The Impact of Wearing a Face Mask in a High-Stakes Oral Examination: An Exploratory Post-SARS Study in Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT: This article describes a study that emerged as a result of the severe acute respiratory syndrome crisis that struck Hong Kong in 2003. One outcome of the severe acute respiratory syndrome crisis was that all personnel in all educational institutions in Hong Kong were compelled to wear face masks for the period April–August 2003. Consequently, the English language oral test for the Grade 11 public examination (with a candidature of approximately 100,000) taken in June 2003 was conducted with all test takers and oral examiners wearing face masks.