- About 50,800 pupils have finished exams for four core subjects on Hong Kong’s university entrance exams, with tough English reading paper sparking controversy
- While tutors say mathematics papers were challenging and Chinese language exams ‘moderately difficult’, final liberal studies before it is scrapped was ‘easier’
The English language papers last Friday caught students off guard with a particularly difficult text. Photo: HandoutAs the first week of the month-long Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) examinations draw to a close, about 50,800 pupils in Hong Kong have experienced a roller coaster of emotions after completing the four core subjects – English, Chinese, mathematics and liberal studies.
The city’s university entrance exams began last Friday with English as the first subject, but many students were caught off guard by a paper in the reading component that included a personal essay by former US first lady Michelle Obama and an excerpt from her bestselling memoir, Becoming.
While the Chinese paper was considered of “moderate difficulty” by educators, students faced what was widely regarded as the most challenging mathematics exam in recent years.
The week concluded on Thursday with students sitting for the liberal studies paper for the last time before the controversial subject is scrapped, resulting in mixed feelings among pupils. No political questions were asked this year, but candidates were asked to express their views over the city’s plastic shopping bag charge, drug patents and quality of life for elderly residents.
Hong Kong teachers say Obama book extract should not have shocked exam pupils
Next week, students will take their elective exams, with around 41,000 students sitting for more than one elective subject. The exams will begin with visual arts tomorrow, followed by economics, chemistry, biology, geography as well as business, accounting and financial studies.
The results of this year’s DSE exams will be released on July 19.
Emily,* an 18-year-old student from Lok Sin Tong Young Ko Hsiao Lin Secondary School, said she was nervous after taking the four core subject exams.
“I am quite worried about the result day. I feel that I did not perform my best in the exams because of the many unseen question types in some subjects,” the pupil said, referring to styles of questions that had not been used in previous exams.
She was not confident about scoring the minimum admission score for local undergraduate programmes, also known as “3322+2”. Students must achieve at least level 3 scores in both the Chinese and English language subjects and no lower than a level 2 in mathematics, liberal studies and one elective subject.
“It’s hard for students like me who have a weak maths foundation to score a level 2 in this year’s exam. I was clueless in answering some unseen question types,” said the student who hopes to enter Baptist University’s business school in the fall.
DSE 2023: English paper featuring Michelle Obama’s personal essay most challenging in years
Dick Hui from King’s Glory Education described this year’s mathematics exam as the “most challenging” in recent years and expected a lower cut-off for passing scores.
Another exam candidate, Angel Leung, a 17-year-old student from True Light Girls College, said she was confident about achieving the minimum admission score. But she still expressed worries that she would not be able to do well enough to make the minimum requirement for her desired degree at Polytechnic University (PolyU).
“If possible, I would really like to get a place in PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management,” she said.
Here’s a wrap on the major subjects from the past week
English
This year was perhaps one of the most controversial and challenging years for the English language subject. The reading test that included Michelle Obama’s writing shocked many students who found the questions for this text to be too difficult.
Some frustrated pupils flocked to Obama’s archived Instagram page and left crude remarks, prompting Hong Kong’s exam authorities to appeal for respect when expressing views.
Tutors and English teachers noted that this year’s reading paper included more inference and critical thinking questions, testing beyond basic comprehension to get students to read between the lines and form their own opinions.
Candidates lash out on Michelle Obama for tough English exam
Ansley Lee Kwan-ting, an English teacher from Kiangsu-Chekiang College, believed the exam authority was attempting to “promote reading among candidates with varying levels of English proficiency”.
She added that the text contained many uncommon adjectives, such as “chastened” and “ornery”, and it also used a lot of slang and informal language.
“Those who are used to learning formal English and rarely read may not fully understand the article,” the teacher said.
Mathematics
The mathematics exam on Monday was the “most challenging” in recent years, a top tutor noted. He also expected a lower cut-off this year. Dick Hui from King’s Glory Education took the mathematics exam this year and said there were a few unfamiliar question formats in Paper 1.
“Challenging questions in Paper 1 include Question 17, which is a 3D problem. The tricky part is to identify the angle between two planes,” he said.
“Question 19, a coordinate-geometry question that [had] 12 marks, had no diagram given ... The most tricky part is to identify that the in-centre, circumcentre and orthocentre in the question lie on the same straight line, before candidates can move on to do the final part of the problem.”
Hui also noticed many unusual questions in Paper 2, such as Question 37 about linear programming.
“Instead of substituting values to find maximum and minimum as usual, this year’s question provides candidates with the maximum value instead. As such, candidates need to apply the concept of slope to find the unknown in the question,” he said, noting this was the first time this concept was tested in such a way on the DSE exam.
Chinese
Dubbed the “paper of death”, the Chinese exams on Tuesday and Wednesday were of “moderate difficulty”, with the only challenging part being the writing paper, said Hung Wai-kuen, a Chinese language tutor from King’s Glory Education.
“Maybe because of Covid, the authority did not want to challenge candidates, and also this is the last exam before the revamp of the subject,” said Hung, referring to how Paper 3 with listening and integrated skills would be cancelled next year.
The star tutor said the three questions on the writing paper were “straightforward” and “simple”, but students should pay extra attention to the keywords.
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The first topic asked students to write about “a meal with a multitude of emotions”.
“Most students chose Question 1 and their performance was OK,” Hung explained. “The key to this question is to explain the purpose of the meal and show that you have mixed feelings. If you only write it as a normal gathering without the process of enjoying food together, then you are off-topic.”
The second question asked students to write “a few little things that they overlooked in everyday life”. The keyword in the question was “a few”, the tutor highlighted. “If students only write about a single event, like overlooking the love of their mum without a few examples, they won’t be able to get the marks.”
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The third topic, which started with a foreword about imitating others, asked students whether they agreed that “imitation lacks characteristics”.
Hung said this was the most tricky question: “This is a new question type. For this argumentative essay, this is the first time a foreword [is included in the question] … And students need to take reference from the sentences and prove whether imitation can lead to success or not.”
Overall, the tutor predicted the number of students getting a level 3 score, the passing grade needed in the Chinese language subject to enter university, would be similar to last year’s 58 per cent.
Liberal studies
As for liberal studies on Thursday, candidates sat the exam for the last time before the controversial subject is scrapped, with some describing it as a “bittersweet event”.
Angel lamented that this was the last year liberal studies would be tested in the DSE. The exam candidate noted that while the questions were generally “easier” compared to past exams, she was upset to bid farewell to the subject.
Liu Tin-yan, a liberal studies tutor from King’s Glory Education said both Papers 1 and 2 were much more manageable compared to past years. The tutor pointed out that this was likely because it was the final year the subject would be tested.
DSE 2023: ‘Bittersweet’ farewell to controversial liberal studies subject
The final exam did not involve any questions related to politics. The test featured three mandatory questions about the city’s plastic shopping bag charge, drug patents and the quality of life for elderly residents, while the selected topics included global food security, e-learning and the impact of food delivery platforms on mainland China.
“These are fairly common topics that we read about frequently in the news. They are also adequately covered in the liberal studies textbooks,” Liu said.
“Students should have had ample time to tackle them as [this year’s] sources are more straightforward. Time management used to be a big problem but this year, most of my students were able to finish both papers,” she said.
The tutor added that while this year’s paper was not the easiest in liberal studies’ history, students should not have a problem securing a passing grade or even a level 4 score.
*Full name withheld at interviewee’s request