PRESS RELEASE

2012 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination

Results Released

The results of the first Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination will be released tomorrow (20 July).

The total number of candidates who entered the first HKDSE Examination amounts to 73,074, of which 98.2% are school candidates presented by 532 schools.

Candidates are offered three categories of subjects in the HKDSE Examination: Category A New Senior Secondary subjects, Category B Applied Learning subjects and Category C Other Language subjects. Over 90% of the school candidates registered for two to three subjects in addition to the four core subjects, namely Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Liberal Studies.

This year 26,431 day school candidates have met the general entrance requirements for local four-year undergraduate university programmes, obtaining level 3 or above in both Chinese Language and English Language, and level 2 or above in Mathematics Compulsory Part and Liberal Studies. This represents 37.7% of the day school candidature.

A total of 47,831 day school candidates obtained level 2 or above in five subjects, including Chinese Language and English Language. These candidates are eligible to apply for sub-degree courses and relevant civil service ranks.

Among day school candidates, 0.8% attained level 5** and 79.3% got level 2 or above in Chinese Language, while 0.8% achieved level 5** and 79.2% received level 2 or above in English Language.

In Mathematics Compulsory Part, 1.1% of day school candidates attained level 5** and 79.7% got level 2 or above. As for Liberal Studies, 0.8% of day school candidates attained level 5** while the percentage receiving level 2 or above was 90.8%.

In Category B Applied Learning subjects, 66% of the 4,949 subjects assessed are awarded Attained and 23.9% achieved Attained with Distinction.

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A total of 250 candidates took Category C Other Language subjects and 68 candidates obtained grade a while 204 received grade e or above. These subjects were examined using the Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level question papers from Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), which also conducted the marking and grading.

This year special examination arrangements were made to cater for 1,056 candidates with special needs to ensure fairness among all examination takers. A total of 63 special examination centres were set up.

The Secretary General of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), Dr Tong Chong-sze, said, We are sure candidates who have worked hard are getting the results they deserve. The satisfactory outcome is also a tribute to the support and encouragement given by parents and teachers.

The HKDSE is a ground-breaking qualification that has been well received both locally and abroad. These results serve as a gateway for senior secondary graduates to further education and employment opportunities, he said.

The HKEAA will continue to liaise with overseas education bodies and tertiary institutions to secure recognition for the HKDSE Examination. Further benchmarking studies with overseas professional bodies will be conducted, including a study with Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) of the UK to secure UCAS tariff points for level 5**. The results are expected to be released by early 2013. At present over 130 overseas institutions have provided admission information related to HKDSE which is available on the HKEAA website www. hkeaa.edu.hk

Dr Tong also expressed gratitude to all the examiners, markers, invigilators and other examination personnel for their contribution to the successful conduct of this years examination.

The huge efforts made by 3,864 markers and 679 marking assistants had made it possible for the timely completion of the marking of approximately 1.09 million scripts, of which about 98.4% were marked onscreen. More than 11,000 invigilators and centre supervisors also assisted in the administration of the written examinations in 401 examination centres.

Arrangements for the release of results School candidates may obtain their results notices from their respective schools while private candidates will be notified by post.

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The online results enquiry service will be available to private and evening school candidates from 7:00 am on 20 July.

Private candidates who do not receive their results notices should contact the HKEAA on 3628 8860 or call in person at the HKEAA office located at 12/F, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai between 9:00am and 2:00pm on 21 July.

The HKEAA will extend the service hours of the Public Examinations Information Centre (PEIC) and the HKEAA Southorn Centre enquiry counter during results release period to provide support for candidates. Details are as follows:

Date Service hours

PEIC HKEAA Southorn Centre Enquiry Counter 20 July 2012 (Fri) 7:30am 6:30pm 7:30am 6:30pm

21 July 2012 (Sat) 9:00am 6:30pm 9:00am 2:00pm

22 July 2012 (Sun) 9:00am 6:30pm

23-27 July 2012 (Mon Fri) 8:30am 6:30pm 8:30am 5:00pm

Notes for Editors: z The general entrance requirements for sub-degree programmes are five subjects at level 2 or

above (including Chinese Language and English Language) in the HKDSE Examination or

equivalent.

z The general entrance requirements for four-year undergraduate programmes of local universities

are level 3 or above in Chinese Language and English Language, and level 2 or above in Mathematics Compulsory Part and Liberal Studies. Apart from the four core subjects, institutions

will also set the requirements for one or two elective subjects, and other admission requirements.

