Can a new US-based education initiative change Hong Kong’s obsession with exam grades?
An international network of schools is planning to upend the grades-based secondary school system widely thought to ruin students’ mental health
In an effort to spur reform in Hong Kong’s secondary schools, one independent school head is challenging convention by joining a US-based education coalition dedicated to moving away from traditional exams and grades.
Rather than academic results, the proposed system looks at other qualities like leadership, scientific thinking, initiative and numeracy – attributes that employers are really looking for, says Toby Newton, head of International College Hong Kong (ICHK) in the New Territories.
The 55-year-old Briton says: “Our current secondary school system is based on a fantasy that says you can assess the value of a person from a narrow set of GCSE or A-level grades. It also says that it is necessary to standardise, because that’s what employers and universities want. None of this is true.”
Among the student development techniques Newton espouses are “free-learning” projects. In one example, students are told they must build a shelter somewhere on school grounds.
“There are no rules, other than you can’t use any sharp implements. You can tie things together. You can use whatever you want. Once you’ve built it, the staff come and spray the shelter with water, and the objective is to stay dry. The kids love it.