Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education

The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination is an examination organised by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. The HKDSE examination is Hong Kong's university entrance examination, administered at the completion of the three-year New Senior Secondary education, allowing students to gain admissions to undergraduate courses at local universities through JUPAS. Since the implementation of the New Senior Secondary academic structure in 2012, HKDSEE replaced the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.
Under the NSS academic structure, pupils are required to study four compulsory "Core Subjects" and one to four "Elective Subjects" among the twenty available. On the 31 March 2021, it was announced that Liberal Studies would be renamed Citizenship and Social Development and have its curriculum revamped starting from the 2024 HKDSEE.

Background and administration

Under the NSS, a number of subjects in the HKCEE and the HKALE have been combined to suit the varying interests and talents of students. School pupils study both core subjects and elective subjects. Most candidates in the HKDSEE sit all four core subjects plus two or three electives to satisfy local university admission requirements.
In some HKDSE subjects, each student studies the Compulsory Part along with an Extended Module of that subject of the student's choice, or in other cases, an Elective Part, which concentrates on a specific topic or skill. While in certain subjects such as Mathematics, students are only required to study the Compulsory Part, the Elective Modules are voluntary. As such, an Elective Part forms a part of the subject curriculum, whereas an Extended module is designed for students with specific aims or those who have higher abilities who may want additional knowledge and skills. The selection of offerings for both varies from school to school. For example, some schools offer both Extended Modules 1 and 2 for Mathematics, while others may offer only the Compulsory Part.

Elective Part Example: English. The Elective Part of the English Language curriculum takes up 25% of total lesson time. The selection of Elective Parts is divided into two areas: "Language Arts" and "Non-Language Arts", each of which teaches English as used in different contexts and through various mediums. During HKDSEE, candidates also have the choice to write either the more difficult level or the standard level part of the paper, in addition to the mandatory Part A. Writing B1 allows the candidate to attain as high as level 4 in that paper, while writing B2 allows a 5**, the highest level obtainable.
Extended Module Example: Mathematics. Students who wish to study Mathematics to a higher level have the flexibility to choose one of the two Extended Modules: "M1" Calculus and Statistics or "M2" Algebra and Calculus. However, the Extended Modules are considered only half a subject by the HKEAA, despite having syllabi amounting to full elective subjects. As a result, they became not as attractive to students, and there has been a decline in number of pupils studying them.

Written examinations of Category A subjects are usually conducted between early March through early May. Speaking components and examinations for certain Category B subjects are administered earlier. Category C subjects usually take place in June, in line with CAIE AS-level practice.
Before the exam, candidates have a chance to become familiar with the different level descriptors and samples and may use them as objectives for their study. Also, they can familiarise with the exam requirement by doing , which can be found . For each level, there is a . Thus, tertiary institutions and employers also have more accurate and robust information for admission or recruitment purposes.

Subjects

HKDSE subjects are offered in three different categories, including 24 in Category A: NSS, over 40 in Category B: ApL and 6 in Category C: Other Languages.

Category A: New Senior Secondary Subjects

Category A subjects are traditional school subjects. Exams in this category are held directly by HKEAA. Both Core Subjects and Elective Subjects fall under Category A. Results of these subjects are generally accepted for local and international university admission.
Core subjects

Chinese Language
English Language
Mathematics
Before 2024: Liberal Studies
Starting from 2024: Citizenship and Social Development

For Mathematics, in addition to the Compulsory Part, candidates may take one of the following Extended Modules:

Module 1.
Module 2.

Candidates are allowed to choose only one of the two extended modules when sitting for the same year's public exams. The compulsory part of mathematics and its extended module are officially seen as one singular subject; hence they must be taken in the same language and alongside the compulsory part of Mathematics. The compulsory part and the extended modules’ examination papers are however separated and are taken on separate dates. Levels attained are also printed separately on the diploma certificate.
For Liberal Studies, the subject curriculum featured six Modules, including:

"Personal Development and Interpersonal Relationships."
"Hong Kong Today."
"Modern China."
"Globalization."
"Public Health."
"Energy Technology and the Environment."

