DSE Chinese Exam Performance Drops; HKEA Flags GenAI Fragmenting Reading Habits
SingTao · 3 SOURCESabout 4 hours ago3 MIN
Summary
The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEA) released its Exam Paper Report on Tuesday (November 10), revealing that candidates in this year's Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) Chinese Language Paper 1 (Reading) performed slightly worse than last year despite comparable difficulty levels. The report, which marks the second consecutive year of highlighting generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) concerns, warned that GenAI has led to reading becoming more superficial and fragmented. Specific weaknesses included poor comprehension of classical Chinese texts and significant gaps in fundamental language skills, with some candidates even misinterpreting key phrases from prescribed texts.
Key Points
- Chinese Language Paper 1 difficulty remained similar to 2025, yet overall candidate performance "fell slightly short of previous years," particularly in questions requiring synthesis, analysis, and explanation
- In an excerpt from the "Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru" (Jian Po Lin Xiangru Lie Zhuan) from Sima Qian's "Records of the Grand Historian" (Shiji), only about 30% of candidates correctly identified the classical Chinese character "eventually" (zu) rather than "death" or "soldier"
- HKEA's exam paper chairperson noted for the second consecutive year that GenAI's proliferation of information has made reading more superficial and fragmented, calling on candidates to cultivate reading habits and enhance critical thinking skills
- In the prescribed text section from the Analerta of Confucius, numerous candidates omitted answers or incorrectly wrote "harm people" instead of "harm benevolence," revealing only surface-level understanding of classical texts
- Writing Paper 2 feedback described some submissions as "mediocre works" with stiff themes and abrupt transitions, while candidates showed common issues including confused homophones, mixed traditional and simplified characters, and incomplete strokes
Why It Matters
The decline in Chinese language performance reflects broader concerns about how digital technology is reshaping students' reading habits and cognitive engagement with texts. As GenAI tools become increasingly prevalent, the HKEA's warning underscores the need for educators and students to prioritize deep, analytical reading over fragmented information consumption. This trend has implications not only for examination performance but also for the development of critical thinking and language proficiency essential for Hong Kong's future workforce in an AI-driven era .
The decline in Chinese language performance reflects broader concerns about how digital technology is reshaping students' reading habits and cognitive engagement with texts. As GenAI tools become increasingly prevalent, the HKEA's warning underscores the need for educators and students to prioritize deep, analytical reading over fragmented information consumption. This trend has implications not only for examination performance but also for the development of critical thinking and language proficiency essential for Hong Kong's future workforce in an AI-driven era .