Primary School Leaving Examination - Language Examination and Qualification

Language Examination and Qualification

In order to test the students' grasp of the language subjects, such as the English language or the mother tongue languages at the end of primary school, there are several separate examinations. As the student is usually required to take examinations for both his/her mother tongue language and the English language (with the exceptions of exemption or additional languages), the average student repeats the following procedures twice. With each mother tongue subject, there are three levels of examination, the standard level, the foundational level and the separate and optional "Higher Mother Tongue" subject. A student will have to choose between standard and foundational mother tongue based on his/her proficiency in the language. Whether a Higher Mother Tongue subject is taken also depends on the student's proficiency in the language. English, Mathematics and Science are available at the standard and foundational levels. A student can opt to take different subjects at different levels. In the past, whether a student took Higher Mother Tongue or not was determined by which stream he/she was in, namely the EM1 (higher) stream and the EM2 (standard) stream. These streams had the same standard subjects except for the additional EM1 subject of Higher Mother Tongue, which differentiated the streams. This streaming was based on the overall performance of the student when he/she was in Primary Four, his/her fourth year in primary school. There was also an EM3 (foundational) stream, in which a student took all four subjects (English, Mother Tongue, Mathematics and Science) at the foundational level. EM3 Science (a foundation Science curriculum for the EM3 stream) was not available then, it will be only available from 2010, and also the new science syllabus. From 2007, Primary Four pupils underwent subject-based rather than overall streaming, so that the labels EM1, EM2 and EM3 disappeared, leaving only the options to take different subjects at the standard or foundational level and the option of taking Higher Mother Tongue. At the end of Primary Four, the students' parents decide their combination of subjects. At the end of Primary Five, the school will make the final decision on the student's combination of subjects.

The examination format tends to vary by language, but each language examination usually has:

• Composition writing (Paper 1), which tests students' composition skills and their proficiency in writing in various scenarios. It is divided into two parts: situational (letters, e-mails etc.) and continuous (narrative or recount). Both parts need to be attempted.
• Comprehension and Language Use (Paper 2), which tests students' understanding of a passage and written use of the language (such as grammar, punctuation, vocabulary). It carries majority of marks in that language.
• Listening Comprehension (sometimes referred to as Paper 3 or 4), which tests students' ability to comprehend speech in daily situations. It usually contains six to seven passages.
• Oral examination (sometimes referred to as Paper 3), which tests students' proficiency in speaking the language.