- Lori Tsang, a history tutor at Beacon College, said the assessment covered unexpected topics like Europe in the 1930s and Japan’s development
- Exam was more straightforward than in the past, asked students to make fewer comparisons, and didn’t include question phrases like ‘usefulness’ and ‘limitations’
Though the DSE history exam included some surprises, both a tutor and an exam taker said the test was manageable. Photo: ShutterstockThis year’s Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) history paper featured new question types that surprised the 5,277 candidates who took the exam on Thursday. Still, one Hong Kong tutor and an exam taker called the assessment “manageable.”
Lori Tsang, a history tutor at Beacon College, said the two papers covered some unexpected topics.
In Paper 1, the four data-based questions asked about China from 1927 to 1937, Hong Kong’s development, European economic integration during the second half of the 20th century, and Europe in the 1930s leading up to World War II.
“It is unusual to see a question related to World War II in Paper 1. The previous exams usually asked about the European situation from 1900 to 1914 but seldom about the 1930s,” said the tutor.
Straight to the point
Another noticeable change was that there were more straightforward questions. Tsang explained, “In the past, the questions would require students to identify the views or attitudes of the author. But this time, the questions were more leading and only asked students whether the author was supportive of certain events.”
He added that common question keywords, like usefulness and limitations, didn’t appear in the paper. “The change in questions on Paper 1 [means] some students found it easier to handle than Paper 2, which came with more surprises.”
Tsang noted that the first three of the seven essay-type questions, which focused on Asian history, caught some students off guard.
Specifically, the first question asked about Hong Kong’s political development in the first half of the 20th century. This was unexpected since the city’s politics had not come up on the history exam since 2020.
The other two questions were about China’s communist revolution from 1921 to 1949 and Japan’s development in the first half of the 20th century.
Tsang explained: “The topic of China’s communism is challenging, and many students were unsure how to answer it. Additionally, since Japan’s development was already covered in last year’s exam, many candidates did not expect it to appear again this year.”
New types of questions
Similar to Paper 1, the essay paper also did not include some common question types and keywords. Tsang noted: “Question types such as ‘to what extent’ and comparisons were not as prevalent on this year’s exam. In the past, perhaps three out of seven questions would ask students to compare factors, but this time, one question required such a comparison.”
DSE candidate Louisa Hernandez agreed with the tutor’s assessment of this year’s exam questions.
“I think this year’s history exam was manageable, and [the questions were] easy to understand,” said the 17-year-old student at Kiangsu Chekiang College in North Point.
However, she found one unexpected question in Paper 2 challenging.
“Question 4 was a new type of question to me as it asked you to analyse the political changes to the world brought by the Second World War, and we had to discuss whether the changes could forge a new international order. I tried to attempt this question but sadly failed to do so and had to choose a different [one],” said the student, who aimed to achieve a level 3 in the subject.
Tsang predicted that the cut-off for this year’s history paper would increase, making it more challenging for students to achieve the highest grade of 5** on the exam.
He noted that the previous history exam emphasised critical thinking, often involving comparisons among various factors, even if students did not comprehensively understand the historical events.
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“The new question types adopt a more balanced approach that requires students to analyse how specific factors might have shaped the overall development of a historical event,” said the educator.
“Students accustomed to previous papers may find these changes significant,” said Tsang. “But as a history teacher, I believe the new question types are beneficial and align more closely with the way the history exam should be approached.”
More than 45,000 candidates sat for the DSE this year. The month-long university entrance exams will end on Saturday, with results scheduled to be released on July 17.