School-based Assessment (SBA): Texts, Angles and Authentication
School-based Assessment (SBA) contributes 15% of the HKDSE English Language mark. It is assessed by your own teacher and then moderated by the HKEAA against the school cohort's public examination performance. It is built on a reading and viewing programme covering print and non-print texts, and typically involves two assessed tasks: a group interaction and an individual presentation. The criteria mirror Paper 4, so the same questions apply: are your ideas clear, organised and intelligibly delivered?
What the SBA rewards
- Genuine engagement with the texts: specific scenes, lines, images or arguments rather than plot summary.
- A clear focus: one angle such as theme, technique, character or message is stronger than a survey of everything.
- Interaction in the group task: responding to what others say rather than waiting for your turn to talk.
- Prepared delivery with notes used as prompts, not read aloud as a script.
Choosing your text and angle
- Pick a text you can discuss for two minutes without notes.
- Choose an angle that allows evidence: 'How the film uses silence to build tension' beats 'My favourite film'.
- Prepare for likely follow-up questions: why this text, who it is for, what you would change.
Worked example
A student presents on a short story, focusing on how the ending changes the reader's view of the main character. Reasoning: the presentation states the claim, gives two pieces of textual evidence - an early description and the final line - and then explains how that final line forces a re-reading of the earlier detail. It closes with what the story suggests about guilt. Two specific pieces of evidence beat five vague assertions, and the angle is narrow enough to fit the time. Anticipating 'Is the ending believable?', the student prepares a one-sentence answer in advance.
Traps that cost marks
- Copying analyses from the internet or a study guide. Teachers must authenticate the work, and borrowed language is obvious once you are questioned.
- Retelling the story instead of arguing about it.
- Reading the presentation word for word from a script.
- Ignoring group members during the interaction task.
- Choosing a text you finished but never enjoyed: the lack of interest shows in the discussion.