Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination - Future Developments

Future Developments

The Authority is gradually implementing school-based assessment to all subjects, to reduce stress on students due to studying for exams. Starting from 2006, two subjects—Chinese History and History—have been implented with the school-based assessment, replacing the previous multiple choice paper in public examinations.

Owing to the transition from the seven-year curriculum (five years of secondary and two years of sixth form / matriculation) to a six-year curriculum of secondary education, the HKCEE and the HKALE will be phased out and replaced with a new examination, the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE).

In 2007, the curricula for Chinese and English were revised. The two subjects were no longer graded along the normal distribution curve but rather by criteria referencing (with the exception of the highest grade, the 5*). Numerical levels are used instead of the traditional letter grades.

The proposed revisions specific to Chinese include:

• The removal of the 26 selected essays, excerpts from the classics, poems and ancient lyrics in the original curriculum, replacing them with a selection of reading materials by the teachers.
• Independent reading comprehension and writing papers.
• The addition of a listening comprehension examination.
• The addition of a speaking (oral) examination.
• The addition of a paper testing integrated skills.
• The addition of a school-based assessment (SBA) scheme that accounts for 20% of the exam mark.

The proposed revisions specific to English include:

• The abolishment of two separate syllabi. Before 2007, two syllabi coexisted. Syllabus B was an O-level course and Syllabus A was easier but inferior. For HKEAA/EMB's view, grades attained on syllabus A were considered to be inferior to grades attained on syllabus B (e.g. a C on syllabus A was equivalent to an E on syllabus B), except in Form 6 admission and HKALE requirements in which the two syllabi were considered the same.
  • However, many universities and secondary schools claimed that the gap should have been larger. According to the report by HKEAA comparing the student's Use of English in HKALE with their previous result in HKCEE English, the passing rate of use of English for which candidates received a C on syllabus A is far lower than that of candidates who received an E in syllabus B.
• The abolishment of the testing of grammar and language usage which was once part of the old reading comprehension and usage paper. (Grammar will be tested alongside comprehension in the same section)
• A refined writing paper, now requiring two separate pieces of writing, one guided, one independent and more open-ended.
• A refined reading comprehension paper, with questions requiring written answers instead of the old format in which every question was a multiple choice question.
• A refined speaking skills paper, requiring more independent thinking than the previous routinised paper.
• The addition of a school-based assessment scheme that accounts for 15% of the exam mark.

HKEAA had also announced that candidates who sat in the 2006 exam who wished to retake Chinese or English subjects were to take the new syllabi. It is questionable whether those candidates, who were used to the old syllabi, could adapt to the structure of the new syllabi in nearly half a year.