Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination - Overview

Overview

Students usually take the HKCEE at the end of their five-year period of secondary school in Hong Kong; it is compulsory for students who want to pursue further education. However some students take individual examinations, mostly to increase their chance of continuing their study or fulfilling certain requirements in tertiary education programs.

In 2010, the final year in which school candidates were accepted, 127,162 candidates entered for the examination. 90,063 of them were school candidates and 37,099 were private candidates.

The HKCEE is conducted from late February to June, but major subjects are all-taken between mid-April and May, after the major subjects examination in HKALE are completed, by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA). For oral examinations, they are conducted in late May to early July.

The results are released in early August, traditionally on the following Wednesday after the first-round admission of JUPAS has been released. There are 39 subjects available in the HKCEE. Most day school candidates take 6 to 8 subjects in the HKCEE, with 10 being the upper limit. Apart from Chinese and English which are taken by almost every school candidate, and language-specific subjects (French, Chinese History (Chinese only), Buddhist Studies (Chinese only), Literature in English (English only), Putonghua (Chinese only) and Word Processing & Business Communication (English only), all subjects can be taken in either Chinese or English. The same standards are applied in marking and grading regardless of the choice of language, and the language medium is not recorded on the results notices or certificates. It is, however, recorded on the admission forms.