Over 50,000 candidates have registered for the 2023 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE), with the speaking examinations for English Language to be completed by the end of March. The written examinations will be held from 21 April to 18 May. The HKDSE results are tentatively scheduled to be released on 19 July.

Of the about 43,100 school candidates among all candidates, nearly 90% opted for two to three elective subjects in addition to the four core subjects. Biology remains the most popular elective subject among school candidates with over 12,300 entries, followed by Economics and Chemistry, both with over 11,000 school candidates entering the examinations.

The HKDSE is an important qualification for senior secondary students to further their studies and pursue a career. And for the health of candidates and examination personnel, even though the Government has lifted all social distancing measures, we will continue to implement a series of precautionary and contingency measures at examination centres, following consultation with the Education Bureau (EDB), the school sector and the Centre for Health Protection. These measures include checking body temperature, wearing surgical masks, and completing the ‘Candidate’s Declaration Form on Health’, etc. to mitigate the risk of candidates being unable to take the examinations due to infection.

For candidates infected with COVID-19, they are not allowed to enter normal/special examination centres but may opt to sit the written examinations at the designated examination centre at 96 King Fuk Street, San Po Kong arranged by the HKEAA. These candidates should contact the HKEAA Public Examinations Information Centre (PEIC) (Tel: 3628 8860; email: rat@hkeaa.edu.hk) and indicate their intention to sit the HKDSE at the designated examination centre. The candidates concerned should provide valid medical proof and arrive at the designated examination centre by themselves.

Once again, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation for all centre schools, examination personnel, the EDB and relevant government departments for their continuous support to ensure the smooth delivery of the HKDSE for the benefits of our students.

For more about the 2023 HKDSE registration statistics, please click here. For details about the contingency and precautionary measures at examination centres, please click here.

Recently, we have launched the latest version of the HKDSE App which provides candidates and members of the public with useful information and latest news on the HKDSE. The 2023 HKDSE candidates can also log in to ‘My Exam Schedule’ to check their personalised examination information, including special examination arrangements for candidates with special educational needs.

The App provides information including examination calendar, examination centres, important dates and events, and Handbook for Candidates, etc. This year, the App has been upgraded to allow candidates to login to ‘My Exam Schedule’ with their identification document number in addition to the candidate number.

Get the latest version for free at App Store and Google Play. Details about downloading the HKDSE App and accessing ‘My Exam Schedule’ can be found on the HKEAA webpage.

With learning and teaching in schools gradually resumed to normal, a full resumption of the assessment requirements of the HKDSE will also be implemented by phases. However, in view of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the learning progress of current Secondary 5 students, after consultation with various stakeholders, an interim resumption arrangement (IRA) will be implemented for the 2024 HKDSE, in which the assessment requirements of 19 Category A Senior Secondary elective subjects will be adjusted. The arrangement has been recently approved by the Public Examinations Board of the HKEAA.

For public examinations, the written or practical examination requirements for 10 elective subjects will be streamlined, while some subjects will partially resume the original assessment arrangements. The 10 elective subjects with a School-based Assessment (SBA) component will all resume SBA, with the SBA requirements in nine of the subjects streamlined. Moreover, the assessment tasks of Category B Applied Learning subjects should be conducted according to the Assessment Scheme of individual subjects. The course provider should apply to the HKEAA if they need to make changes to the Assessment Scheme.

Please read the press release, the Assessment Frameworks and SBA Teachers' Handbooks for details.

As part of its 45th anniversary programmes and to help the public better understand its delivery of professional, equitable and reliable public examinations, the HKEAA organised a series of public events in January 2023.

The HKEAA opened its Tsuen Wan Assessment Centre to the public on 14 January 2023. Apart from introducing the marking and grading of public examinations through seminars, try-out sessions for the Onscreen Marking system and demonstrations for the script scanning system were also held during the Open Day. Docent tours of the Mementos Exhibition featuring selected public examination-related items, such as historical documents, publications, admission forms, question papers, and archive photos, were also on display for members of the public to understand the development of the HKEAA and public examinations in Hong Kong.

In addition, a series of online information seminars on the HKDSE core subjects were held for senior secondary students and their parents on 7 January 2023. Our subject managers introduced the assessment requirements of the HKDSE core subjects, including Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Liberal Studies and other useful information about taking the examinations.

Click here for highlights of the events.