What do the grades of HKCEE mean to you?

The coming Wednesday is an important date to all S5 students. They will receive their first public examination results, which to a certain extent, determine the way a Form 5 graduate should go. A feature article in today’s Mingpao is about an interview with Form 5 graduates in the ’90s. Some are high achievers scoring 9As and 10 As in HKCEE and some seldom secure one mark in the public examination.

Reporting the glittering results of students coming from the traditional and region famous schools is a norm for mass media in every August. They glorify how bright and hardworking these students are. Only a handful report is on following up the further development of these bright students. In the feature article, an ex-10A s student, a HSBC management trainee today, expresses his feeling after scoring 10As in HKCEE. “At that moment, I feel that I am on the top of the world but later on as I studied A-level, I found that I was not that bright!” He said. He also added that being success in the workplace is nothing to do with HKCEE results. “If I were given a chance, I would have chosen to get 6As so that I would have more room to explore other aspects of school life like organizing activities and knowing more friends.” He said.

The report also follows up the career path of some HKCEE losers in the ‘90s. One interviewee said, “Failure in the examination did not deter my determination to be an entrepreneur. Good grades are not tantamount to success in the workplace. It is your attitude that counts.”

Some of my students who are the potential losers in HKCEE always cite Li Ka Shing as their ‘role model’ as he succeeds without taking part in any public examinations. But I am sure they miss one important point. Mr. Li did not fail in school. The desperate social and economic environment at that time barred him from further formal schooling. He is an active learner and always spares his time on reading and learning. His success is attributed to his talent, hard work and attitude but not only on sheer luck.