Hong Kong DSE 14 years in: best subjects, worst performers and top schools

Students in Hong Kong have received their results for the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE), the local university entrance exams that pupils take after six years of secondary schooling.

This year’s exams produced 16 students with perfect scores, a record since the DSE’s launch in 2012, including the second “ultimate top scorer”, who achieved the highest marks among all top candidates and the first cross-border high-flier.

While about 130 students have achieved top marks over the past 14 years, there are also thousands who score “zero” every year. The Post takes a look at the history and some trivia behind the exams.

1. How did the DSE come to be?

Before the DSE was launched in 2012, students took two major university entrance exams: the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) for Form Five pupils and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE), also known as the A-levels, for Form Seven students.

The last HKCEE was held in 2011 and the final HKALE in 2012, the same year as the first DSE exams. This marked a transition from a British-style education system to a new model, commonly known as the “3+3+4” academic structure – three-year junior secondary, three-year senior secondary and four-year university education.

The change was also made to lessen students’ stress as two exams were consolidated into one.

Most DSE subjects are graded on a seven-level scale, from level 1 to 5**. Students who achieve level 5 in a subject are graded as 5, 5* or 5**.