Parents Demand Opt-out System For TSAs

A parents group has demanded an opt-out system to allow children to pull out of the controversial Territory-wide System Assessments (TSA) in schools.

The TSA Parents Concern Group says 90 percent of 600 or so parents it asked in a poll backed the idea of schools issuing a questionnaire to parents of primary three students, asking whether they want their children to take the tests or not.

The Education Bureau has revamped the controversial tests in English, Chinese and maths, after parents and teachers complained of excessive drilling for the assessments in schools.

Officials have also changed the way the assessments are conducted, with only ten percent of a school's primary three pupils required to sit them, unless the school decides to make all the year's students take part.

This year, some 230 schools have chosen the latter option, which enables them to be given the results of the tests.

But the concern group says parents should have a say in the matter, and should be given the choice to exclude their children from the tests.

"I think we can deliver the notice to all the parents, they can speak out their choice whether they join or don't join the tests," the group's Ivy Ho said.