HKEAA submits 2023 Territory-wide System Assessment Report

     A spokesman for the Education Bureau (EDB) today (November 20) said that the EDB had received the report of the 2023 Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) submitted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), the first report since the three-year suspension of the assessment. The results show a drop in the attainment rates of the Primary Three, Primary Six and Secondary Three students participating in the assessment of the three subjects of Chinese Language, English Language and Mathematics. It is similar to the situation of the drop in students' performance during the epidemic as reflected in large-scale international assessments, but most of the drop is within acceptable ranges.

     The spokesman said, "Along with the resumption of whole-day face-to-face classes, the EDB resumed the TSA this year. The school sector generally found that the suspension of face-to-face classes during the epidemic had caused certain impacts on both the learning and development of students. Moreover, it took time for various parties to adapt to the first assessment since the three-year suspension. Therefore, it is not appropriate to draw any conclusions with reference to the assessment results this year. Regarding the more significant drop in the Primary Six attainment rates, the HKEAA will further study the reasons.

     "The TSA is an assessment administered at the territory-wide level. It aims to provide objective data to help schools and the Government gauge students' attainment of basic competencies in Chinese Language, English Language and Mathematics at the end of different key learning stages, so as to provide feedback for the planning of school-based learning and teaching, and for reviewing education policies with the information obtained. We appeal to schools and parents not to focus only on the assessment results. More importantly, they should also understand the various reasons behind the drop in the overall attainment rates and provide students with room to readjust to school life and rhythm.

     "During the three-year epidemic, schools had been flexible in achieving 'suspending classes without suspending learning'. At the same time, they had been accumulating experiences and continuously exploring effective measures to cater for the different needs of students. It is believed that schools will make good use of the information of the TSA reports, together with related internal assessment results, to understand students' performance and needs in different learning strands in order to enhance learning and teaching effectiveness."

     The spokesman said that the EDB would continue to render full support to schools in implementing the curriculum, organising teacher training courses, developing diversified learning and teaching resources, which include the Student Assessment Repository and the Web-based Learning and Teaching Support, organising various activities, and providing targeted school-based support according to the needs of schools with a view to strengthening teachers' professional capacity and enhancing students' learning interests and abilities.

     The HKEAA will later provide primary and secondary schools with school-level data at Primary Three (only for schools with the participation of all their Primary Three students), Primary Six and Secondary Three levels directly for use as feedback on learning and teaching. The EDB will not obtain school reports of individual schools from the HKEAA. With regard to the 2023 TSA report, the EDB will organise topical seminars on "Promoting Assessment Literacy" in December to introduce how to make effective use of assessment data and information to enhance learning and teaching. Teachers can enrol via the EDB training calendar.

     Student performance figures of the TSA from 2004 to 2023 are shown in the Annex. Details of the TSA are available on the HKEAA website (www.bca.hkeaa.edu.hk).