Argument
and Counter-argument: Criticising weak arguments
What follows is some genuine interaction, where a correspondent, well placed and
knowledgeable in the field he is discussing, reacts impatiently but systematically to what
he sees as a weakly-grounded argument and set of assertions. The issue is one most
students have experience of: Hong Kong’s
annual HKCEE and A’ Level results.
| TASK: |
Read the following extracts from a front page report, and the next day’s editorial in the South China Morning Post
(SCMP), as preparation for an analysis of the letter to the editor. |
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See Comment |
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| 1. SCMP front page report [8/8/94] Poor
show as Class of ’94 branded ‘bunnies’
 The class of ’94 graduates today - with the dubious
distinction of having collectively achieved the poorest A-Level results in years. It will
probably be no surprise: two years ago, they produced outstandingly low achievement in
their O-Level examinations.
The Examination
Authority has branded the students, most of whom were born in 1975 - the Year of the
Rabbit - as academic bunnies rather than suggesting that their teachers or the education
system might be to blame for their performance.
While 75% of students
usually passed their A-Levels, barely 70% of the Class of ’94 got through according
to the E.A. Secretary.
Even the quality of
their passes was significantly down on previous years. ‘This is explained by a drop
in the calibre of students entering 6th form in 1992, compared with those entering the
year before’, the secretary explained.
To make matters
worse, there are more of them. The 26,088 candidates for the HKCEE was 18% more than last
year.
Of course, there were
brilliant students with 10 As, but educationists were shocked by the overall drop in
achievement.
They called on the
Government and schools to keep an eye on trends and do something to ensure that those born
last year, the year of the Chicken, are not dumb-clucks from the Class of 2012.
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| 2. SCMP Editorial [9/8/94] Some
very smart rabbits
The Class of 94, which graduated from high school yesterday, has
generally been known more for quantity than quality. ... Their A-Level results have been
the most disappointing for years. But while the average may be low, that disguises many
outstanding individual accomplishments (goes on to offer examples)... One has to
ask if the demographic bulge and the poor exam results this year coincidental, or whether
the need to accommodate more students has affected standards of education. The Authority
says no. It is the students, it says, not the teachers or the education system, which are
at fault.
But if one or two
schools can manage to buck the trend - inevitably the same schools will tend to attract
the best students and score the best results each year - it is not possible that the rest
of the age-group has been less well served by their educators? If the Class of 94 had been
populated with over-achievers, would the Authority have praised the quality of the
children - or put it down to good schooling?
If the whole Year of
the Rabbit age-group is below par, it could be something in the stars or in the lettuce.
Or it could be something in the schooling. The way the Authority is pointing fingers away
from the schools suggests they might indeed be the problem. |
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Now go to the reply - the Counter-argument
- from the Chief Examination Officer of the Exams Authority. |