z All statistics provided in this press release and the accompanying annexes are provisional and

subject to amendment after rechecking and remarking.

z Public Examinations Information Centre (PEIC) Tel : 3628 8860 Email : dse@hkeaa.edu.hk

Annexes 1. Results Statistics

2. Analysis of Results of All Candidates by Subject

3. Analysis of Results of Day School Candidates by Subject

4. Examination Administration and Irregularities Statistics

End Date: 19 July 2012

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Annex 1 2012

HONG KONG DIPLOMA OF SECONDARY EDUCATION EXAMINATION 2012

RESULTS STATISTICS

1. Candidature

Candidate Category

No. Entered

No. Sat

School Candidates 71 745 71 479

Day School Candidates 70 282 70 109

Private Candidates 1 329 1 141

All Candidates 73 074 72 620

2. Overall results statistics

2.1 Level distributions for core subjects (in percentages)

(a) Chinese Language

No. of subjects sat 5** 5*+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+ U

Day School Candidates 69 544 0.8 3.5 8.4 26.8 49.8 79.3 96.1 3.9

All Candidates 71 284 0.8 3.4 8.3 26.3 49.0 78.5 95.7 4.3

(b) English Language

No. of subjects sat 5** 5*+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+ U

Day School Candidates 69 713 0.8 3.1 7.7 23.7 50.1 79.2 90.0 10.0

All Candidates 71 617 0.7 3.1 7.6 23.3 49.3 78.6 89.6 10.4

(c) Mathematics Compulsory Part

No. of subjects sat 5** 5*+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+ U

Day School Candidates 69 299 1.1 4.8 12.1 34.1 57.1 79.7 91.7 8.3

All Candidates 70 911 1.1 4.8 12.0 33.8 56.5 79.0 91.2 8.8

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Annex 1

(d) Liberal Studies

No. of subjects sat 5** 5*+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+ U

Day School Candidates 69 721 0.8 3.0 7.7 35.7 72.5 90.8 98.9 1.1

All Candidates 71 406 0.7 3.0 7.5 35.1 71.7 90.2 98.7 1.3

2.2 Level / grade distributions for Category A, Category B and Category C subjects (in percentages)

(a) Percentages of levels attained for all Category A subjects

No. of subjects sat 5** 5*+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+ U

Day School Candidates 424 878 1.1 4.2 10.6 32.2 59.8 83.1 94.5 5.5

All Candidates 434 563 1.1 4.2 10.4 31.8 59.1 82.4 94.1 5.9

Notes: Mathematics Compulsory Part and Mathematics Extended Part are counted as one subject. When candidates have

results in both parts, the better of the two will be selected.

(b) Percentages of levels attained for all Category A elective subjects

No. of subjects sat 5** 5*+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+ U

Day School Candidates 146 598 1.3 5.3 13.3 36.2 64.3 84.6 95.1 4.9

All Candidates 149 339 1.3 5.2 13.2 35.8 63.7 84.1 94.8 5.2

(c) Percentages of grades attained for all Category B subjects

No. of subjects assessed

Attained with Distinction

Attained or above

Unattained

Day School Candidates 4 746 24.4 90.7 9.3

All Candidates 4 949 23.9 89.9 10.1

(d) Percentages of grades attained for all Category C subjects

No. of subjects sat a b+ c+ d+ e+ U

Day School Candidates 239 27.2 45.6 59.4 70.3 81.6 18.4

All Candidates 250 27.2 45.6 59.6 70.4 81.6 18.4

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Annex 1

2.3 Percentages of levels attained for Chinese Language and English Language

(a) Level distribution for Chinese Language and English Language combined

No. of subjects sat 5** 5*+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+ U

Day School Candidates 139 257 0.8 3.3 8.1 25.3 49.9 79.3 93.0 7.0

All Candidates 142 901 0.8 3.2 8.0 24.8 49.2 78.5 92.6 7.4

(b) 69 274 Level distribution of day school candidates in both languages Total no. of day school candidates sitting both languages: 69 274

Attainment in Chinese Language

Attainment in English Language Total 5** 5* 5 4 3 2 1 U

5** 121 (0.2%)

148 (0.2%)

116 (0.2%)

128 (0.2%)

56 (0.1%)

4 (0.0%)

573 (0.8%)

5* 135 (0.2%)

339 (0.5%)

404 (0.