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The Education Bureau announced today (April 17) the revision of School-based Assessment (SBA), as well as of the curricula and public examinations of some subjects in the New Academic Structure (NAS) Medium-term Review and Beyond. They have been announced to facilitate schools' early planning on teaching arrangements for the next school year. Details of the revision have been uploaded to the EDB website (www.edb.gov.hk/nas/review/en).
A spokesman for the Education Bureau said, "Starting from Secondary 4 in September 2015, SBA will not be implemented in seven elective subjects, namely Chinese History, History, Economics, Ethics and Religious Studies, Geography, Music, and Tourism and Hospitality Studies. Besides, SBA will be further streamlined in three subjects, namely Chinese Literature, Health Management and Social Care, and Information and Communication Technology. SBA for other subjects such as Visual Arts, Science subjects, and Design and Applied Technology will continue to be implemented as currently arranged.
"In addition, Applied Learning plays an important role in broadening subject choices and catering for learner diversity. With a view to providing tertiary institutions and employers with more reference in terms of students' performance in Applied Learning and attracting more students to study Applied Learning courses, it is recommended in the NAS Medium-term Review that on top of the current two levels of performance, an additional level of performance deemed comparable to Level 4 or above of Category A subjects be introduced."
The three-month consultation on the NAS Medium-term Review and Beyond jointly launched by the Education Bureau, Curriculum Development Council (CDC) and Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) was completed at the end of February this year, while the extended consultation on four subjects is being conducted. The feedback collected has been carefully analysed and discussed by the committees of relevant subjects. The Joint CDC-HKEAA Public Examinations Board Meeting (Joint Meeting) held yesterday (April 16) deliberated and endorsed the recommendations on SBA, as well as the curricula and public examinations of some subjects, which are now announced in advance. Relevant committees and the Joint Meeting will continue to deliberate on those issues under the extended consultation and other issues under discussion at a later stage.
The spokesman said that with regard to school leaders' views on the NAS short-term and medium-term (first batch) measures, the survey findings were positive. School leaders generally agreed that the measures (including those related to SBA) had taken effect and contributed to raising learning and teaching effectiveness and reducing students' workload.
SBA emphasises assessing areas/skills that are difficult to assess through pen and paper examinations and can assess a wide range of students' abilities. As shown in the impact study of NSS graduates' learning experiences, about two thirds of respondents, who were Secondary 6 graduates under the NAS, agreed that SBA had facilitated their studies at post-secondary institutions or universities, especially in strengthening their ability in organising information, analytical skills and research skills as well as nurturing their academic integrity.
The relevant committees believe that as SBA of the three core subjects, namely Chinese Language, English Language and Liberal Studies, has covered important generic skills, SBA of elective subjects should avoid overlap in the skills assessed. As such, it is recommended that SBA of some elective subjects not be implemented and relevant skills and knowledge be assessed in the public examination as appropriate. The recommendation above also gained the support of the majority of teachers and principals in the school questionnaire survey.
The Chairperson of the HKEAA Public Examinations Board, Ms Ruth Shek said, "The recommendations on SBA at the holistic level are based on multi-level professional discussions and formulated with regard to a comprehensive review of SBA at the holistic level and stakeholders' views. It is believed that students will have more space for learning."
The Chairperson of the CDC, Professor Kenneth Young added, "I believe that the recommendations on curriculum and assessment can continue to improve classroom learning and teaching. Besides keeping the NAS in a stable state, these recommendations can facilitate the progress of the curriculum at primary and secondary levels towards Learning to Learn 2.0, a continual renewal of the curriculum in response to the needs of students and the development of society, and build up a strong, diverse and ever-improving talent pool in society."
The Education Bureau will announce the overall revision after the NAS Medium-term Review and the future direction in July this year.
Ends/Friday, April 17, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:25
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