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LCQ6: Review of the Territory-wide System Assessment
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     Following is a question by Dr Hon Lam Tai-fai and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (February 24):

Question:

     Earlier on, the Education Bureau (EDB) accepted the recommendations set out in a report submitted by the Coordinating Committee on Basic Competency Assessment and Assessment Literacy (the Committee) after its review on the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA), including the implementation of a tryout study (the Tryout) at Primary 3 level (P3) this year. The Committee envisages that the data and results of the Tryout will be available in October this year, a review report will be submitted to the authorities in November and the Online Question Bank can be updated by the end of this year. The Committee considers that in order not to affect the effectiveness of the Tryout, the Tryout should be of a representative scale, and it therefore recommends that 50 primary schools (representing about 10 per cent of the primary schools in the territory) of different types be invited to participate in the Tryout (if an individual school declines the invitation, the authorities will invite another school of the same type as replacement), while other schools may participate on a voluntary basis. The Committee also recommends a territory-wide implementation of the Tryout scheme next year after drawing a conclusion on the effectiveness of the Tryout. However, some of the members of the education sector and Members of this Council are dissatisfied that the Government has, before reaching a conclusion that the Tryout is effective, openly stated that the relevant scheme will be implemented territory-wide next year. They also call on parents in the territory to refuse to let their children participate in the TSA under the Tryout and to uphold the proposition that the P3 TSA should be abolished in the long run. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the reasons and justifications for the Committee to set at 50 the number of primary schools to be invited to participate in the Tryout;

(2) of the standards, principles and conditions based on which it will select the 50 primary schools to be invited to participate in the Tryout;

(3) of the person or organisation responsible for drawing up the selection standards, principles and conditions mentioned in (2);

(4) of the relevant standards, principles and conditions which the 50 primary schools to be invited to participate in the Tryout need to meet;

(5) of the proportions of various types of schools in the 50 primary schools to be invited to participate in the Tryout; among them, the respective numbers of Direct Subsidy Scheme schools, government schools, subsidised schools and other types of schools;

(6) when it will issue letters inviting the primary schools concerned to participate in the Tryout, and of the deadline for them to reply;

(7) whether it will publish a list of the primary schools invited to participate in the Tryout, as well as a list of the primary schools which have accepted the invitation; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(8) whether it will publish a list of the primary schools which have refused to participate in the Tryout and the reasons for their refusal; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(9) whether all of the primary schools enrolling voluntarily to participate in the Tryout will be accepted; if not, of the reasons for that; if they will, whether it has assessed if such an approach will result in the data of the Tryout becoming biased or unbalanced, thus compromising the representativeness, credibility and recognition of the Tryout;

(10) whether the authorities will consider shelving the Tryout in the event that the number of primary schools accepting the invitation falls short of 50 or is below a certain number of primary schools in the end; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether there will be any alternative plans;

(11) whether it has assessed the minimum number of students needed to participate in the TSA under the Tryout if the data are to have representativeness, credibility and recognition; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(12) how it monitors and ensures that the level of difficulty and the question types of the assessment items of TSA as recommended under the Tryout can accurately assess the basic competencies of P3 students;

(13) how it ensures the primary schools which have accepted the invitation to participate in the Tryout will not drill their students for the purpose of coping with the TSA in the Tryout;

(14) how it ensures and convinces stakeholders of the education sector that the data obtained from the Tryout will not be used as a tool by the officials of EDB for determining the banding and performance of a school, or even as a justification for closure of schools;

(15) whether it will set up an independent committee to study and review the data obtained from and the effectiveness of the Tryout; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(16) of the standards and principles based on which it will assess if the Tryout is effective and has achieved its objectives;

(17) whether the authorities will, prior to the official launch of the Tryout, consult organisations such as the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, the Subsidized Primary Schools Council, the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association and the Grand Alliance of Parents on TSA, as well as the Panel on Education of this Council, and solicit their support; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(18) whether it will conduct public consultation on the specific arrangements of the Tryout; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(19) whether the Secretary for Education will attend the public hearing(s) on the Tryout to be held by the Panel on Education of this Council; if he will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(20) of the circumstances under which it will implement a further Tryout next year;

(21) of the circumstances under which it will consider completely abolishing the P3 TSA;

(22) whether it will implement a Tryout at Primary 6 level after the publication of the review report on the Tryout at P3; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(23) of the reasons why the Government has, before reaching the conclusion that the Tryout is effective, openly stated that the Tryout scheme will be implemented territory-wide next year?

ReplyˇG

President,

     The Secretary for Education announced in late October 2015 that the Coordinating Committee on Basic Competency Assessment and Assessment Literacy (the Committee) was tasked to conduct a comprehensive review on the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA). The review is premised on the promotion of quality education, the learning needs of students, professionalism, and mutual trust among stakeholders. Two working groups have been set up under the Committee to study in detail the reporting and administration as well as the papers and question design of TSA respectively, with a view to recommending short, medium and long-term improvement measures. The Committee submitted preliminary recommendations to the Education Bureau (EDB) on February 4, 2016. The EDB is studying in detail and considering the recommendations.