In most cases, a pass in an Extended Part of a subject cannot substitute a pass in the Compulsory Part for university admission, especially when applying through JUPAS for UGC-funded courses.
Electives
Students can choose one to four electives among 20 Elective Subjects according to their interests and strengths. However, most schools do not offer a full selection of the 20 subjects in their curriculum due to practical limitations.
According to the Registration Statistics for 2018 released by the HKEAA, the most chosen subject is Physics, with a total of 11,658 candidates. Around 70.4% of students choose a combination two elective subjects, while 17.4% choose three elective subjects.

Category B: Applied Learning Subjects

Category B subjects are offered by course providers, which are usually Higher Education Institutions. Assessments of these subjects are conducted by the course providers, and the results reported to the HKEAA for adjustment. They are mostly vocational or professional subjects.
Applied Learning Subjects may or may not be considered by tertiary institutions for admission, according to HKEAA, a reported level of "Attained" on the certificate is considered as equivalent to a Grade 2 in a Category A subject, and "Attained with Distinction" to Grade 3 or above. From 2018, "Attained with Distinction" has been further refined to "Attained with Distinction " and "Attained with Distinction ". However, the more prestigious universities in Hong Kong usually consider Category B subjects as mere 'Interest Groups' for admission purposes, believing them to be inferior to the traditional academic subjects in Category A.
Areas of study in Category B include:

Category C: Other Language Subjects

These are language electives. They may be used to replace Chinese Language for university admissions for students whose first language is not Chinese, but it may not be used to replace English. It may also be chosen as an elective for native Chinese speaking students, in which case it will not serve as an alternative language for UG admission. In many cases, in lieu of a Category C subject, an IGCSE Chinese Language pass can also be accepted for admission to UG programmes for non-Chinese speaking students.
Up to 2024, Category C subjects use the papers of CAIE GCE AS-level language subjects. These are provided and marked by Cambridge Assessment International Education. Starting from 2025, Official language examinations taken within 2 years before the HKDSE examination could be reported in the certificate. N3 or above is required for Japanese. Grade 3 or above is required for Korean. A2 or above is required for the remaining language subjects.
Tertiary Institutions are not obliged to recognise results of Category B or C subjects, while Category C subjects are generally accepted due to them being also an AS-Level subject, Category B subjects, especially for the more prestigious institutions, are usually only considered for reference in cases where two potential students are equal in other aspects.

School-based assessment

are conducted for the majority of subjects for school candidates, which notably includes three of the four core subjects, Chinese Language, English Language and Liberal Studies, with the exception of Mathematics. It reduces reliance on a one-off public examination as students' projects and assignments throughout senior secondary years are graded by their teachers. After HKEAA adjusts the grades, they are counted toward the HKDSE results on fixed weightings.

Grading

For Category A subjects, the performance of candidates is categorised and released on a scale of seven levels indicated on the examination certificate. Level 5** being the highest and level 1 the lowest. Distinction levels 5** and 5* are awarded to the two best-performing groups of candidates attaining level 5. Unclassified Level are given in cases of absence, cheating, or an attempt not reaching the standards of level 1.
Category A: New Senior Secondary Subjects
UCAS tariff points for HKDSE Examination:

Level 5** =56
Level 5* =52
Level 5=48
Level 4=32
Level 3=16
Level 2=N/A
Level 1=N/A

The UCAS Tariff points attached to each subject level is as shown above, UCAS is the university admission system in United Kingdom.
Category B: Applied Learning Subjects

Subjects	Result	Comparing to HKDSE Category A results
Applied Learning Subjects	"Attained with Distinction "	Level 4 or above
Applied Learning Subjects	"Attained with Distinction "	Level 3
Applied Learning Subjects	"Attained"
Applied Learning Chinese	"Attained with Distinction"	Level 3 or above
Applied Learning Chinese	"Attained"

Note: Albeit Category B subjects are taught to standards designed to be comparable to Category A subjects, with reference to the form above, to date the majority of local universities however, do not consider Category B subjects for admission by JUPAS.
Category C: Other Language Subjects
These subjects are graded by CAIE, on grades "A" to "E". An achievement below grade “E” is called 'Ungraded', and is not recorded on the diploma awarded to candidate.