A total 18,314 day-school students who took the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination met the general requirements for applying to the city’s eight government-funded universities, exam authorities announced on Tuesday.
The number of students who qualified is 2.6 percent higher than it was last year, authorities said.
A day before the release of the individual results, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority announced the overall performance of the 2024 HKDSE exam.
Among the approximately 49,000 candidates who took the exam, over 40,000 were day-school students. Out of these day-school students, 18,314 candidates, or 45 percent, achieved eligibility for admission to the eight government-funded universities.
Compared to the previous year, day-school candidates demonstrated notable improvements in three of these subjects — Chinese, English, and mathematics
The authority also said that this year, 10 candidates — eight males and two females — obtained perfect scores for all six subjects. Eight of those also attained full marks in an additional mathematics paper, earning them the title of “superachievers”.
Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, students who wish to get a position in local undergraduate degree programs are also required to achieve Level 3 or above in both Chinese Language and English Language, Level 2 or above in Mathematics Compulsory Part, and “attained” in Citizenship and Social Development. These four subjects are DSE core subjects.
Compared to the previous year, day-school candidates demonstrated notable improvements in three of these subjects — Chinese, English, and mathematics.
More than 65 percent of them achieved Level 3 or above in Chinese Language, marking a 4.7 percentage point increase from last year. Additionally, over 56 percent of candidates attained Level 3 or above in English, showing a 3 percentage point increase from the previous year. In Mathematics Compulsory Part, more than 80 percent obtained Level 2 or above, an increase of 0.8 percentage points over last year.
As for the Citizenship and Social Development subject, which was included in the assessment for the first time this year, 94.1 percent of the candidates passed the exam by achieving “attained” results.
Wei Xiangdong, secretary-general of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, said that the 2024 HKDSE featured several significant developments. It was the first examination that was held after implementing optimized measures for the core subjects. The public exams and assessments of the subjects generally received positive feedback from the education sector, and the marking and grading were completed smoothly.
Wei noted that, for the first time, the pilot exam centers were set up in two schools in mainland cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This allowed eligible Hong Kong and Macao candidates to take the exams in their respective schools without the need to travel to Hong Kong.
Contact the writer at amberwu@chinadailyhk.com
