Testing times for Hong Kong’s controversial exam, despite government awarding itself a pass
Parents fear repetitive drilling exercises will continue and are calling for assessment to be scrapped while planning a citywide boycott
On paper it would seem that the government has produced shining results after more than a year of review of the controversial assessment, but if we scratch below the surface, we will find a large number of highly disgruntled parents and educators.
Launched in 2004 by the Education Bureau, the TSA has been administered across the city at Primary Three, Primary Six and Secondary Three as an assessment for learning for Chinese language, English language and mathematics.
While originally designed as a tool to enhance learning and teaching by providing the government with data to review policies and schools with information about students’ specific academic competencies, the assessment, particularly that for the Primary Three level, has in recent years become notoriously synonymous with the immense pressure of the local education system.