Elite Hong Kong schools urged to raise the bar, challenge high-ability students

Hong Kong's elite schools have been criticized for not offering enough challenging learning opportunities for high-ability students, according to Education Bureau External School Review reports. These reports, which assessed 68 secondary and primary institutions, recommend teachers to design more complex questions and tasks to stretch top performers.

Schools such as Queen Elizabeth School in Mong Kok, Wa Ying College in Ho Man Tin, St Joseph's College in Central, Shun Tak Fraternal Association Leung Kau Kui College in Tuen Mun, SKH Bishop Mok Sau Tseng Secondary School in Tai Po, and Hennessy Road Government Primary School were among those advised to improve their strategies for high achievers.

The reviews noted that some lessons were led by teachers with low expectations, and some teachers provided excessive guidance, limiting students' opportunities for active participation and independent thinking. Teachers were urged to use tiered tasks, higher-order questions, and digital tools that allow self-paced advancement. Schools were also advised to adjust lesson difficulty, adopt collaborative designs, and incorporate differentiated tasks and advanced supplementary challenges to better cater for learner diversity.

While reviewers noted that many students were attentive, eager to participate, and capable of independent work, they also pointed out that some schools' classroom approaches for top performers still needed refinement. Schools were encouraged to broaden their pedagogical repertoire to address varying learning needs effectively, particularly through more deliberate provision of challenging and extension tasks for high-ability learners.