     The reply to the questions raised by Dr Hon Lam Tai-fai is as follows:

(1) to (14) According to the Committee's preliminary recommendations, the major objectives of the 2016 Tryout Study are:

(i) to validate whether the TSA papers and item design revamped based on the recommendations on enhancement from the working group would uphold the reliability and validity while aligning with the requirements of basic competencies of Primary 3 students to tie in with the curriculum and student learning;

(ii) to try out whether different reporting formats could meet the needs of individual school;

(iii) to strengthen the provision of professional support measures for schools on homework policy, assessment literacy, enhancement of learning and teaching (e.g. via the promotion of reading) as well as TSA in the course of the Tryout. Public education would also need to be strengthened so as to enhance stakeholders' awareness of the TSA as part of the concept of "assessment for learning" with a view to enhancing quality education;

(iv) at the territory-wide level, to keep track on the attainment of basic competencies of all students in Chinese Language, English Language and Mathematics and to provide continuous data for other related studies; and

(v) to demonstrate in good faith the low-stakes nature of TSA that it would not exert pressure on school sponsoring bodies, schools and parents; and to foster mutual trust through participation, sharing and collaboration in promoting quality education with a view to facilitating effective and pleasurable student learning.

     The Committee has recommended that the number of primary schools participating in the 2016 Tryout Study will be around 50 of different types (about 10 per cent of the primary schools in the territory with each school participating as a unit). Schools will be invited on the basis of various factors, including districts, types of schools (government, aided, Direct Subsidy Scheme) and school size to ensure the level of representation, reliability and validity.

     The Committee is aware of the community concerns about TSA. Thus, in recommending the 2016 Tryout Study, the Committee attaches much consideration and value to the decisions of schools. The Committee is of the view that the invited schools can even decide if they would participate with reference to their school-based situations. Other schools are also welcome to participate on a voluntary basis. In inviting schools and analysing data in the Tryout Study, various factors, instead of a single individual criterion will be considered in an integrated manner to ensure the level of representation. As provision of support measures forms an integral part of the Tryout Study, it is believed that schools will be interested in joining in. Schools will make professional judgement of whether to participate while making reference to and balancing views of different stakeholders. With reference to the experience of the voluntary participation in Primary 6 TSA in even-numbered years, participating schools were not confined to a particular type or size. Upon finalising the list of participating schools, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) is expected to take into account schools' situation on the arrangement of making public the participating schools. Briefing sessions will be organised for the participating schools on the administration arrangements and matters requiring attention. HKEAA will also provide a designated phone line to answer questions from participating schools.

     As for the assessment papers and question design of the 2016 Tryout Study, the HKEAA will follow up with its P3 Moderation Committee in accordance with the principles, directions and content as recommended by the Committee for revising the assessment papers, with a view to achieving the purpose of the Tryout Study, that is to validate the level of difficulty and the design of the assessment items for accurately assessing the basic competencies of P3 students.

     As schools' participation in the Tryout Study is voluntary by nature, the Committee believes that there is no incentive for schools to over-drill and impose pressure on their students. In parallel, to address the problem of over-drilling, the Committee has proposed in the preliminary recommendations a package of various improvement and support measures addressing specific concerns, including improvement on item and assessment design, trying out different formats of school report, provision of training on enhancing assessment literacy of the education sector, online learning and teaching tools and exemplars as well as the promotion of communication among different stakeholders. Besides, the EDB will strengthen internal guidelines stating explicitly that the EDB will not use TSA data to assess the performance of a school (e.g. External School Review). From the 2016/17 school year, TSA should be removed from the focus questions under "8.1 Academic Performance" of the "Performance Indicators" to alleviate schools' concerns. In addition, provision on schools' good use of TSA data to provide feedback to learning and teaching should be further emphasised under "3.3 Performance Assessment".

(15) to (23) The Committee, its Working Group on TSA Administration and Reporting and Working Group on TSA Papers and Question Design, will follow up on the implementation of the Tryout Study and monitor the progress. They will also provide views on the data and experience obtained in the Study.

     In the process of the review, the Committee has met different stakeholders, including teachers' representative bodies, the Subsidized Primary Schools Council, the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association, parents' representative bodies (the Federations of Parent-Teacher Associations for the 18 districts, TSA parents concern groups), etc, for their views on the Tryout Study. The Committee will continue to make reference to the views collected from time to time through various means to review the medium and long-term recommended directions on the development of Basic Competency Assessment and the enhancement of assessment literacy.

     The Committee and its Working Groups have studied in detail the purposes, function and implementation situation of TSA. They reaffirm the intent and value of the establishment of TSA and recognise the functional use of TSA data to provide feedback to learning and teaching. It is recognised that modifications to administrative arrangement (e.g. conducting TSA in alternate years or on a sampling basis) are unable to effectively address the various concerns in the community. To reduce over-drilling for TSA, and to reflect more clearly the intent of Basic Competency Assessment, the Committee takes the view that the assessment papers and question design could be adjusted, and different formats of school report could be adopted. Related arrangements should be tested out in the form of tryout in 2016. The outcome of the 2016 Tryout Study should be appropriately adopted and enhanced in the 2017 assessment arrangement, which includes the provision of professional support measures for schools. Related information can provide reference for the medium and long-term development of TSA and the promotion of quality education.

     The EDB considers the preliminary recommendations of the Committee effective in addressing the problems related to the implementation of TSA. The EDB hopes to work with all stakeholders (including students, parents, teachers, principals, schools and school sponsoring bodies) in concerted effort to cease excessive drilling and unnecessary pressure, enabling the development of TSA will be on the right track in the long run. At the present stage, time and space should be allowed in finalising the details for implementing the Tryout Study, with the focus on providing feedback of the experience of the 2016 Tryout Study to the future TSA. The EDB will report the work progress to the Panel on Education in due course.

Ends/Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Issued at HKT 18:28

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