HONG KONG: The Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) came under fire again yesterday, after the Ombudsman's office found the authority complacent and reckless in the way it developed examination papers, that affect the futures of thousands of students.

The Ombudsman lambasted obvious mistakes that appeared in examinations despite multiple proofreadings.

The watchdog received about 100 complaints about last year's public examinations. That's a three-fold increase from 2007. The spike in the number of complaints stemmed mainly from a vague instruction to a question on a Hong Kong A-level Use of English listening paper. The sheer volume of complaints precipitated the inquiry by the Ombudsman's office.

The question concerned a taped conversation relating to a type of survivor contest. The instruction asked candidates to put ticks or crosses to designating items competitors could use during the contest.

Examiners intended a conventional answer-ticks to indicate items allowed and crosses for items disallowed. However, there was a discrepancy between the literal meaning and the intended meaning. The majority of candidates adopted the conventional interpretation.

The HKEAA finally revised its marking to accept both interpretations.

The Ombudsman found that the obscurity of wording was not detected in three rounds of proofreading, which it said had much to do with the duplicated role of the Managers-Assessment Development (M-AD) who also set the exams.

A M-AD is responsible for ensuring that question papers are set without errors and ambiguities.

"The conflicting role of M-AD-cum-setter influences the objective assessment of questions," said Kenny Tang Kin-cheung, Chief Investigation Officer.

The Ombudsman was also disappointed that the HKEAA didn't amend vague instructions in the Examination Report and Question Papers which were published subsequent to the examination. Tang accused some staff members of being complacent and reluctant to rectify mistakes.

"Meanwhile, some staff considered careless mistakes unavoidable ... Given the importance of examinations, their far-reaching effect on the future of candidates, such complacent and defeatist attitude is totally unacceptable," said Ombudsman Alan Lai.

The Ombudsman suggested streamlining the proofreading process making it more focused, noting that multiple tiers might lull the proofreaders into a false sense of security, leading them to rely on colleagues to correct errors.

The HKEAA accepted the Ombudsman's recommendations, but expressed reservations concerning the assessment of staff attitudes.

"In fact, the majority of the HKEAA's staff are committed to providing reliable and high quality examinations and assessment services in a professional and efficient manner," the spokesperson said.

(HK Edition 06/03/2009 page1)