On Second Thought: Hong Kong is not the only place where standardised tests anger parents, students and teachers
The George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations were eager to use such exams in the US, just as the Hong Kong government is keen to administer the hated Territory-wide System Assessment
If there is one thing parents, students and teachers in Hong Kong seem to have in common, it’s their heartfelt hatred of the Territory-wide System Assessment or TSA, a standardised test used to measure the competence of local primary students. It may give them some pleasure of recognition to know that in New York State last year, 220,000 students refused to take the state tests. This is called “opting out” of the test.
It’s true that Hong Kong’s public education has been swamped by bad ideas and policies. But to be fair, the heavy reliance on standardised tests in schools is a global trend, not a unique Hong Kong phenomenon.
Back in 2001, for example, the US government under George W. Bush passed the No Child Left Behind legislation that mandated every child in every school would take standardised tests in reading and maths from grades three to eight so as to achieve “proficiency” by 2014.
After Bush left office, the obsession with testing only grew more intense as Obama proved to be an even more ardent believer in test scores as the best measure of students’ competence and teachers’ professionalism.