Fewer Hong Kong primary students reach basic levels in Chinese, English and maths for second straight year
Hong Kong Free Press
Fewer Hong Kong primary school students have reached basic levels in Chinese, English and maths for the second consecutive year, according to a citywide assessment, with the figures dropping to a 20-year low.
The Education Bureau on Monday said it had received the 2024 Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) report from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), which tests students’ “basic competency” in Chinese language, English language and mathematics.
Basic competency determines if students have demonstrated the basic knowledge and skills of the three subjects’ curriculum – including listening, writing, and reading for the two language subjects – according to the HKEAA.
A total of 80.9 per cent of Primary Three students who took part in the 2024 TSA achieved basic competency in Chinese, according to the Education Bureau, down from 82.4 per cent in 2023. The standard peaked in 2018, when 86.7 per cent reached basic competency.
When it came to English language ability, 78.7 per cent of Primary Three students achieved basic competency this year, down from 79.5 in 2023, while 85.3 per cent reached the mark in mathematics, down from 86.5.
This year’s figures were the lowest in 20 years. In 2005, the percentage of Primary Three students reaching the mark in Chinese, English and mathematics were 84.7, 78.8, and 86.3 per cent respectively.
The performance of Secondary Three students in both Chinese and maths showed an improvement from last year, with 77 per cent and 79 per cent achieving basic competencies in the two subjects, on par with pre-Covid-19 levels.
But 67 per cent of Secondary Three students reached basic competency in English, a decline from 67.8 last year. The 2024 score marked the lowest level since the Secondary Three grade was included in the TSA in 2006.
The annual TSA was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and only resumed in 2023 after being suspended for three years.
The TSA assesses Primary Three and Secondary Three students annually, while Primary Six pupils are tested once every two years.
An Education Bureau spokesperson said on Monday that this year’s results “remain[ed] generally steady,” compared with last year.
“The [Education Bureau] thanks the school sector for continuously adopting diversified teaching strategies and measures over the past year to cater for different needs of students and raising students’ interests and learning abilities,” the spokesperson said.
The bureau will provide school-level data of this year’s TSA to schools as feedback on learning and teaching, they said, adding that thematic seminars based on this year’s results will be held this month and in December for teachers.
The bureau will not obtain reports of individual schools from the HKEAA, he said.
When the TSA resumed last year, the percentage of students of all ages reaching basic competencies in the three subjects dropped compared with the results in 2019.
The Education Bureau said at that time that it was “not appropriate to draw any conclusions” based on the decline.
The drop in academic performance was similar to the post-pandemic results in large-scale international exams, the bureau said, adding that it fell “within acceptable ranges.”
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