The HKALE is normally taken by a student at the end of his/her two-year sixth-form courses. In 2012, about 41,000 candidates entered for the examination. About 31,000 of them are school candidates and about 10,000 are private candidates.

The HKALE is conducted in the months of March to May and the results will be released in the end of June. There are 17 A-level and 18 AS-level subjects in the HKALE. AS-level subjects are taught in half the number of periods required for A-level subjects, but they require the same level of intellectual rigour. Most day school candidates take 5 subjects in the HKALE. Apart from Chinese Language & Culture and Use of English which are taken by almost every school candidate, and other language-related subjects, all subjects can be taken in either language. The same standards are applied in marking and grading and the language medium is not recorded on the results notices or certificates.

The results of the HKALE are expressed in terms of six grades A - F, of which grade A is the highest and F the lowest. Results below grade F are designated as unclassified (UNCL). With effect from 2002, fine grades used in 2001 and before (i.e. A(01), A(02), B(03), B(04), etc) have been abolished.

Grade E of an A-level or AS-level result is equivalent to grade E in their GCE counterparts.

The last HKALE will be held in 2013, for private candidates only. Please click here for the list of subjects.