in a children’s carnival or school open day.